AUBURN — President Wendy Bergeron has notified the state that she’s closing the mental health agency that’s been dogged by issues since most of her staff quit en masse in August.

Possibilities Counseling on Center Street had 500 affiliate therapists and case managers serving 10,000 clients around Maine. A pair of surprise inspections by the Department of Health and Human Services found that 16 of 18 staffers had walked out in one day and largely been replaced by untrained family members and friends. Affiliates had complained in the weeks since about not getting paid.

The state stepped in, issuing a conditional license and slate of conditions Bergeron had to meet over the next year.

“We received confirmation (about the closing) from her attorneys late on Friday,” DHHS spokesman John Martins said Monday morning.

That works as a 30-day notice during which the state will help to transition patients, Martins said.

More details to come in Tuesday’s Sun Journal.