Colorado theater shooting trial tests mental health network

With opening statements scheduled Monday in the Colorado theater shooting trial, mental health counselors are bracing to help those coping with anxiety, flashbacks and other responses to reliving the Aurora theater shootings through testimony and news accounts.

They know graphic testimony and heightened media attention will test the mental health support networks Colorado has tried to strengthen since a gunman burst into a midnight screening of “The Dark Knight Rises,” killing 12 people and wounding 70 others.

The state expanded mental health services after the 2012 Aurora attack.

Steps include drop-in counseling centers and a 24-hour hotline. Faith groups, psychologists and even victims have stepped up outreach.