OUR EDITORIAL TEAM

Eric Patterson is a licensed professional counselor in the Pittsburgh area who is dedicated to helping children, adults, and families meet their treatment goals. As contributor for the American Psychiatric Association, he helped shape the content in the DSM-5. For the last five years as a...

Rob Alston has traveled around Australia, Japan, Europe, and America as a writer and editor for industries including personal wellness and recovery. Graduating with a Bachelor's degree in Marketing and Minor in German from Miami University (Oxford, OH), Rob is a proud Midwestern. After working...

Denise-Marie Griswold is a Licensed Clinical Addictions Specialist. She earned her Master's Degree in Substance Abuse and Clinical Counseling from East Carolina University in 2014. She has worked primarily in a residential, inpatient setting treating patients with substance use and co-occurring...

Jonathan Strum graduated from the University of Nebraska Omaha with a Bachelor's in Communication in 2017 and has been writing professionally ever since. He has written, edited and published content for health care professionals, educators, real estate agents, lawyers and high-level university...

As the content manager at Advanced Recovery Systems, Melissa Carmona puts years of writing and editing experience to work helping people understand substance abuse, addiction and mental health disorders. Melissa is a Florida State University graduate with bachelor’s & master’s...

Jenni Jacobsen is a licensed social worker through the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board. She has seven years of experience working in the social work field, working with clients with addiction-related and mental health diagnoses.  Jenni is also a school...

Brooke Nichole Dulka is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She received her PhD in Biological Psychology at the University of Tennessee in August 2018. Brooke is a behavioral neuroscientist, and her work is focused on the...

Nicole leads a team of passionate, experienced writers, editors and other contributors to create and share accurate, trustworthy information about drug and alcohol addiction, treatment and recovery for The Recovery Village and all Advanced Recovery Systems sites. She is a graduate of the...

Shannon Beemer is a community outreach coordinator at The Recovery Village. In her role, Shannon provides support and assistance to patients taking their very first steps into recovery. She works to build relationships in the local community that provide a link between those seeking recovery and...

Dr. Jessica Pyhtila is a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist based in Baltimore, Maryland with practice sites in inpatient palliative care and outpatient primary care at the Department of Veteran Affairs. She is a double board-certified Geriatric Pharmacist (BCGP) and a Pharmacotherapy Specialist...

Benjamin Caleb Williams is a board-certified Emergency Nurse with several years of clinical experience, including supervisory roles within the ICU and ER settings. He obtained his Associates in Applied Science in Nursing from Cayuga Community College in Auburn, New York, then went on to obtain...

Erika Krull has a master’s degree in mental health counseling and has been a freelance writer since 2006. She is a healthcare writer specializing in mental health content for professional training modules, blogs, and websites. Her writing has been featured on Mindcology.com and...