Angela Rogers, LCSW, has been a licensed therapist since 1989 and currently serves as a Psychotherapist for a non-profit psychiatric rehabilitation program. She began her social service experience in the Kentucky Corrections Department, first as a prison caseworker, a parole officer and then a training Instructor with the KY Corrections Training Academy. 
After obtaining her MSW, she worked in several adult and adolescent in-patient psychiatric units. Upon moving to Arizona in 1990 she obtained a therapist position at a nationally acclaimed treatment facility where she worked with persons suffering from addictions, eating disorders, and severe childhood trauma. 

In 1997, Angela opened Desert Winds Counseling in Mesa, Arizona where she ran a successful private practice. In 1998 she obtained a contract with the Maricopa County Probation Department to provide a new format of best practices treatment for felony offenders convicted of drug and alcohol related charges. As one of the more successful providers of this cutting edge program, Ms. Rogers was interviewed by People Magazine, the LA Times, and the Washington Post. In addition, her organization was featured on the The News Hour with Jim Lehr.

In 2002, after legally adopting her 2 special needs foster children, she returned to her home town of Louisville and accepted the position of Clinical Director at Bridgehaven, Inc., a non-profit psychiatric rehabilitation program which serves the needs of over 500 severely mentally ill adults per year. As Clinical Director, she oversaw a staff of 15 therapists.
She has designed and implemented several programs including a dual diagnosis program for adults with co-occurring mental health and addiction disorders.

Anjali Talcherkar is an integrative practitioner specializing in the use of Complementary &amp; Alternative Medicine (CAM) in addiction treatment. She holds a Master’s Degree in Psychology and Addiction Studies and is currently a 3rd-year Ph.D. candidate in Integrative Medicine. Anjali has assisted at UCLA’s Center for Addictive Behavior, investigating how yoga-based relaxation techniques and meditation aid in recovery from addiction, and in Harvard University’s research department, the Division on Addiction. 

Anjali is a certified yoga and meditation teacher with knowledge in Ayurveda, an ancient Indian healing tradition. Her dissertation research focuses on combining Eastern approaches with conventional interventions, such as the 12-steps. As a recovered substance abuser, Anjali’s personal experience also motivates and informs her work. Anjali currently divides her time between research, freelance writing, and clinical work.

Brittany Tackett is a transformational life coach, writer, and speaker in the mental health field. She is also the founder of The Buttered Muse, an inspirational personal development blog. 
Brittany's clients include young adults suffering from ADHD, entrepreneurs starting new businesses, and recovering addicts who seek support in accomplishing their goals. She helps them gain clarity and direction, connect to a higher purpose, transform limiting beliefs, and break through layers of conditioning to foster new ways of being.

Cassandra Keuma is a Licensed Practical Counselor Candidate and 500 hour certified Yoga Therapist. She has had clinical experience in youth corrections, inpatient psychiatric care, and residential treatment where she treated clients dealing with substance addiction.
She currently works with the University of Utah conducting research on the benefits of mindfulness in treating those with chronic pain while also focusing on reducing their reliance upon highly addictive opiates.

Licensed Practical Counselor Candidate, 500 Hour Yoga Instructor, Yoga Therapist

Christina P. Kantzavelos is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with over 10 years of clinical experience in a range of settings, including both outpatient and inpatient psychiatric services, acute inpatient hospital services, insurance case management, assertive community treatment, home health, applied behavioral analysis and private psychotherapy. Her specialties include crisis and grief therapy, addiction, mental illness, anxiety, depression, and chronic health conditions. Her foundation as a therapist is based on compassion and understanding. 
She currently works as a medical social worker, as well as a private psychotherapist. She dedicates her free time to domestic and international humanitarian work and writing.

Licensed Clinical Social Worker

Christine Brewer is a licensed psychotherapist with over twenty years of experience in the field of Substance Use Disorders, Crisis Intervention, Suicide Prevention, Disaster Mental Health, Trauma, EMDR and therapy with individuals, groups, couples and families.

Christine received a B.S. degree in Psychology from University of California, Berkeley and a M.S. degree in Clinical Psychology from California State University, Hayward.

Her clinical experience includes gerontology, at risk youth, homicide bereavement, dual diagnosis, domestic violence, crisis intervention, hostage negotiation, community debriefing services and clinical supervision.

Christine is a psychotherapist, mental health consultant, educator and freelance writer specializing in recovery and resilience as well as a variety of topics related to the field of psychology.

Clinical Director, Psychotherapist, Clinical Supervisor, Suicidologist, Trauma Specialist

Christine Laplante, LMHC is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor with a multitude of trainings in trauma-informed care, substance abuse, integrated healthcare and human sexual development.   Her clinical experience ranges from child through adult, and incorporates individual, relationship, family and group counseling services.  She currently works as a Director of a Care Management program for a Federal Qualified Health Center, maintains a private therapeutic practice where she focuses on trauma-informed careand contracts with local government units to provide rape crisis interventions, and teaches psychology courses at a local community college.

Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Director of Care Management, Rape Crisis Therapist and Contracted Clinician, Adjunct Professor

Corinne O’Keefe Osborn is an award-winning, Boston-based journalist specializing in organic content writing. Her most recent work focuses on psychology and addiction.

Corinne spent the last few years researching and writing a book about recovery. After years struggling with chronic pain and addiction, Corinne began pursuing a relentless quest for recovery. She uses her experiences to educate other people about the world of chronic pain, its effects on family life, its inherent gender biases, and its deep connection to mental health issues.

Corinne has a background in gender and politics. She spent several years writing material for a variety of progressive political organizations including Emily’s List, Planned Parenthood, and The Rockefeller Foundation.
As a former gender studies major, she enjoys her current work on eating disorders and other women’s health issues.

Dan Wagener, M.A., is a Senior Web Content Editor at American Addiction Centers (AAC).

Before AAC, he worked for a government contractor in the Washington, D.C. area, where he edited websites for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Prior to that, he was Senior Manager of Web Content and Communications Manager at the American Academy of Physician Assistants, and Senior Managing Editor at the Center for American Progress, a political think tank in D.C.

Dan holds a bachelor’s degree in English from La Salle University and a master’s degree in counseling psychology from Lewis &amp; Clark College. He has worked at substance abuse and mental health treatment programs for teens and adults.

The editorial staff of Projectknow.com is comprised of addiction content experts from American Addiction Centers. Our editors and medical reviewers have over a decade of cumulative experience in medical content editing and have reviewed thousands of pages for accuracy and relevance. Our reviewers consistently monitor the latest research from SAMHSA, NIDA, and other reputable sources to provide our readers the most accurate content on the web.

Emily Mendez is a mental health writer and expert with more than a decade of experience in mental health and substance abuse. As a former private practice psychotherapist, Emily specialized in treating adults and children suffering from depression, anxiety disorders, PTSD, and substance abuse. 

Emily is interested in the interplay between physical illness and mental health and is the author of Four Behavioral Treatments for Migraines Worth Trying.

Pepper is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor who has experience providing both individual and group therapy in an outpatient setting. She works with individuals who have disabilities, those who are experiencing depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, PTSD, and other mental health concerns. She also works with those who are struggling with both a mental health disorder and substance use disorder.
In her free time, Pepper enjoys spending time with her family and writing.

As a professional counselor in Pennsylvania, Eric Patterson has been helping children, adolescents, and adults reach their goals and improve their well-being for over a decade. He has also worked as a collaborating investigator for the field trials of the DSM-5 and provided mental health treatment to underserved communities for the National Health Service Corp.

Jacquelyn Buffo is a fully Licensed Professional Counselor through the State of Michigan and a Certified Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counselor. She received her Master’s Degree in Mental Health Counseling from Capella University. She has worked as a clinician in the substance abuse field for over 6 years and within the past year, she has received specialized training in addressing substance abuse disorders within a dialectical behavioral therapy framework.

Her experience has been working with pregnant women and mothers who suffer from opioid and other addictions as well as individuals who have received the Naltrexone implant. She has worked on an inpatient and outpatient basis. She has extensive experience working with patients with dual diagnosis disorders. She also works with families of loved ones who suffer from addiction.

She has nearly 7 years of post-graduate experience and started a mental health and wellness blog in 2018. She prides herself on writing research-supported posts on mental health and substance abuse issues that are approachable to the reader. You can find her personal posts on her blog at www.theprimedmind.com.

Kindra Sclar is a Senior Web Content Editor for American Addiction Centers. Before joining the company, she worked for more than 8 years as a print and web editor for several print and online publishers. Kindra has worked on content editing for first responders, including firefighters, public safety communications, and emergency medical services. She has a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in English.

Kristina Ackermann, B.A., is the Director of Content at American Addiction Centers. Her professional experience includes evidence-based research for peer-reviewed medical journals, with an emphasis in addiction treatment and prehospital care.

After completing her undergraduate work in perceptual processing, Lauren Brande was awarded a scholarship from the Western Psychological Association. She completed her Master of Arts degree in Psychology from Boston University in 2014 and found she had a particular interest in the effects that drugs and trauma have on the functioning brain.
Lauren believes that all research should be digestible and accessible to everyone. Her passion fuels her desire to share important scientific findings to improve rehabilitation.

Lauren is a Senior Content Writer at American Addiction Centers (formerly Recovery Brands). Before joining American Addiction Centers, Lauren worked for international non-profit organizations in Bangladesh and the San Francisco Bay Area. She holds a BA in Creative Writing from Johns Hopkins University and a Master of Public Health focused in Maternal and Child Health from University of California, Berkeley.

Leah Miller is a trained alcohol and substance abuse counselor. She has had clinical experience in both inpatient and outpatient treatment, and severe mental illness in residential and community settings.
She currently works in a residential transitional support team and writes about substance abuse issues in her free time.

Leah Walker is a licensed marriage and family therapist with over 20 years of clinical experience working with children, adolescents, and adults. Her clinical focus is in family relations, substance abuse, and trauma.
Leah has worked as both a therapist and clinical supervisor in a variety of treatment settings, including inpatient, outpatient, and in-home therapy. She is currently the Director of adult outpatient services in a community mental health center.

