Your (Unofficial) Guide to State-Sponsored Therapy in Connecticut

There’s a way to get affordable mental health care that you might not know about. That’s Connecticut’s mental health system.

If you qualify, you can get mental health care at a publicly-funded mental health program for a small co-pay or a low sliding-scale fee. But even if you don’t qualify for services at a state-funded provider, the public mental health system in Connecticut can still give you information, local referrals to affordable providers, and other essential help for free.

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If you’re in a hurry and want to get the most important information about what’s available in the Connecticut mental health system and who it’s for, you can read our quick start guide below.

To learn more about public mental health services in Connecticut, keep reading. We’ve done the research to uncover essential facts about who’s eligible, what services you can get, when to go, where to call, and how it works so you can decide if Connecticut’s mental health system might be right for you.

Who Is Eligible?

You should consider looking into a publicly-funded mental health program in Connecticut if you (or a loved one) are having a mental health crisis, have a severe mental health condition, have Medicaid, or have a limited income.

Everyone in Connecticut can use the state-funded mental health emergency response system. If you or someone you love is in crisis, you can call your local crisis line to get the help you need, quickly.

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Public mental health services are usually the best option if you’re having a mental health crisis and need help right away.

State mental health programs are required to provide mental health crisis response services and are one of the fastest ways to get care when you’re having a mental health emergency.

The people who answer state and local crisis lines can provide caring attention and support as they help you determine the best response to a crisis, whether it’s inpatient treatment or an appointment with a counselor.

Even if you’re not in crisis, you can call a state or local mental health hotline for information about affordable mental health services in your area. When you call, you can find out whether you might qualify for state-funded mental health services, schedule an assessment, or learn about other affordable local providers.

Other parts of the system have stricter eligibility requirements. You need to have a serious mental health condition (a diagnosable condition that affects your daily functioning) to qualify for public outpatient mental health care from a local mental health authority (LMHA) in Connecticut.

River Valley Services, a state-run LMHA, states that they serve those who “have, or appear to have, a prolonged severe mental illness or significant mental health service needs who cannot access services elsewhere.” They will usually refer you to other providers if you have private insurance.

The website for the state-run Capitol Region Mental Health Center states that it serves “people who often do not have access to private behavioral health services and have severe psychiatric disabilities which result in challenges in the areas of social and occupational functioning, managing one’s illness successfully, and living independently in the community.”

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Most LMHAs in Connecticut require you to have a diagnosis of a serious mental illness (SMI) to qualify for services. Serious mental illness is usually defined as a condition that causes you severe distress, limits your ability to function, makes it hard for you to live independently without support, or that puts you at risk of hospitalization. Conditions that can qualify as SMI include schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression.

Another great way to access affordable publicly-funded mental health care in Connecticut is to apply for HUSKY, Connecticut’s Medicaid program. Connecticut prioritizes public mental health services for people who have limited income and who already have HUSKY, qualify for HUSKY, or have no insurance coverage.

In most cases, if you have private insurance, public mental health programs will refer you out “to community agencies who accept such insurance” or to your insurance company for a list of in-network providers. However, they will often make an exception if your private insurance plan “cannot adequately address” your mental health needs.

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Connecticut’s Medicaid program, HUSKY, is a great way to access the public mental health system. Not only do all LMHAs and other publicly-funded mental health clinics in Connecticut accept HUSKY, but you can also use it to access services at other providers.

You’re eligible for HUSKY if you meet state-specific income requirements. You may also qualify based on a combination of your income, your medical history, and your mental health condition.

If you’re not sure whether you’re eligible, it’s worth looking into. You can apply for HUSKY in person, by phone, or online. To learn more, you can visit your local Social Services office or visit the “How to Apply” page on the Connecticut HUSKY website.

However, you don’t have to have to be diagnosed with an SMI, go to an LMHA, or even have HUSKY to find affordable care in Connecticut. There are many other affordable options both inside and outside of the public mental health system.

In addition to LMHAs, many independent mental health providers also participate in the system and often have admission criteria that are less strict than admission criteria for LMHAs. We’ve included listings for these providers in the directory below. You can call the one you’re interested in to find out what their admission criteria are.

You can also find outpatient mental health services like therapy and medication for an affordable fee or co-pay at many integrated clinics and non-profits throughout Connecticut. If you’re looking for basic outpatient mental health services, these are often your best option. It also may be worth reaching out to a federally qualified health center (see the section below on FQHCs for more information).

