Our Team
Meet Our Team
Our staff community embodies the same beliefs and tenets we hold for clinical care: that individuals thrive and do their best growing when working alongside each other in a welcoming and committed environment. If you are looking for not only a job, but a place to belong, we’d love to hear from you.
Clinical Team
Megan Harrison, LMFT
Chief Executive Officer and Managing Partner
Megan Harrison is the Chief Executive Officer and a managing partner of the Anew Treatment Center. Megan has a wealth of clinical and managerial experience through her roles as a therapist, in clinical directorships, senior managing positions, and as president of a private consulting firm. She joined the Hanbleceya Treatment Center in 2014, igniting her passion to bring an informed systems approach to helping individuals and their families heal from current and generational effects of mental illness. Megan is eager to expand the reach of a therapeutic community system that has helped to heal thousands of individuals for more than 40 years by bringing a renewed and fresh approach to the Scottsdale area.
Megan joined active-duty service for the United States Navy in August of 2001. While on active duty, she supported deployment needs in the Middle East including efforts to support Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). Following her honorable discharge in 2007, she supported government contract initiatives to develop employment opportunities for veterans transitioning from active-duty service into the civilian workplace.
Karlyn Pleasants, Psy. D
Chief Clinical Advisor and Managing Partner
For 25 years, Dr. Pleasants has helped create thriving therapeutic environments that have supported thousands of individuals and their families successfully build a life of self-management, health, and independence beyond the bounds of psychiatric diagnoses. She joined the Hanbleceya community in 1997 as a therapist, acquired the program in 2005 and co-founded the Hanbleceya Treatment Center, and has since dedicated herself to cultivating programs with a culture of belonging, hope, and sustainable change. She sees recovery and growth as a collective endeavor that relies on reciprocal support, promoting the belief that we thrive by receiving as well as giving back. Dr. Pleasants is considered one of the nation’s authorities on working with severe mental illness at the individual, sibling, and whole-family levels. And now, she is excited to bring her vast experiences and clinical skills to the Anew Treatment Center team.
Jennifer Holloway, LMFT
Senior Licensed Therapist
Jennifer Holloway is an Arizona Board licensed LMFT and Clinical Supervisor and received her Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Counseling from the University of Florida in 2016. Prior to working at Anew Treatment Center, Jennifer’s experience consists of working in both inpatient and outpatient clinical settings, providing individual, family, and group therapy, as well as teaching experience as a Counseling Adjunct Faculty with the Maricopa Community College system. She works from a strengths-based perspective and views each client through a systemic lens; her focus is on empowering clients and their families, providing them with opportunities to learn, grow, and implement positive coping strategies as they focus on their healing and building meaningful connection. While she has experience in working with individuals from all ages and backgrounds, her particular areas of expertise are family conflict, trauma, anxiety, depression, interpersonal relationships, and adjustment to life changes.
Alyssa Rothermel, MAS-MFT
Clinical Residential Program Supervisor
Alyssa Rothermel is a Licensed Associate Marriage and Family Therapist who received her Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Arizona State University in 2022. Alyssa strives to increase awareness of mental health diagnoses and help empower individuals and families through a systemic lens. Prior to her time working at Anew Treatment Center, Alyssa’s clinical experience consisted of providing therapy services in an outpatient setting, facilitating individual, group, and family therapy. Alyssa specializes in trauma-informed therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and behavior modification. Alyssa is passionate and committed to helping individuals and families receive quality care within a therapeutic community environment. She believes support, connectedness, and honesty are aspects of growth and healing. Alyssa encourages individuals and families to share their stories in a safe cohesive environment, to learn from past experiences, and create mindful change.
Rachel Respess, LAC, NCC
Licensed Associate Therapist
Rachel is a Licensed Associate Counselor with the Arizona Board of Behavioral Health Examiners as well as a Nationally Certified Counselor. A lifelong Louisiana native, she completed her Master’s in Counselor Education at the University of New Orleans in 2022. Prior to joining the Anew team, her clinical experience focused on community wellness through work with families, youth, and schools. Rachel believes that people are capable of lasting transformation when they feel safe, seen, and supported. She views her role as a provider of education, encouragement, and unconditional regard. Behind her philosophy is a belief that all people are tasked with caring for and being cared for by others, and social connections provide the cornerstone for wellness. She works with clients to see their inherent worth and strengths, helping to identify old patterns and beliefs that stand in the way of living authentically. Rachel earned her Bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University in 2013 and is excited to bring some Louisiana spirit to her new adventures.
