Mission & History

About Heartland

Heartland Counseling Services, Inc. 501 (c) 3 was founded in 1977 by psychologist, Dr. Stanley Reiss, to serve individuals and families struggling with mental health and substance abuse. Since then, Heartland Counseling Services, Inc. has become a community behavioral health center for Nebraska and serves 15 of 22 counties in Region 4 Behavioral Health Systems, which include Antelope, Boyd, Brown, Burt, Cedar, Cherry, Dakota, Dixon, Holt, Keya Paha, Knox, Pierce, Rock, Thurston, and Wayne. With its location in Siouxland, Heartland Counseling Services, Inc. also serves residents of Iowa and South Dakota.

Heartland Counseling Services, Inc. operates three physical locations in Nebraska: Ainsworth, O’Neill, and South Sioux City, with the main office situated in South Sioux City. We offer a wide range of services, including mental health and substance abuse evaluations and counseling, a 24/7 crisis response team, an intensive outpatient program for adolescents and adults, tele-psychiatry and medication management through Richard Young Outpatient Clinic, community support services for adults, and day rehabilitation programs at The Life Center in South Sioux City. Additionally, we provide group counseling at Dakota County Jail, DUI/OWI classes, anger management classes, and substance abuse prevention classes in various local school districts. Our team comprises over 70 staff members, and in the past year, we served nearly 4,000 individuals across all locations.

At Heartland Counseling Services, Inc., no one is turned away regardless of their ability to pay. There are three sliding scales for those who do not have health insurance. Discounted/sliding fee schedules are available based on family size and income. 

Our Mission

Heartland Counseling Service’s (HCS) mission is to provide quality mental health and substance abuse services to individuals ages 3 to 103 in the tri-state Siouxland area. Our motto is: “Changing lives. Healing hearts. One day at a time!”

Our Philosophy

Heartland Counseling Services, Inc. believes that most people suffering from mental, emotional and behavioral disorders can most efficiently and most effectively be treated and receive services that are highly professional and involve professionals from several different disciplines. The persons served will receive the highest standard of care. We believe that all people (individuals, family members and care-givers) should have access to those services, which are necessary to establish, maintain, or restore normal functioning. We believe that disorders can occur in people of all ages, both sexes, all races and ethnic groups, all religious and non-religious groups, in people who are married and who are single, in people in school, people who are employed – in summary, we believe that all health and wellness disorders can occur in any individual given necessary and sufficient circumstances. We further believe that because individuals are infinitely varied, the disorders which they suffer will be infinitely varied and that they thus require professional personnel with a variety of background and training experiences. These services are available to all individuals regardless of his/her diagnosis/disability, socioeconomic level, age, race, sex, religious affiliation, language or any other characteristics. We believe that particularly in rural areas where other professional support is likely to be less readily available, professional staff should be the most highly trained and the most experienced obtainable.

Accreditation

Heartland is CARF accredited, which is the highest held standard for mental health accreditation in the United States. HCS does not discriminate on any basis. Anyone can receive services, even if they do not have health insurance and regardless of where they live or if they are a citizen or not.