STAFF

Sober since she was just 16 years old, Becky Gatdula has dedicated her life to helping other women achieve sobriety. Her commitment to those suffering with substance abuse began with a volunteer position in 1996. She then went on to work full time in the substance abuse field beginning in 2003. In 2005, Becky earned her Chemical Dependency Counselor certification. With over two decades of experience in the field, Becky has opened, designed, supervised and operated numerous treatment programs. Her deep devotion and loyalty to this community inspired her to found Rising Roads Recovery Services for Women, LLC. Rising Roads Recovery has become a benchmark in the gender specific treatment world; a place where women can address their issues and take positive steps forward to build happy, meaningful lives. With a team of trustworthy and skilled professionals by her side, Becky is delighted to lead Rising Roads Recovery.

Sarah is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor. She received her M.A. in Clinical Psychology with a specialization in counseling from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology in Chicago, IL and holds a B.S. in Psychology and Women’s Studies from Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, MI. Sarah’s warm and inviting style allows her to successfully implement a psychotherapeutic bond with clients. Her areas of focus are addiction and trauma and the effect these issues have on relationships. With nearly ten years of experience in the field, Sarah has successfully treated individuals with a variety of emotional concerns and psychosocial challenges and takes a special interest in couples and families who have been affected by these issues.

Lisa Bahar is licensed marriage and family therapist, licensed professional clinical counselor and a certified drug and alcohol counselor. Lisa Bahar provides psychotherapy to individuals, couples, and families and specializes in treating addiction, mood and personality disorders.Lisa Bahar specializes in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and works to provide clients the most comprehensive care based on their clinical needs and goals. Lisa Bahar serves as Adjunct Faculty for Pepperdine University’s Graduate School of Education and Psychology Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology program with an emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy; which is a program designed to serve those interested in counseling individuals, couples, and families as a marriage and family therapist as a licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) or a licensed professional clinical counselor (LPCC) in California.

Michael is a board-certified psychodrama practitioner and Certified Experiential Therapist as well as a drug and alcohol counselor. He has worked in various addiction treatment settings for over five years and has been facilitating residential and outpatient psychodrama groups for over three years. Much of his experience has been in treatment programs for women with a history of trauma as well as addictions, including eating disorders and codependency. During his training as an addictions counselor, Michael was profoundly affected by his first exposure to psychodrama—an action method based on the principle “don’t tell me, show me.” He recognized its power to create a sense of safety in groups, build deep connections among group members, unblock frozen feelings, foster creativity and spontaneity, help people embody new roles, and accelerate personal growth and transformation. Michael is especially interested in the use of experiential and somatic approaches to healing shock and relational trauma. In addition to its therapeutic benefits, Michael appreciates how the spiritual foundations and fundamental principles of psychodrama align with his engagement in 12-step recovery.

Dr. Elizabeth J. Roberts, MD is the Medical Director of Pace Recovery and a board-certified psychiatrist, by the American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology. She believes that it is important to address a person’s mental health issues to deliver effective addiction recovery care. Dr. Roberts takes a measured approach to mental health treatment. She is not the type of doctor that prescribes an abundance of sedating or dangerous psychiatric medications. Her philosophy for treating patients is to use the smallest amount of medication as possible while delivering the maximum amount of psychotherapy, exercise, good nutrition, and recovery education. She has been practicing psychiatry for over 25 years. Her mission is to protect her patients from the addicting and damaging effects of over-prescribing psychiatric medications. She has published books and articles on the subject of misdiagnosing and over-medicating patients. She is the author of the book: “Should You Medicate Your Child’s Mind.” Her books brought her to the attention of a House Sub-committee that was investigating the harmful effects of psychiatric medications on children and invited her to testify in Washington DC on October 27, 2011. Dr. Roberts has also appeared on The Oprah Show, CNN, The Today Show, ABC News in Chicago, CBS News Los Angeles, and NBC News in San Francisco. She was featured as the addiction expert on the educational video; Think, Don’t Drink. Her radio appearances include Washington Post Radio, Washington D.C.; The Milt Rosenberg Show, Chicago; The Pete Wilson Show, San Francisco; Positive Parenting, San Francisco, and others. Dr. Roberts has been published in the Op-Ed pages of The Washington Post and The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and quoted in publications such as the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun Times. Dr. Roberts completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan, earned her medical degree at Rush Medical College in Chicago, completed her adult Psychiatric Residency at the University of Hawaii and her Fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Northwestern University in Chicago.