If you need specialty or intensive services, however, you should definitely reach out to your local LMHA—they specialize in those services and in serving the people who need them. You may be able to get them from your LMHA or another local provider your LMHA can refer you to.

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Public mental health programs in Connecticut are great places to find specialized and intensive mental health services like case management and day treatment that can be hard to find anywhere else. These specialty programs can give you extra help when you’re dealing with severe symptoms.

You can call your local LMHA to learn more about the services they offer and whether you might be eligible. You can find the numbers for LMHAs and other publicly-funded mental health providers in Connecticut in the directory below.

Even if you’re not eligible for services at an LMHA, it’s probably still worth it to call. The people who work at LMHAs are knowledgeable about local resources and will often give you free information or even referrals to other affordable providers nearby, including local non-profits that provide free or low-cost counseling.

Where Do You Call to Get Started?

The easiest way to learn more about state mental healthcare in Connecticut is to call the statewide mental health Action Line or your local mental health hotline. The people who answer can help guide you to the type and level of services you need and can even help you set up an appointment.

You can find the numbers for the Action Line and other important hotlines in the information box directly below. You can find the numbers for your local LMHA, publicly-funded mental health clinics, and local crisis hotlines in the directory in the next section.

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The national mental health crisis hotline is 988.

The national and statewide Crisis Text Line is 741741.

The statewide Connecticut mental health crisis hotline is 1-800-HOPE-135 (800-467-3135) or 211.

You can reach the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Helpline by calling 1-800-950-NAMI (6264).

You can reach the non-emergency NAMI Connecticut Helpline by calling (860) 882-0236.

You can connect with a peer during the day on weekdays by calling the statewide Connecticut Behavioral Health Partnership Warmline at (877) 552-8247 and selecting prompts 1 and 3.

Many Connecticut mental health programs have local warmlines that allow you to speak to a peer about what you’re going through. You can find an updated list here.

You can reach the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services by calling (860) 418-7000.

Public mental health services in Connecticut are managed on the state level by the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS). For general information about Connecticut’s system, you can contact DMHAS at (860) 418-7000.

However, you’ll probably get the best results by calling a local program or crisis line directly. You can find contact information for LMHAs and other publicly-funded mental health programs (as well as local crisis lines) in the directory below.

Connecticut Mental Health Directory

The Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services oversees five mental health regions in Connecticut. Each region is served by outpatient programs called licensed mental health authorities. Each LMHA serves a specific set of towns. Your town’s LMHA is the best place to start when you’re looking for specialty services or a general overview of the mental health system in your region.

In addition to LMHAs, there are other programs that participate in the public system in Connecticut. These private clinics may have more flexible eligibility criteria and may offer multiple ways to pay for services if you don’t have HUSKY or qualify for specialty state-funded care.

You can find the websites and contact numbers for your town’s LMHA, local crisis lines, and additional publicly-funded programs in your area in the directory below.

You can use the regional mental health directory on the DMHAS website to check for updates to the above list or to look for other types of mental health providers that we haven’t covered here.

If you need information after hours or aren’t sure whether you’re experiencing a mental health crisis, it’s okay to call a crisis line for help. The staff who answer are trained to quickly figure out what you need and can tell you what steps you need to take to connect with the right services.

Also Consider: Federally Qualified Health Centers

Federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) are another great way to get affordable publicly-funded mental health services in Connecticut.

These federally-funded programs provide cutting-edge care in places where good primary healthcare was once hard to find. Most provide integrated care so you can get primary medical and mental health services at the same location.

Each FQHC accepts Medicaid and Medicare and offers low sliding-scale fees if you don’t have insurance. Their eligibility requirements are less strict than the eligibility requirements for LMHAs.

You can search for FQHCs near you by using the online search tool on the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration website.

Troubleshooting Guide

The state mental health system is complicated and can be confusing to navigate. If you’re having any issues, we’re here to help. Here are some of our solutions to common problems you might experience.

If you’ve run into a problem that we haven’t addressed, don’t give up. Call someone at the program (or a state or local mental health hotline) and tell them what’s going on.

You’re much more likely to get the help you need when you advocate for yourself and are persistent. Tell the person you talk to what you need or what problem you’re having.

If they don’t help the first time, call them back and tell them. If you keep calling and keep calm and focused, you should eventually get through to someone who can help you.

Deep Dive: How Does the System Work?

