Mental Health Care in Carteret, NJ: A Local Guide

Call 911 if anyone is in immediate danger. For thoughts of suicide or a mental health crisis, call or text 988 at any hour; on a call, press 2 for a Spanish-speaking counselor. For an adult who may need a psychiatric evaluation, Middlesex County's 24-hour screening line, run by Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care, is 732-235-5700. For a child or teen, call PerformCare at 1-877-652-7624. The county's second screening service, at Raritan Bay Medical Center in Perth Amboy, is 732-324-5289 and sees adults and children. More numbers are on our crisis page.

Carteret has a community health center of its own. Central Jersey Medical Center (CJMC), a federally qualified health center, opened a two-story building at 1540 Roosevelt Avenue in 2024. It charges on a sliding fee and says it offers interpretation and translation services.

Before you book, know one thing about that building. CJMC's locations page lists three services at the Carteret site: adult medicine, dental services and pediatrics. Its counseling program, which it calls behavioral health, is at its main center on Hobart Street in Perth Amboy, with in-office and video appointments. The same is true of the county's own mental health clinic and of the nearer of the county's two crisis screening services. For the low-cost counseling in this guide, a Carteret resident either goes about five miles, in a straight line, to Perth Amboy or uses video.

Quick answer: Call 911 if anyone is in immediate danger. For thoughts of suicide or a mental health crisis, call or text 988 at any hour, and press 2 on a call for Spanish. For an adult who may need a psychiatric evaluation, call Rutgers' 24-hour screening line at 732-235-5700. For a child or teen, call PerformCare at 1-877-652-7624, and dial 911 if the situation is life-threatening. The Affiliated Emergency Service at Raritan Bay Medical Center, 732-324-5289, also screens adults and children. For low-cost counseling, call Central Jersey Medical Center in Perth Amboy at 732-376-9333 and ask for a behavioral health appointment, in person or by video. The county's Otlowski Center in Perth Amboy says it has Spanish-speaking therapists.

Who do you call in a crisis?

The state's list of designated screening services, updated October 8, 2026, includes both. Measured in a straight line from Borough Hall on Cooke Avenue, Raritan Bay is about 5 miles away and Hoes Lane is about 14.

PerformCare's page says it plainly: for a life-threatening emergency, always dial 911. When things are urgent but not life-threatening, PerformCare may send a mobile response team to your home within one hour of notification, at any hour, and it can stay involved for up to eight weeks. A child who needs an evaluation for hospitalization is referred on to a screening center.

For an adult in a bad stretch who can still be safe at home, Rutgers also runs Early Intervention Support Services (EISS) at 667 Hoes Lane West in Piscataway, 732-235-4422. It serves Middlesex County residents 18 and older for up to 30 days, regardless of ability to pay or insurance, and takes walk-ins seven days a week. Its Middlesex brochure lists walk-in hours of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Its Spanish-language brochure lists 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday through Sunday, so call before you go.

Does the health center on Roosevelt Avenue offer counseling?

Not at that address, according to CJMC's own pages:

• CJMC Carteret, 1540 Roosevelt Avenue, 732-376-6650. Adult medicine, dental services and pediatrics, Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• CJMC Perth Amboy, 275 Hobart Street, 732-376-9333. This is the number CJMC gives for behavioral health appointments. Anxiety, depression, PTSD and trauma, grief, substance use disorder and self-esteem issues are on its behavioral health page, which offers in-office and virtual appointments.

If getting to Perth Amboy is hard, ask for video on the first call. If someone in your family already sees a doctor at the Carteret site, ask that doctor to start the referral.

What does a visit cost at CJMC?

CJMC says it accepts Medicaid, Medicare and private insurance. Its public plan list names NJ FamilyCare, Aetna Better Health of NJ, Horizon NJ Health and United HealthCare Community & State. It also lists Amerigroup and WellCare, which are older names. Amerigroup is now called Wellpoint, according to NJ FamilyCare, and a plan notice on NJ FamilyCare's site says WellCare of New Jersey became Fidelis Care on August 1, 2023. If your card says Wellpoint or Fidelis Care, confirm with CJMC that it takes that plan before the first visit.

Without insurance, the sliding fee depends on income and family size. CJMC's published policy sets out these bands:

• At or below 100% of the federal poverty guidelines: a full discount except for a nominal fee per visit.
• Between 100% and 200%, uninsured: a partial discount. Patients eligible for Charity Care get a partial discount with income above 100% and below 250%.
• Above 200%, uninsured: no discount, and the full fee.

The policy does not say how the Charity Care band and the full-fee rule fit together between 200% and 250%, so ask CJMC's Patient and Financial Services staff at 732-376-9333 before the first visit.

The policy adds one condition that catches people. If you qualify for a government program such as NJ FamilyCare and do not complete the registration, CJMC says it will charge the full fee. So if staff tell you to apply, apply.

On who can be seen, CJMC's own words are direct: "We will not deny you healthcare because you do not have insurance, you are not a U.S. Citizen, or you cannot afford medical care."

