For more than 40 years, The Connection has been one of Connecticut's leading private, nonprofit human service and community development agencies. Each month thousands people throughout Connecticut are assisted by The Connection's diverse behavioral health, family support and community justice programs. These programs reunite families, break the generational cycles of abuse and neglect, create safer, healthier communities and assist with mental illness and addiction issues.
You May Also Consider (sponsored)
Quick Start Online Therapy: Tell Us a Little About Yourself and Get Matched With a Therapist Right for You
Take a simple guided quiz and let us know your preferences. Get matched to an online therapist right for you. Convenient and affordable online therapy from your phone, tablet or computer.
Have you been in therapy before?
Services Offered
Behavioral Health Services
We offer a range of residential, outpatient and community-based services customized to your needs. Our community-based programs include outpatient behavioral health clinics, gambling-specific treatment programs, and state-mandated driving-while-intoxicated and drug education programs for first-time offenders.
Bettor Choice Program
Bettor Choice Program's counseling services are designed for problem gamblers and their families. In 1982, the state of Connecticut established the nation's first outpatient problem gambling treatment program. The Bettor Choice Program, created in 1998, has expanded specialized gambling treatment services to 17 sites statewide. The Connection has two program sites in New Haven and Middletown. These programs offer substance abuse and mental health counseling services to problem gamblers and their families, regardless of ability to pay.
At any Bettor Choice site, an individualized treatment plan is developed for each client. Treatment may include individual, group, marital and/or family therapy and financial counseling.
The Connection Center for Behavioral Health
The Connection Center for Behavioral Health provides the latest and most innovative substance use and mental health treatment services for adults and families in convenient locations throughout the state.
Services provided include: Evaluations Individual Psychotherapy Relapse Prevention Group Therapy Medication Management Intensive Outpatient Michael Perlin Center for Substance Abuse Intervention
Michael Perlin Center for Substance Abuse Intervention is comprised of a 10 or 15 week alcohol educational program and a 15 week drug educational program that address the problems of driving under the influence. This court-mandated program is designed for first-time offenders who are given the opportunity to erase the arrest from their records upon successful completion of the program. The program is diversionary in that was developed to address the public policy issue of operating vehicles while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. It seeks, through the use of an evidence-based approach of clinical intervention, to reduce the incidence of repeat or multiple offending. It also seeks to identify those offenders who are in need of more intensive services to address their substance use needs.
Outreach and Engagement
The Outreach and Engagement program is an interagency endeavor that includes The Connection, Columbus House, Inc., Hill Health Corporation, and Marrakech Behavioral Health Services. This multi-agency team provides a range of community-based services in New Haven to homeless adults who are not engaged with needed services.
Fees and Payment
This is a nonprofit organization.
Services Offered To: Adults Teens Children
Special Groups: LGBTQ
Payment: Sliding Scale Medicare Medicaid
If You Call, Please Let Us Know How it Went:
Were You Able to Make an Appointment?
One quick last question. Who was seeking counseling today?
Do you know the reason they are not accepting clients?
A community counseling agency is a group therapy practice that offers affordable mental health services. Most are independent non-profit agencies, state agencies, or publicly-funded agencies. A few may restrict who is eligible for services, so it is a good idea to check when you call.
Community counseling agencies are generally more affordable than other therapy providers, but how much more affordable they are will depend on whether you qualify for a discount or sliding scale fee (or if they accept your insurance). Many, but not all, have a policy that they won't turn away anyone due to inability to pay. You should ask about their fees when you first call.
Expect to talk to kind people who want to help you find the care you need. Most community agencies strive to connect you with a live person within 24 hours, if not immediately. If you're asked to hold or leave a message, don't give up; just leave a message and wait. You should hear back pretty quickly.
Most agencies try to set up an initial assessment appointment within a week (some do within 24 hours), though the waitlist to start therapy is usually longer—about a few weeks on average. If you're not eligible or if the agency is not right for you, it's usually still worth it to call or drop in, because staff are knowledgeable about local options and can often refer you to one.