To understand Connecticut’s mental health system, it helps to understand how it started and how it’s changed since then.

Public mental health services have been around for a surprisingly long time. But for over a hundred years in America, the only way to get them was in a psychiatric hospital.

In the 1960s, Americans started thinking differently about mental health care. Conditions in psychiatric hospitals were getting worse and new medications made it possible to provide mental health treatment on an outpatient basis.

In response, new laws were passed that required state and local governments to establish community mental health programs as alternatives to institutionalization for people with serious mental illness. The most important was the Community Mental Health Act, which President John F. Kennedy signed into law in 1963.

DEEP DIVE

To learn more about what the public mental health system was like in the early days—and how psychiatric inpatient care has evolved since then—you can read our article “Do Insane Asylums Still Exist? The Surprising Past and Present.”

To learn more about what inpatient mental health treatment is like now, and the differences between how it works in general hospitals and specialized psychiatric facilities, you can read our article “How Inpatient Mental Health Treatment Works.”

Many state mental health programs trace their origins back to the 1960s when these important changes started to happen.

Connecticut was ahead of the curve. It founded its state Department of Mental Health in 1953 and had already developed a robust private mental health system by the time the Community Mental Health Act was signed in 1963. The state opened its first community mental health center, the Connecticut Mental Health Center, in 1966.

Fueled by productive partnerships with Yale University, private mental health services in Connecticut were widely regarded as some of the best in the country in the 1950s and 1960s. However, progress slowed a little after that, and Connecticut did not establish a full statewide network of community-based services until 1977.

DEEP DIVE

Public mental health services in Connecticut are managed on the state level by the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS).

Some of Connecticut’s 17 LMHAs, or public mental health agencies, are directly operated by the state, while others are private non-profit programs that contract with the state to provide LMHA services.

In addition to the LMHAs, the state also funds independent non-profit programs who coordinate with LMHAs to deliver additional services. The state’s remaining inpatient psychiatric facilities are all directly operated by DMHAS.

Since then, Connecticut’s public mental health system has maintained a strong statewide service network, and it is frequently at the top of Mental Health America’s state mental health rankings.

Yale University continues to play a role, collaborating with the state to operate one of its oldest and largest LMHAs, the Connecticut Mental Health Center, as well as providing publicly-funded services in many other university-run clinics.

No matter where you live in Connecticut, you are served by a strong local network of private and public clinics that are designed to make mental health services more accessible. To learn more, you can call a state or local mental health hotline. They know how the system works and will help you get where you need to go.

Conclusion

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, only 46 percent of people in Connecticut who have mental health conditions get treatment for them. Many of them qualify for public mental health services but don’t know about them.

You can make a difference by reaching out and connecting with local mental health resources to get the care you need. If you’re not sure whether you qualify for Connecticut state mental health services, call a state or local mental health access and information line. You may find out you can get mental health services through a publicly-funded program or that there’s another affordable option nearby.

The most important thing is to get started—the help you need may be only a call or click away.

Are You Thinking of Online Therapy? Start Here to Get Matched with a Licensed Therapist Right For You.

Therapy with No Waiting Rooms or Driving. Take a quick quiz about your preferences and needs and get matched to a therapist in as little as 48 hours.

Your (Unofficial) Guide to State-Sponsored Therapy in Connecticut

Are You Thinking of Online Therapy? Start Here to Get Matched with a Licensed Therapist Right For You.

Have you been in therapy before?

Quick Start Guide

Who Is Eligible?

PRO TIP

Use the State System When You're in Crisis

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What Is Serious Mental Illness?

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Check If You're Eligible for Medicaid

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Check Out the State System If You Need Specialized Services

Where Do You Call to Get Started?

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Important Numbers in Connecticut

Connecticut Mental Health Directory

Connecticut Mental Health Clinics and Crisis Lines

Southwest Connecticut Clinics and Crisis Lines

Southern Connecticut Clinics and Crisis Lines

Eastern Connecticut Clinics and Crisis Lines

Northern Connecticut Clinics and Crisis Lines

Western Connecticut Clinics and Crisis Lines

Also Consider: Federally Qualified Health Centers

Troubleshooting Guide

Problems and Solutions

Deep Dive: How Does the System Work?

DEEP DIVE

For More Information

DEEP DIVE

The Structure of the Connecticut Mental Health System

Conclusion

Are You Thinking of Online Therapy? Start Here to Get Matched with a Licensed Therapist Right For You.

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