To address the need for accessible and effective support for individuals living with substance use disorder, the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas (CHC/SEK) has expanded its Addiction Treatment Services to its Columbus clinic, 101 W. Sycamore Street.
Holly Engelbrecht, a CHC/SEK Licensed Addiction Counselor, provides care and support to patients with substance use disorder (SUD) in Columbus from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Tuesdays and 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays. Licensed addiction counselors train to understand the root causes of addiction. They use different methods to help patients tackle the numerous factors that play a role in substance use disorders.
Services Engelbrecht offers include substance abuse assessments, level 1 individual outpatient counseling, and level 1 outpatient group counseling. Additionally, Melba Marsh, a CHC/SEK Peer Support Specialist, offers recovery peer support services in Columbus on the first and third Fridays of each month from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. A Peer Support Specialist (PSS) acts as a role model and advocate, demonstrating personal recovery and coping skills to patients in the Addiction Treatment Services program.
Engelbrecht said she can relate to her patients because she has an inside understanding of what it is like to be “held hostage by a disease.” In July she will be celebrating 35 years of sobriety. After getting sober she decided to go to school and learn how to reach a wider segment of people and help them find the tools that lead them to recovery.
“The most rewarding thing I have experienced in this career is seeing people who felt that they had no value due to a disease they did not ask for, find a way to overcome and cope with it, realize they do have value and then pass that on to another person,” Engelbrecht said. “It is like the ripple effect that a rock makes when you drop it in the water, and it is truly a wonderful thing to watch.”
CHC/SEK also offers Addiction Treatment Services at its Fort Scott, Iola, and Pittsburg North locations. To learn more about CHC/SEK services, visit chcsek.org. For questions about ATS or to request an appointment with Englebrecht, call 620-231-9873.
