How To Get Affordable State Sponsored Therapy in Wyoming

Wyoming’s community mental health centers currently offer counseling services to everyone who lives in the county or counties they serve. While their eligibility requirements for financial aid are relatively strict, Wyoming CMHCs do not have restrictive clinical eligibility requirements for therapy. In fact, they state that their counseling services are designed to meet the needs of a wide range of people.

On its official webpage, the Central Wyoming Counseling Center states the following: “We offer help with everything from daily stress to interventions for individuals, couples, or families experiencing intense or ongoing challenges.” Fremont Counseling Service states that they help with everything from relationship issues to serious mental illness (SMI). High Country Behavioral Health even says you don’t necessarily need to have a mental health issue to benefit from their counseling services:

“Counseling can also be beneficial even if you are not currently experiencing difficulties in your life. Many people seek counseling to simply become more self-aware and achieve an elevated state of mental wellness. A therapist can simply act as a sounding board and offer support, an outside perspective, and expert guidance.”

According to their official websites, Wyoming CMHCs accept both public and private insurance and offer reduced or sliding scale fees for those who qualify. Yet while no one is turned away for inability to pay, if you don’t qualify for financial aid, you will need to pay the full fee. This fee may be significantly less than what you’d pay for therapy from a private practitioner, but it’s worth taking the time to compare your options.

Whether your local Wyoming CMHC will be the right choice for you will depend on whether the rate you qualify for fits your budget and whether the type of therapy they offer meets your needs. The best way to find out if they’re a good match is to call your local CMHC and ask. Even if there is currently a long waiting list or there is any other reason you can’t or don’t want to go there, they will often be able to refer you to another community provider who’s a better match.

It’s important to note that the relatively open access to Wyoming’s public mental health system is currently under threat. Severe budget cuts have forced the Wyoming Department of Health to scale back and close many public mental health services, and the state government recently passed a law to limit therapy and other CMHC services to people in certain priority groups starting in 2022. It is possible CMHCs may still be able to provide open access to therapy depending on whether they can find additional sources of funding by then.

In the 1960s, Americans started thinking differently about how to treat mental health conditions. New laws required state and local governments to establish community mental health programs as alternatives to institutionalization for people with serious mental illness. Many states’ public mental health programs trace their origins back to this period.

Wyoming was a little ahead of the curve. Perhaps due to the pioneering efforts of E. T. Payton to improve mental health awareness in the state in the late 1800s, Wyoming started funding and opening community-based mental health clinics a decade before many other states did. Fremont Counseling Services was founded in 1959, the same year the Southern Wyoming Mental Health Center was founded. The county mental health clinic that later became the Northern Wyoming Mental Health Center was founded in Sheridan in 1958. These centers were all converted into CMHCs in the 1960s using funding created by the 1963 Community Mental Health Centers Act.

Unfortunately, like many states, Wyoming has responded to issues with its state economy and budget in recent years by cutting mental health funding. This has caused a state that once was on the cutting edge of mental health trends to fall behind. Successful and in-demand mental health programs are being closed and the state government recently passed a law limiting access to therapy and other outpatient mental health services at CMHCs starting in 2022.

The Wyoming government made this decision despite the soaring demand for mental health services and their state having one of the highest suicide rates in the nation. However, there is some hope. It is possible that CMHCs can secure additional funding that will allow them to continue to provide open access to therapy. The state is considering finally expanding Medicaid, which would help CMHCs and many other mental health providers. Wyoming also recently updated mental health licensing requirements in an effort to grow the mental health workforce.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), only 44.5 percent of people in Wyoming who have mental health conditions get treatment for them. One reason for the care gap is that people aren’t aware of their options for affordable mental health care, including the public mental health system. You can help change these statistics by reaching out and using your local mental health resources to get the care you need.