Donny Blount
Associate Marriage and Family Therapist
Donny is a systemic therapist coming from Kentucky where he earned his Bachelors in Social Work and Masters in Couples and Family Therapy, all while being a collegiate athlete for the University of Louisville. Through athletics, hospitality experience, and his military upbringing, he enjoys being able to connect with people from various walks of life. This was displayed through his work providing care to populations struggling with mental health and substance use disorders for the past two years in both private practice and community settings.
Donny believes that we are relational beings who thrive off of connecting with others whether it is our partner, family or friends. He relishes the opportunity of helping others achieve healthy relationships beginning with the most important one, themselves. Providing a holistic approach, Donny is excited to work at Anew Treatment while continuing to grow daily as a therapist. In his free time, you can find Donny cooking, hiking, or traveling with his partner and lab.
Jessie Basile
Associate Therapist
Jessie is an associate-level therapist who received her Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from the University of Denver in 2023. Jessie’s approach to therapy is eclectic and based on the client’s needs, utilizing educational research and evidence-based learning practices. In addition, her approach is founded on warmth, empathy, and a genuine desire to fully understand her clients’ perspectives. She is a compassionate and dedicated therapist with a deep passion for helping individuals in their mental health journey. Prior to joining the Anew Team, her clinical experiences focused on providing therapy services in an outpatient community-based setting. Jessie has worked with individuals of all ages, from adolescents to older adults. She has received extensive training in dialectical behavioral therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, and collaborative assessment and management of suicidality. Jessie is an Arizona native and earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Arizona. Currently, she is pursuing her licensing credentials with the Arizona Board of Behavioral Health Examiners.
Kayla Karesh, M.A.T., M.A.
Clinical Consultant
For over 20 years, Kayla has passionately served with warmth as a clinician and leader, supporting integrative innovation to care for the whole person (mind-body-spirit), the whole family, and the whole community. Kayla has held program director, clinical director, and executive director roles at various treatment programs, including 10 years of service and leadership in the Hanbleceya Community, where she supported the growth and expansion of the model and program. Kayla’s philosophy is to compassionately embrace the beauty of our lived stories and how they are held in our bodies, families, and communities. Kayla takes an integrative systems approach, promoting well-being by noticing and leaning mindfully into the subtle moments where we shift and grow, trusting the interconnectedness of all growth as spiritual empowerment, where we change ourselves and future generations through attunement, love, and forgiveness.
Aimee Steffen, MA
Art Therapist
Aimee has a dual master’s degree in counseling and art therapy from Adler University. She moved to the Phoenix area from Chicago in October 2020. She has spent her time working primarily in the recovery field in several detox, outpatient, and partial hospitalization settings. She believes in a non-judgmental therapeutic relationship and a harm-reduction approach to addiction. Her treatment approach is based on the needs of each individual and integrates elements of: trauma-informed therapy, art therapy, DBT, strength-based therapy, CBT, REBT, and multicultural and social justice-informed counseling practices. Her specialty areas include complex trauma / PTSD, substance abuse, LGBTQIA+, and anxiety disorders.
Aimee earned her BFA in Painting, with a minor in Art History, from Northern Illinois University in 2009. It was there in 2008 that she witnessed a school shooting. She was at a complete loss as to how to begin to understand what had happened. The art program that she was a member of was an incredibly close community. The support she found there, along with individual therapy and her personal art making allowed her to process what she was feeling. This experience directly impacted the direction that she saw her life taking. Aimee is able to offer an evidence-based approach that is often misunderstood. There are multiple ways we as humans are creative and find joy and meaning in our lives which means we should look at multiple ways to approach treatment. The unexpected creative expression generated from art therapy builds new neural pathways, which leads to physical healing in the brain. Community is produced from this supportive and exploratory environment.
Jeff Thomas
Drum Therapist
Jeff is the founder of Impact Recovery and the creator of the LifeForce, Transformational Coaching program. He holds a BA in Business Management from the University of Phoenix and is a certified Recovery Coach, Performance Coach, Life Coach, and is Trauma Informed. Jeff is trained in the healing modalities of tai-chi, mindfulness, breathwork, and drum therapy.
Jeff’s passion is coaching those struggling with mental health or substance abuse disorders. Jeff’s mission is to work with the families of those suffering from addiction to break the cycle of generational trauma.
Jeff entered recovery in 2006 after a 15-year career as a professional musician where he now claims victory over substance abuse, codependency, C-PTSD, and love addiction. Jeff’s personal journey through addiction and recovery allows him to not only relate but also empathize with the challenges that one endures during the recovery process. He brings nonjudgmental acceptance along with a compassionate demeanor to meet his clients “where they are at” in the recovery process. Jeff strongly believes that each of us has a unique journey to recovery and works with his clients to discover their own paths by taking a holistic approach that focuses on mind, body, and spirit.
Gabrielle Dunlavey, MS, RD
Registered Dietitian
Brittany Gill, RD
Registered Dietitian
Brittany Gill is an Arizona native, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, and soon-to-be Certified Life Coach with a variety of expertise in medical nutrition therapy, nutritional counseling, and goal setting for an empowered lifestyle change. Brittany completed her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Arizona in Nutritional Sciences with an emphasis on Dietetics and has since demonstrated her skills throughout the greater Phoenix area for the past near-decade. Brittany is known for her ambition and pursuit of personal evolution illustrated by her departure from high-level leadership roles to pursue her passion in mental health and wellbeing. Brittany specializes in disordered eating, body image restoration, self-confidence development, and sustainable behavior change with current roles in residential eating disorder treatment and private practice consulting.
Brittany is an enthusiastic and engaging public speaker who enjoys teaching her community the holistic approaches to health and disease prevention through “food as medicine” and “nutrition as self-care” principles. If you nourish your body, you nourish your life. Brittany aspires to reform diet culture and cultivate a health-conscious and body-positive environment to embrace our individual authenticity. Brittany believes there is no “one size fits all” approach to health and happiness and finds bliss in creatively assisting her clients in becoming the best versions of themselves. In her free time, Brittany centers herself with mindful practices such as journaling, yoga, and meditation.
Psychiatry Team
Roland Segal, M.D.
Medical Director and Psychiatrist
Dr. Segal completed his medical school education at the University of Arizona, College of Medicine, in Tucson, Arizona. He continued training in a general psychiatry residency at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Then Dr. Segal completed a forensic psychiatry fellowship at the University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine, in Los Angeles. Dr. Segal is double board certified in General and Forensic Psychiatry. Dr. Segal is the Chief Medical Officer at the Valley Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona.
Clinical Residential Team
Gabi Buckley
Residential Program Coordinator
For as long as she can remember, Gabi has always had a passion for helping others and driving change. She knew early on that her passion to be there for others would take her far, fulfilling the dream she had set in place, and that is exactly what she is doing. After completing her 200hr yoga teaching training, Gabi knew she wanted to bring more awareness to the mental health community by teaching yoga. Since then, her continuing education in Psychology at ASU and previous work experience in an outpatient office have given her the ability to shape the perspective of others and help them find their purpose in life. Through education and personal experience, Gabi hopes to help eliminate any judgment or stigma surrounding mental health and to be an advocate for those who suffer from mental illness. In Gabi’s free time, you can find her teaching yoga, reading, hanging out with friends, or traveling.
Shay Collins
Healthcare Program Manager
During her spare time, Shay enjoys spending time with her husband, Nick, and their fur babies Jordyn, Thor, and Loki. She has a love for traveling, listening to podcasts, reading, and spending time outdoors.
Ursula Ridens, RDN, CEDRD
Registered Dietitian
Ursula Ridens is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist with over 20 years of experience treating various medical conditions (digestive disorders, cardiovascular disease, etc.) and a wide range of mental health conditions including eating disorders. She graduated from San Diego State University cum laude in 1999 and holds additional credentials as a Certified Eating Disorders Registered Dietitian and Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor. Her career path has evolved over various settings including an acute care medical hospital Clinical Dietitian, hospital-based Outpatient Dietitian, residential eating disorder treatment program Nutrition Director, residential community-based mental health treatment center Lead Dietitian, and private practice consultant.
