My name is Lea Essink. I have a bachelor’s degree in several areas of education which has been surprising helpful in this field. I currently hold a Certified Addiction Counselor certification in which I have obtained through the University of South Dakota. I was born in Alaska and I have lived in the Black Hills for most of my life. I enjoy history, back roads, exploring, spending time with my very amusing kids and walking my husky on the Mickelson Trail. In my capacity as a CAC, I facilitate MRT, Seeking Safety and other groups. I complete treatment needs assessments, and hold individual sessions. In addition to that, I am the treatment team representative for the Northern Hills Drug Court and the 4
th
Circuit DUI Court. My favorite part of my job is celebrating my clients’ successes with them, every day is another victory! A favorite quote from Taras Brown, past coach, and mentor to NBA star Kevin Durant, “Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.” I believe that what we give to the universe we get back tenfold.
