Burning Tree Lodge Staff

Clients and family members tell us that they could sense something special, something spiritual about BTL from the minute they arrived. We have developed a unique, specialized treatment program with highly trained passionate staff members that set us apart from other facilities.

Burning Tree was the vision of one man, managing partner David Elliott. Having been in several treatment centers yet still unable to establish long-term sobriety, David landed in a long-term residential treatment center that helped change his life. BTL is the manifestation of David's great love for recovery and recognition of the need for specialized treatment for the group of alcoholics/addicts called "chronic relapsers." David maintains a personal interest in the recovery of every single client. He routinely co-facilitates Community Group, serving to inspire the clients through his passion, commitment and sense of discipline.

Initial contact with Burning Tree is through our Admissions Director, Bethany Lutz or Laura Nesmith, New Business Development. They assist prospective clients and their families with making arrangements for admission. David Vaughan, BA, LCDC, Advanced Certified Relapse Prevention Specialist (ACRPS),  is Burning Tree Lodge's Program Director. He will conduct a thorough assessment with the potential client to assure that we can meet his or her needs for treatment. Sonya Kimbrell, Chief Financial Officer, will walk the family through the financial process once the individual and family are prepared to commit to treatment at Burning Tree. Upon arrival, the new client will go through an Intake process in which they will complete the paperwork and the personal belongings inventory, facilitated by his or her counselor and buddy. Program Director David Vaughan, BA, LCDC, (ACRPS), assigns the new client to the counselor he feels is the best match for that client. Supervising the team to assure we maintain our commitment to provide effective treatment is Curt Maddon, Chief Operating Officer. Curt is committed to making every single detail in the client’s treatment experience productive and integral to preparing the individual for recovery.

All of our counselors get the initial clinical assessment underway within the first 24 hours of admission to treatment. They will gather necessary data regarding the client’s history from both the client and from family members. All members of the treatment team make personal contact with the client and provide input so that we may construct a realistic assessment of the client's attitudes and behaviors. We determine the client's personalized treatment plan on a daily basis, thereby effectively addressing aspects we recognize that are blocking the client from maintaining personal recovery.

The Buddy System plays a very important role in the behavior modification as part of our treatment program. The buddy is a senior member of the client community who is responsible for providing peer introductions, rules and schedule orientation as well as role modeling. It is a vehicle for those further along in their treatment to confront their own self-centeredness by being of service to others. We use the buddy system to teach the clients a wealth of important values including the importance of “community” of taking a positive stand in a community and of being responsible “to” not “for” others.

The daily schedule at Burning Tree serves to establish a disciplined, consistent routine, which our clients will be taught to establish on an ongoing basis, both during and following treatment. Clients receive group therapy nine times weekly in Small Group, Client Group, and Gender Groups.

Our clinical team consists of very experienced and compassionate counselors who are excellent at helping clients discover their inner resistance to recovery. Cognitive-Behavioral approaches, Relapse Prevention Therapy (Gorski), experiential exercises, and other various therapeutic techniques are  employed, in order to teach clients how to make healthy, recovery-based decisions that support their life goals. Our counselors also use a combination of cognitive skills coupled with emotional intelligence to help clients move through the barriers that have prevented sustained recovery. These counselors work closely with Dr. Mouna Sfeir, M.D.. Dr. Mouna Sfeir, M.D. is a Psychiatrist who is board certified in Psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and certified in Addiction Medicine by the American Society of Addiction Medicine. The thorough and careful skill Dr. Sfeir demonstrates is exemplary, and carries the same commitment our team gives to end the suffering of our clients.

Treatment is in no way over when the clinical staff goes home for the night. In fact, one of the ways we distinguish ourselves from other facilities is we have a staff of specially trained Mental Health Technicians that coach our clients to apply Life Skills and Problem Solving Skills- whether they are performing chores, serving on the dinner cook crew, or enjoying recreational activities. You’d be amazed at how their everyday behavior during these simple tasks reveals their resistance to taking responsibility for themselves and their recovery. We have an expression: “Your behavior speaks so loud that we cannot hear your words”. This is so we can illustrate for each client how they are being dishonest in their behavior, how their actions do not match who they think they are nor whom they want to be.

The passion we have found for our clients and their recovery is evident in everything that we do. Staff is constantly in communication with one another so that clients cannot "fall through the cracks" or "slide through treatment," like they may have done in other facilities. Most of our clients are treatment savvy, having been to multiple treatment programs, and are able to perform in a compliant manner in treatment without actually surrendering. This does not go unnoticed by us! At Burning Tree, the term “compliant” has a negative connotation, as it indicates dishonesty on a spiritual level and the likelihood of relapse and personal failure is high following treatment. Rather, our staff is very direct in showing clients how a client demonstrates the lack of a sincere willingness to do what it takes to remain sober.

The goal of Burning Tree is to see our Alumni go on to lead sober, productive lives of excellence. The commitment, dedication, and consistency of the staff are a testimony to that end and the rewards are great.