Ursula’s passion for connecting with clients and understanding their health goals is paramount in leading to positive outcomes. Her non-diet approach provides a unique look at lifestyle choices and self-care while supporting clients on a path toward peace with food and body. Changing eating and physical activity patterns can be overwhelming and daunting at times but through Ursula’s authentic, compassionate, and non-judgmental care clients take realistic steps towards improving their health and well-being.
Liliana Hernandez
Sunrise House Chef
Liliana is a self-taught inspiring chef that brings a cultural twist to our kitchen. Liliana is born in Chihuahua, Mexico, and has lived in the United States for over twenty years. Liliana enjoys cooking for people she loves and cares about, it brings her an overwhelming joy of happiness and fulfillment. Her favorite dish to cook is enchiladas verdes! During Liliana’s free time, she enjoys being around her family, going on hikes and sightseeing new places around the world.
Milieu Team
Katherine Wheaton
Director of Quality and Compliance
Barbara Meier-Conte
Yoga Instructor
Barbara has been in the fitness and wellness industry for almost 20 years, teaching and coaching fitness classes and guiding students through stretches, meditations, and yoga classes on three continents. Barbara recently completed her 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training and is looking forward to sharing the benefits of yoga and meditation with her class participants and students.
Marketing & Admissions Team
Michaela Zermeno
Marketing/Admission Director
Michaela began her journey in therapeutic community treatment in 2014 and has helped hundreds of individuals develop the skills necessary for long-standing recovery and independence. She has managed various roles in her experience, including specialized activities of daily living training, academic and vocational plan development, and managing clinical and residential milieus. She thrives in creating community-bonding opportunities and has successfully developed and managed multiple events and programs designed to support clients and their families in building cohesion and connection. Michaela is thrilled to bring her extensive marketing and support of the treatment-entry experience to her new role as Marketing and Admissions Director at the Anew Treatment Center.
Aaron Johnson
Marketing Coordinator
Entrepreneurial at heart, Aaron Johnson has been deeply involved with start-ups since he was a child. As a Project Manager, Techie, and Marketing Strategist, Aaron helps entrepreneurs and small businesses discover and unleash potential in themselves and their businesses through relationships, intuitive systems, and soulful technology. Seeing how crucial Community and Communication are, Aaron integrated everything he had learned about connection and leadership from mentors, personal adventures, and stories into his approach to systems, teams, and building businesses. When he’s not masterminding or managing, Aaron spends his time meditating on and writing about big ideas, important lessons, and the power of Story. Aaron’s passion lies with creating educational opportunities like he had while he was in school that value and cultivate the innate superpowers of the individual and put youth in charge of their learning journey.
Alyssa Coelho
Designer & Media Manager
For more than six years, Alyssa has served individuals and businesses on their journeys to positively impact the world around them. As a modern Poet and Novelist, current Designer, and full-time Creator, Alyssa uses the power of words, stories, and visuals to romance souls into falling in love with their precious existence. She reminds us of our wild potential, of our hungry spirits, and of the entire world awaiting our unique gifts. She coaches and designs to inspire and mobilize individuals and communities to take action toward becoming the answers our world, our cultures, and our souls need to create a future where every individual is able to experience a vibrant and authentic life.
Administration Team
Nathalia Luz
Accounting Manager
Nathalia first joined the Hanbleceya Treatment Center system in 2014 as part of the accounting and finance team. She has a long history in both the Hanbleceya and BrightQuest San Diego programs, and established her own accounting business in 2018. Her familiarity with our system and her history of providing consistent and reliable support is a gift for the Anew Treatment Center system.
Kerry Paulson
Managing Partner
Kerry, along with his wife, Dr. Karlyn Pleasants, co-founded the Hanbleceya Treatment Center in San Diego in 2005. A leader in the mental health industry, Kerry has founded and helped develop various residential mental health programs in San Diego, Seattle, Nashville, and now Scottsdale, Arizona. After the sale of Hanbleceya and Helix Healing and Recovery in 2017 to Constellation Behavioral Health, he stayed closely involved in the treatment-provision field and ultimately partnered with several others from the industry to help form the Anew Treatment Center, a unique, modernized version of a therapeutic community program model that has thrived for more than 4 decades.
Make an Appointment
info@anewtreatmentcenter.com
Phone
602-358-7178
Address
1250 Golden house, new york
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