Mental Health Care in the City of Camden, NJ: A Local Guide

Most guides to mental health care in this area are written for Camden County as a whole, and the county is big: Cherry Hill, Voorhees, Pennsauken and dozens of other towns. If you live in the City of Camden itself, the picture is different. Several of the places that will see you without insurance are inside the city limits, a few of them within walking distance of each other on Federal Street. Some of the county's key services, including the crisis screening center, are not.

The other thing to know about Camden is that the listings go stale. Sites have closed, moved after a fire, or posted temporary closures that older directories never picked up. Everything below comes from each organization's own website or a government source, and where a listing is out of date elsewhere, we say so. Programs outside the city are on our Camden County resources page.

If someone is in danger right now

Call 911 if anyone is at immediate risk of harm.

For a mental health crisis that is not a 911 emergency, call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. It is free and open around the clock.

Camden County's designated psychiatric emergency screening service is Oaks Integrated Care, 856-428-4357 (856-428-HELP), open 24 hours. That designation comes from the state's own list of screening services. The screening center is in Cherry Hill, not in the city, so call before you go. Some directories still name Cooper as the county's screening center; the state list names Oaks. Our crisis page explains what screening is and when to use it.

Health centers in the city that see you regardless of insurance

Federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) are required to serve patients whether or not they can pay. Camden has two networks of them inside the city, and both list mental health or behavioral health among their services.

Project H.O.P.E.

Project H.O.P.E. was built to serve people experiencing homelessness in the Camden area, and it also serves others in need. Its main site is the West Street Health Center, 519–525 West Street, Camden, NJ 08103. Call 856-968-2320. Its website describes primary medical care and mental health services, says it is accepting new patients, and lists hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

If money or transportation is what keeps you from going, two details matter. Project H.O.P.E. runs a discount program, and it says bus tickets are available, on a limited basis, for patients going to outside medical appointments. After hours, the same main number gives instructions for reaching the on-call physician.

CAMcare Health Corporation

CAMcare runs several sites, and one number, 856-583-2400, schedules for all of them. The Camden sites its locations page lists as open:

• Gateway Health Center, 817 Federal Street (08103)
• CAMcare East, 2610 Federal Street (08105)
• CAMcare Odessa Paulk-Jones, 813 Ferry Avenue (08104)

CAMcare North (6th and Erie) and CAMcare South (8th and Carl Miller Boulevard) are marked temporarily closed on CAMcare's own site, even though other listings may still show them. The locations page also posts a temporary closure notice for the Ferry Avenue site, so check it before you go.

CAMcare lists behavioral health as a service but does not say which sites provide it. Ask when you call which location can see you for mental health, and whether it starts with a primary care visit.

Children and teens

Virtua's CASTLE program (Children Achieving Success through Therapeutic Life Experiences) is at 1000 Atlantic Avenue, Camden, NJ 08104. Call 856-246-3013. It is the most fully described youth program we found in the city. Virtua lists four levels of care on its Camden campus:

• Full-day partial hospitalization, ages 5 to 14, weekdays 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• After-school intensive outpatient, ages 5 to 13, weekdays 3 to 6 p.m.
• A therapeutic nursery for ages 3 and 4
• Outpatient care for ages 3 to 25

The conditions Virtua names include ADHD, depression and other mood disorders, oppositional and aggressive behavior, emotional problems after abuse, divorce or other stress, and suicidal thoughts or self-harm. Virtua's Camden page lists outpatient care up to age 25, but another Virtua page gives 18 as the limit, so a young adult should confirm eligibility when calling.

If you are not sure what level of care your child needs, our guide to youth mental health help in NJ covers the statewide system for children, and our explainer on levels of care describes the difference between outpatient, intensive outpatient and partial hospitalization.

Outpatient therapy through one intake line

Center for Family Services lists Camden City among its outpatient behavioral health locations, alongside Voorhees and other sites. It does not publish clinic addresses. Everything starts with its ACCESS Department at 1-877-922-2377, which handles appointments, referrals, insurance questions and which location you will use. Services include therapy and psychiatric care for children, teens, adults, couples and families. Its site describes the program as open referral, so you do not need a doctor to send you. You can call for yourself.

Cooper University Health Care

Cooper University Health Care, the academic health system based in Camden, also runs outpatient psychiatry and behavioral health. Cooper's website blocks automated checks, and we have not been able to confirm a current clinic address or phone number on Cooper's own site, so we do not list them here. If you want Cooper, call the number on your insurance card or on Cooper's website and ask for behavioral health scheduling.

Help in Spanish

Healthy Families & Communities, formerly the Hispanic Family Center of Southern New Jersey, has served Camden since 1976 and posts its notices in English and Spanish. It lists mental health treatment and navigation among its health and wellness services. Its headquarters is at 35–47 S. 29th Street, Camden, NJ 08105; the main number is 856-541-6985.

Its counseling site on Westfield Avenue closed after a fire. The organization says services have moved to its South 29th Street and Federal Street locations. Many directories still list Westfield Avenue as open, so call the main number first and ask where the service you need is running.

Camden County's Office of Constituent Services and Office of Hispanic Affairs are at the county courthouse, 520 Market Street, Suite 306, in the city. The county lists 856-225-5312 for help in Spanish and 856-225-5191 in English. It is a general help line, not a clinic, but it can point you to county-funded services.

CAMcare also posts its scheduling instructions in Spanish on its site.

Rutgers–Camden students

If you are enrolled at Rutgers–Camden, start with the Student Wellness Center. Its psychological and counseling services include individual, couples and group therapy, staffed by clinical psychologists, a certified addictions specialist and a consulting psychiatrist. Most services are free and confidential; assessments for learning disabilities and ADHD carry a charge. Call 856-225-6005.

The center says an introductory appointment is usually scheduled within a couple of days, and same-day appointments can usually be arranged if you say you need one. At busy times, ongoing counseling can take up to two weeks to start. If something cannot wait during office hours, the center says it will see a student the same day. In an emergency, call 911. After hours, call or text 988.

Paying for care

If you have no coverage, start with Project H.O.P.E. or CAMcare. As FQHCs, they cannot turn you away for inability to pay.

You may qualify for NJ FamilyCare, New Jersey's Medicaid program, which covers mental health treatment. When you call any program above, ask whether it takes your NJ FamilyCare plan before you book. Our NJ FamilyCare guide explains what it covers and how to apply. If you are paying out of pocket, see low-cost therapy options in NJ.

Make one call today

Start with the one line that fits:

• No insurance, adult: Project H.O.P.E. (856-968-2320) or CAMcare (856-583-2400). Ask, "Can I be seen for mental health, and which site?"
• A child or teen: Virtua CASTLE (856-246-3013).
• You want therapy and don't know where to start: Center for Family Services ACCESS (1-877-922-2377).
• You'd rather talk in Spanish: Healthy Families & Communities (856-541-6985).
• Rutgers–Camden student: Student Wellness Center (856-225-6005).

Whichever you call, ask for the street address you should actually show up to. In Camden that question matters: between CAMcare's temporarily closed sites and the Westfield Avenue fire, an address from an old directory can send you to a locked door. If a line can't help, ask who can.

For more options across the county, go to /camden-county/, and if you need to compare therapists, read how to find a therapist in Middlesex or Camden County.