Counseling office opens in Creston

A new addiction and behavioral health office has opened in Creston, incorporated with Zion Integrated Behavioral Health Services of Atlantic. Located at 216 W. Montgomery St., the office will offer prevention counseling, extended and intensive outpatient care and various aspects of continued care to help Creston-area residents.

Zion counselor Tinneal Harris explained some of Zion’s specific services at a Creston City Council meeting earlier this month.

“We offer Zoom counseling for the people that cannot travel,” Harris said. “Some of the things that we do offer here in Creston is going to be the addiction counseling, it’s going to be continuing care, extended outpatient and intensive outpatient, and that means people can come to us and spend nine hours with me per week getting the treatment that they need to help them with their substance abuse issues.”

A Creston resident herself, Harris said she’s seen firsthand just how important these services are.

“I see it every day, I see what people are struggling with, I hear it from the police officers, the medics, everywhere. We need to get this under control,” Harris said. “We’re losing our community and we can’t sweep it under the rug anymore, and I hope to have everybody’s support in getting substance abuse addressed.”

Harris will be the main point of contact for the Creston location, with the office open Mondays and Tuesdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Even when she’s not in Creston, contact can be made with Zion to get help.

“All our offices do route to Atlantic, so we have a centralized scheduling, but if we can’t get you fit into the Creston area at that time, we can do the Zoom method and link you to see another counselor,” Zion Executive Director Laurie Cooley said.

Along with general counseling, Zion offers a number of other specific services, including drug testing, medication management, OWI courses and evaluations and anger management classes. Many of these services are offered for juveniles as well.

“The services are still the same as an adult with the levels of care that we offer, like outpatient or intensive outpatient options, Zoom options,” Cooley said. “We do have some group therapy that is really focused to adolescents, that they may enjoy or like.”

Because of various grants received, Zion is able to offer free treatment even to those without insurance. Zion is also able to help with housing, food, medical care and even getting a GED thanks to the State Opioid Response grant.

Those needing help can contact Zion’s Creston office at 641-362-0033. Those in need of immediate help should call 911 or the National Mental Health Hotline at 988.