The county clinic in Perth Amboy

Middlesex County sponsors a community mental health center, the George J. Otlowski, Sr. Center for Mental Health Care, at 570 Lee Street, Perth Amboy. County residents 5 and older are seen by appointment, in person or by telehealth. The center accepts Medicaid, Medicare and some private insurance, and charges a sliding fee to people without insurance. The county's main page for the center lists 732-376-6789 to schedule an appointment; its other pages list 732-442-1666.

The county's page says Spanish-speaking therapists are available. One rule changes what to expect: a new client must take part in individual or group therapy and cannot start with medication management alone. If medication is right for you, the psychiatric evaluation is scheduled separately. Someone just leaving a psychiatric hospital stay gets a priority psychiatric appointment, so say so on the call.

For Carteret students

Carteret Public Schools has counseling inside two of its buildings, run with Wellspring Center for Prevention.

Pathways, Carteret High School, 199 Washington Avenue. Licensed clinical staff see students for depression, anxiety, stress, family struggles, grief and anger, in a crisis or week to week. A student can walk into the Pathways office in room 27. A parent can call 732-541-8960, ext. 4300.

The PATH, Carteret Junior High School, 195 Washington Avenue. The school says all services are free of charge and open to every junior high student and their family. Licensed counselors offer individual, family and group counseling. The consent form comes in English and in Spanish, linked from the program's page. Call 732-541-8960, ext. 7202.

For younger children, the district lists school social workers for Columbus, Nathan Hale and Minue schools, reachable by phone or email during school hours. Their email addresses are on the district's elementary social work page.

One caution. The high school's crisis intervention page is out of date in places, including an old suicide hotline number. Use 988 instead. The PerformCare number on that page, 1-877-652-7624, is still the one to call for a child. For warning signs to watch for at home, see our guide to child and teen mental health help in NJ.

NJ FamilyCare and getting covered

The state says children under 19 can qualify regardless of immigration status, and that adults 19 to 64 qualify with income up to 138% of the federal poverty level. The state also warns that the rules to qualify change starting in fall 2026. Call 1-800-701-0710 (TTY 711), Monday and Thursday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The site offers a Spanish health plan brochure.

If you want help with the application, the JRF Community Health Center, 1931 Oak Tree Road, lower level, Edison, 732-482-9600, offers personal help applying for NJ FamilyCare. It also lists individual counseling for teens and adults, teletherapy, a sliding fee, and translation services for all languages.

Once a child or adult is enrolled, our NJ FamilyCare mental health guide sets out which mental health services the program pays for. With no coverage at all, read therapy without insurance in NJ, and if travel is the obstacle, online therapy in NJ.

Support groups and a line for help choosing

NAMI New Jersey's multicultural programs run support groups, not treatment. NAMI NJ en Español serves Hispanic and Latino families with support groups, referrals and its Family-to-Family course in Spanish. SAMHAJ serves South Asian families, and NAMI NJ describes its services as free. Schedules are on NAMI NJ's multicultural programs page. Its helpline, 866-626-4664, is open weekdays 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

NJMentalHealthCares, 1-866-202-4357, is the state's line for free, confidential emotional support and referrals, open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day. Use it to work out where to start. It is not a crisis line: for immediate danger, call 911, and overnight or when things are getting worse, call or text 988.

For older residents

The borough's Office on Aging, 732-802-3014, helps seniors apply for state, federal and county programs and with Medicare questions. The borough describes its senior bus as covering in-town medical providers, supermarkets, malls and social events, and asks riders to schedule pick-up 24 hours ahead. The borough's page does not say whether the bus goes to Perth Amboy, so ask before you book a Hobart Street or Lee Street visit.

More county options, including a Rutgers psychology training clinic, are on our Middlesex County resource page. Our Perth Amboy guide and Woodbridge guide cover the towns next door.

Si prefiere hablar en español

These services in this guide say in writing that they work in Spanish: 988 (press 2 on a call; when you text, it asks you to type "Ayuda"), Rutgers' EISS walk-in program (its page says "Se habla español"), the Otlowski Center (Spanish-speaking therapists) and NAMI NJ en Español. The PATH at the junior high has a Spanish consent form. CJMC and JRF say they offer interpretation or translation. Anywhere else, asking for an interpreter is a normal request. These phrases help on the first call:

• "¿Hay alguien que hable español?" Is there someone who speaks Spanish?
• "Necesito un intérprete, por favor." I need an interpreter, please.
• "Quisiera una cita con un terapeuta que hable español." I would like an appointment with a therapist who speaks Spanish.
• "¿Puede ser por video?" Can it be by video?
• "¿Aceptan NJ FamilyCare?" Do you take NJ FamilyCare?
• "No tengo seguro. ¿Tienen una tarifa según los ingresos?" I do not have insurance. Do you have a fee based on income?
• "Es para mi hijo" or "Es para mi hija," "tiene ___ años." It is for my son, or my daughter, who is ___ years old.

If the person who answers does not speak Spanish, stay on the line and repeat "intérprete."