Tessa Buckley is on a waitlist for in-home mental health services for her 10-year-old son, who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety.

It might take two years for him to reach the top of the list.

“It can feel defeating,” said Buckley, 32, of southern Maine.

Richie Morris, 21, of Portland, had to wait nine months to see a therapist after moving from New Hampshire to Portland in 2023 before finally finding mental health counseling in January.

“Everyone either had a super-long waitlist, only accepted self-pay or didn’t take my insurance,” said Morris, who has depression, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder. “It’s extremely disheartening and makes you want to give up hope. I started to think, ‘Am I always going to feel this way?’ It makes you feel like there’s no options in life.”

Access to mental health care is at a crisis point in Maine. And experts say it’s unclear if it’s going to get better anytime soon, even though the Mills administration and Maine lawmakers invested millions in mental health during this spring’s legislative session.