Jayda Lauber, a Great Bend native, recently joined the staff at The Center for Counseling & Consultation where she uses her educational and personal backgrounds to care for clients with substance-use disorder.

Lauber’s title for the time being is licensed addiction counselor/temporary student. She anticipates being fully licensed by the end of the year.

“I am working under the close supervision of Kevin Ford who sits in on many sessions and offers his advice about all my clients,” Lauber said, referring to The Center’s Substance Use Department program director. “Kevin reviews my notes of every session, and is right here to provide advice about care and treatment.”

Lauber chose this type of counseling because “I have had a lot of experience with family addictions. This gives me a passion for helping people with alcohol and drug problems. I want to be part of the solution.

“My family is supportive of what I am doing,” she added.

Lauber has been seeing clients at The Center for only a short time and noted that “I absolutely love it here. My colleagues are very supportive and this is a great environment in which to care for the whole person.

“The counselors here are like-minded in wanting to help people,” she continued. “They have knowledge of all the resources at The Center and the entities that partner with us. This truly is a collaborative effort to discover the best treatment for each client.”

Lauber earned a bachelor’s degree in social work at Kansas State University and addiction counseling credentials at Fort Hays State University.

Previous employment positions include care coordinator at Heart of Kansas Family Health Care; child protection specialist at the Kansas Department for Children & Families; and targeted case manager at Sunflower Diversified Services.

Kevin Ford said Lauber is a welcome addition to the staff. “Jayda is pretty remarkable and picks up on everything quickly. She knows about our policies and procedures – the overall way we treat people.

“Since our philosophy is to treat our clients with dignity and respect, while being firm, fair and consistent, Jayda is a perfect fit.”

The Center for Counseling & Consultation, a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic, 5815 Broadway in Great Bend, serves Barton, Pawnee, Rice and Stafford counties. Professionally trained personnel offer: individual and group therapy; marriage and family counseling; community-support services; community-based services; psychosocial rehabilitation; peer support; and medication management. The confidential 24/7 crisis hotline number is 800-875-2544.