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

Liz Lazzara is a writer specializing in mental health, addiction, and trauma. She writes online copy for rehab centers, and essays, narrative nonfiction, and journalism for multiple online and print publications. She is currently working on a manuscript about complex post-traumatic stress disorder and addiction.

Writer, Editor, and Activist

Lizmarie Maldonado works for The John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics (University of Miami) as a biostatistician, conducting genetic research for Parkinson's disease.She received a Master of Science in Public Health from the University of South Florida, after which she worked as an epidemiologist at the local health department in Miami-Dade.

Marisa Crane, B.S., is a Web Content Editor who has worked as a Behavioral Health Worker for at-risk youth in schools and as a Mental Health Worker for adolescents in a partial hospitalization program, where she worked closely with therapists to implement individualized treatment plans and prevention programs, as well as intervening when problematic behaviors arose.

Marisa has a bachelor’s degree in Health Sciences and a minor in Psychology from Drexel University.

Meredith Watkins is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who specializes in dual diagnosis and eating disorders. She is a seasoned writer and editor who has worked as a clinical editor for online addictions journals and websites. Meredith has also ghostwritten for numerous medical and addictions professionals.

Michelle Karmozyn is a prevention scientist with a specialty in understanding the relationship between drug use and behavior problems in children and adolescents. She received her Ph.D. in Preventive Medicine-Health Behavior Research from the University ofSouthern California. Her dissertation research focused on the relationship between early drug and alcohol use and aggressive behavior in adolescence. She is also the author of scholarly articles related to these topics. 

Michelle is currently dividing her time between the demands of parenting her children, freelance writing on addiction, and investigating mindfulness as a technique for preventing and reducing drug use in children and teens.

Nicole Arzt is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist specializing in providing psychotherapy for individuals, families, and groups struggling with substance use disorders and psychiatric illnesses. She received her Master of Science from California State University, Long Beach in 2014. She has extensive experience working in a variety of dual-diagnosis treatment centers, providing services for all levels of care from detoxification to long-term outpatient therapy. 
Nicole currently works full-time as a therapist utilizing psychodynamic and humanistic work. A passionate writer, she has authored several scholarly articles, blog posts, and professional research centered on addiction and mental health.

Rai ("Ray") Cornell is a freelance health, psychology, and science writer.
She has worked as a substance abuse and mental health counselor in a drug rehabilitation center and at a community counseling clinic. She has worked with adolescents, adults, and couples on issues including substance abuse, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and personality disorders.
Rai also developed curriculum for a sexual assault survivors group and worked with a team of counselors to create personalized treatment plans for individual clients.

Rudolph C. Hatfield is a retired clinical neuropsychologist who specialized in the assessment and treatment of neurological and psychiatric disorders. He currently writes on topics related to human behavior, the brain, and research methods for numerous mental health sites and is the author of two books.

Clinical neuropsychologist, psychotherapist

Ryan Kelley is a nationally registered Emergency Medical Technician and the former managing editor of the Journal of Emergency Medical Services (JEMS). During his time at JEMS, Ryan developed Mobile Integrated Healthcare in Action, a series of in-depth articles on Community Paramedicine programs across the country that go beyond transporting patients to emergency rooms and connects specific patients, such as repeat system users, the homeless and others with behavioral health issues and substance use disorders, to definitive long-term care and treatment.

In his current capacity as Medical Editor for American Addiction Centers, Ryan works to provide accurate, authoritative information to those seeking help for substance abuse and behavioral health issues.

Dr. Thomas received his medical degree from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. During his medical studies, Dr. Thomas saw firsthand the multitude of lives impacted by struggles with substance abuse and addiction, motivating him to seek a clinical psychiatry preceptorship at the San Diego VA Hospital’s Inpatient Alcohol and Drug Treatment Program.

In his post-graduate clinical work, Dr. Thomas later applied the tenets he learned to help guide his therapeutic approach with many patients in need of substance treatment. In his current capacity as Senior Medical Editor for American Addiction Centers, Dr. Thomas, works to provide accurate, authoritative information to those seeking help for substance abuse and behavioral health issues.

Sophie Stein received her master’s of science in nursing from Vanderbilt University School of Nursing. She previously worked as an advanced practice registered nurse at an outpatient psychiatric practice providing mental health care for children, adolescents, and adults. She performed patient evaluations and medication management, including using pharmacogenetic testing to guide her treatment plans.

Sophie is passionate about helping those struggling with mental illness and substance use disorders, and she believes that providing those individuals and their loved ones with thorough, accurate educational resources is essential.

Stacy Mosel is a licensed social worker, psychotherapist, and substance abuse specialist. She has had extensive training in child and family therapy and in the identification and treatment of substance abuse and mental health disorders.
Stacy is currently focusing on writing in the mental health and addiction fields, drawing on her prior experience as an Employee Assistance Program Counselor and as the Assistant Director of a child and family services agency.

Editorial Staff

The editorial staff includes: