Clinical Care
The clinical care at Ashley is recognized for excellence in the addiction treatment field. All counselors are certified addiction specialists, and many are certified in relapse prevention treatment. Ashley is a pioneer in the addiction treatment field for relapse counseling and treatment. Many of the counselors in the clinical program have multiple specialties and certifications to better serve the varied needs of our patients in treatment.
Each patient is assigned to a counselor based on matching individual needs to the counselor’s areas of expertise. A patient’s counselor will remain constant throughout their inpatient treatment, for both group and individual therapy. Every weekday, two-hour group therapy sessions are led by certified counselors.
All Ashley counselors are trained to detect signs and symptoms of co-occurring disorders, such as depression and anxiety, which are often found in alcoholics and drug addicts. When these types of issues are suspected, either due to patients showing symptoms or verbalizing related feelings, the counselor will then administer Beck depression and anxiety inventories. The Beck inventories are widely accepted assessment tools used to determine the extent of depression and anxiety for a patient. When appropriate, patients are referred to our on-site psychiatrist or physician.
Clinical Staff
Christopher W. Shea
Clinical Program Director
Since 2004, Christopher Shea has been overseeing the clinical program at Ashley. He has 16 years' experience in the field of addiction both as a clinician and administrator, with CAC-AD and CRAT certifications. Prior to joining the Ashley clinical team he was the founding executive director of an inpatient addiction center outside of Baltimore. He has published articles and lectures on the topics of addiction and treatment modalities. Chris is approved by the Maryland Board of Professional Counselors as a supervisor. His B.A is in Philosophy, and he has an M.A. in Pastoral Studies. He is active in legislative issues impacting the addiction field and sits on various Boards, including serving as the Chairman of the Board of Directors for NCADD-MD (National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Maryland Chapter).
Trisha Andress
Counselor, Primary Program
Trisha has a CAC-AD certification with a B.S. in psychology, and is working towards an M.S. in counseling. She joined Ashley in 2010 with over 13 years' experience in addiction counseling.
Barbara Aston
Counselor, Relapse Program
Barbara
has NCC, ACRPS, LCPC and MAC certifications, with a B.A. in psychology
and two M.S. degrees - community counseling and nutrition. She has been
at Ashley since 2002.
David Brumbaugh
Counselor
David joined Ashley in 2010 and has experience as an outpatient drug and alcohol counselor. He has a D.Min., M.Div., a B.A., and is also a certified drug and alcohol counselor.
Alex Dentsman
Continuing Care Counselor
Alex joined the Continuing Care team in 2009, and also assists with the young adult program. He brings experience working in the treatment field, and is in the process of completing his B.S in psychology.
Dorothea Grice
Counselor
Dorothea has worked part-time at Ashley since 2008 and joined the counseling team full-time in 2010. She brings over 10 years' experience to the role, as well as being ACRPS and CSC-AD certified and a Licensed Addiction Counselor. She has a B.S. and two A.A. degrees.
Kristine Hitchens
Director of Family Services
Kristine has 15 years' experience as a counselor and director, and has been at Ashley since 1998. She has a B.A. in psychology from Wesley College, a master’s degree in Social Work from Widener University, and is a Ph.D. candidate (A.B.D.) at Bryn Mawr College. Her licenses are LCSW-C and LCADC, with a CCDC certification.
Christopher Kerr
Counselor, Primary Counselor
Chris joined Ashley in 2010, and has over 16 years of experience in the field of addiction. He has a CAC-AD certification along with a B.A. in sociology.
Amanda Marconi
Counselor, Relapse Program
Amanda joined the Clinical Care team in 2010 following a year long internship here at Ashley. She holds a M.S. in psychology with a clinical concentration, and a B.S in psychology.
Sheila Matricciani
Assistant Program Director, Relapse Program
Since 1995, Sheila has been counseling patients and guiding the Relapse Program at Ashley. With 28 years' experience, she has CAC-AD and ACRPS certifications.
Sheila McDermott
Counselor, Relapse/Transitional and DWI Programs
Sheila has CAC-AD and CCDC certifications and an M.S. in counseling. She has been at Ashley since 2003, with over 10 years in the field.
Tracey Nelson
Administrator of Family Services
Tracey works with the Ashley Family Wellness Program and Rainbow of Hope Children’s Program. Joining the staff in 2009, she brings with her many years of experience in family and children’s drug and alcohol education in addition to her B.S. from Towson and MBA from Loyola college. She also volunteers as a a Court Appointed Special Advocate for Children.
Alice O'Brien
Counselor
Alice came to Ashley in 2010, and brings with her counseling experience, an M.S. in pastoral care and counseling, and a B.A.
Craig Piercy
Continuing Care Director
Craig has been part of the clinical staff since 1988. In 2007, he became the Continuing Care Director, providing personalized patient plans for treatment after graduating from Ashley’s program. He has a CSC-AD certification.
George Plesniak
Director of Utilization Review
George joined the Ashley staff in 1997, with ACRPS and CAC-AD certifications in addition to his M.S.
Jim Siegle
Counselor, Primary Program
Jim came to Ashley in 1997 after completing his B.A. and M.A. programs. With over 20 years in the field, he also has a LCADC license and CCDC certification.
Jamie Tawfik
Continuing Care Counselor
Jamie joined the Continuing Care team in 2010, prior to that she worked as an Admissions Counselor at Ashley. She has a B.A. in anthropology and sociology, and is working towards completing her M.S. in counseling.
Rebecca Tillemans
Counselor, Primary Program
Rebecca holds an M.S. in mental health counseling and a B.S. in communication. With an LGPC license, Rebecca has been working at Ashley since 2009.
John Wanner
Counselor, Primary Program
John has both a B.S. and M.S. in chemical engineering, an MBA, and an M.A. in counseling psychology. He is an army veteran and was discharged as a captain in 1972. With an LCADC license, John has been at Ashley since 2000.
Key:
ACRPS- Advanced Certified Relapse Prevention Specialist (Gorski training)
CAC-AD- Certified Associate Counselor Alcohol Drug (Maryland)
CCDC- Certified Chemical Dependency Counselor
CFAE- Certified Forensic Addiction Counselor
CFC- Certified Forensic Counselor
CRAT- Certified Rational Addiction Therapist
CSC-AD- Certified Supervised Counselor Alcohol Drug (Maryland)
LCADC- Licensed Clinical Alcohol Drug Counselor
LCPC- Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor
LCSW-C- Licensed Certified Social Worker- Clinical
LGPC- Licensed Graduate Professional Counselor
MAC- Master Addiction Counselor
NCC- National Certified Counselor
A.A.- Associate degree
B.A.- Bachelor of the Arts degree
B.S.- Bachelor of Science degree
D.Min.- Doctor of Ministry
M.A.- Master of the Arts degree
M.Div.- Master of Divinity
M.S.- Master of Science degree
M.D.- Medical Doctorate degree
Ph.D.- Doctorate degree
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