Following Newtown’s 12/14 tragedy, a lot of residents took advantage of mental health support being provided or underwritten by donations, grants, and in some cases, extremely qualified professionals who took on those suffering from post-12/14 anxiety or depression voluntarily.

But in the nearly 10 years since, resources have dwindled, pushing many residents with insurance coverage to seek continued support — if they were lucky enough to have a clinician or provider who accepted insurance reimbursement.

Anyone else who benefited from limited mental health assistance provided through local channels at low or no cost, and who might want or clinically benefit from therapy, likely found themselves paying out of pocket for that support.

Today, many of those who were able to continue receiving mental health services that were covered by insurance, are finding themselves in the same position as those who have long been paying out of pocket. That is because their provider no longer accepts insurance as a means of payment.

And sadly, many who were able to sustain therapy or other support by paying out of pocket have found they can no longer afford it — particularly those whose lives and family economies have been negatively impacted by the ongoing pandemic.

Then there are those — thousands of individuals in Connecticut and surely hundreds (or more) right here in Newtown — who have been seeking and needing mental health support for themselves or a loved one since the pandemic arrived back in early 2020.

Those who would benefit from mental health support before the pandemic, including countless adolescents, teens, and young adults, have been joined by a groundswell of newcomers since COVID-19 grabbed hold of their worlds and flipped them upside down.

In speaking with leadership from the Connecticut Psychological Association, we learned that there is a legion of mental health support professionals who are able to take on new patients and clients — but who can only afford to if those clients are equipped to pay out of pocket for services.

That is because so many of those clinicians and counselors have been burned, jerked around, had countless hours wasted chasing claims, and were unsuccessful even after repeatedly responding to requests holding up “reasonable and customary” payments by insurers that typically represent a fraction of what they receive from pay as you go clients.

Many association members have experienced the repeated frustration brought as the rules of the game are continuously being changed by insurance companies during play, while others who have received some compensation through claims have seen those claims recalled — and payback demanded by insurers sometimes years after the checks were cashed and services were rendered.

Addressing Connecticut’s mental health crisis is a massive task that will take dedicated, concentrated work by many officials across a wide swath of associated fields.

But state lawmakers could help accommodate or re-open the doors to mental health support for many in need who have insurance coverage by simply ensuring providers they will be compensated adequately and expediently by insurers — and forcing insurance companies to do so without requiring providers to spend more time chasing downsized claims than they are spending trying to directly address and alleviate the mental health concerns of clients and patients.