Therapeutic
Nevin Alderman, LPC
Clinical Director
Nevin's involvement in residential treatment began in 2001 when he worked as a residential staff supervisor while completing his Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and Early Childhood Development at Southern Utah University. He then went on to complete a Master's Degree in Counseling and Guidance from New Mexico State University. Nevin spent the next several years working in residential treatment with at-risk youth and their families. He also spent time working in community mental health, assisting victims of abuse and trauma.
Nevin has several specialty areas, including: family relational issues, anxiety, mood disorders, destructive behavior, trauma, and substance abuse. Nevin has a passion for the field of mental health, and a strong belief in the capacity of each individual to grow and overcome life's obstacles. New Haven is fortunate for the personality, skill and experience that Nevin shares with Students, Families, Professionals, and Employees.
During his spare time, Nevin enjoys spending time with his family, exercising, and participating in outdoor recreation. Nevin comes from the southern part of the State of Utah- Kanab. He is a ATV (All Terrain Vehicle) enthusiast.
Rick Biesinger, Psy.D
Research and Assessment
Rick completed his undergraduate work at Brigham Young University and majored in psychology. He then attended graduate school at the Forest Institute in Missouri, where he received his master's and doctorate degrees in clinical psychology. He returned to Utah to complete an internship focusing on therapy with children, adolescents, and adults, as well as administering psychological evaluations. After completing his internship, Dr. Biesinger completed a post-doctorate residency, focusing primarily on the diagnosis and treatment of various psychological difficulties seen in children and adolescents. In addition, he administered a wide variety of psychological evaluations for various agencies, therapists, and courts.
In addition to managing a private practice, Dr. Biesinger conducts all the psychological evaluations at New Haven and is in charge of conducting outcome research to ensure the highest quality of care possible for New Haven residents. Dr. Biesinger enjoys teaching and currently serves as an area chairperson for the University of Phoenix.
He is married and has five children. In his spare time he enjoys golfing and hanging out with his family, not necessarily in that order.
Greg Burnham, LMFT
Assistant Clinical Director
Greg earned his master's degree in marriage and family therapy from Harding University. He has ten years of experience working with adolescents and their families in both residential and out-patient settings. Some of his specialties include working with substance abuse issues, mood disorders, oppositional behavior, AD/HD, and family therapy. Greg "believes that creativity and being able to connect and love those we serve is essential to helping people achieve the growth and healing that they long for in their lives."
Greg has been trained in the Arbinger Institute's Anatomy of Peace.
He is married and has one boy and three girls.
Emma Hanks, Licensed Associate MFT
Therapist
Emma Hanks has always been interested in people, nature, and change--and she learned that the combination is powerful when she began working in wilderness therapy. She believes passionately that when young people, new experiences and good mentors come together, meaningful change can happen. Emma has a BS in Therapeutic Recreation and completed her Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy at Utah State University.
Emma has worked since 2004 with youth and families in various therapeutic settings including a juvenile corrections center, a treatment center for young women with eating disorders and a community shelter for victims of domestic violence and rape. She worked as a therapist at the Utah State University Marriage and Family Therapy Clinic and at Mountain Crest High School helping teens and their families resolve difficulties. Emma has worked in two wilderness therapy programs as Field Instructor, Senior Field Instructor and Transition Camp Coordinator. She's had the opportunity to develop various programs and manuals for staff training and is excited to work as a therapist helping families come together.
Emma uses an experiential, relationship-based approach to help people live more meaningful and value-based lives. She believes in people's ability to undergo a fundamental change of heart due to new experiences. People who have worked closely with Emma say she has a remarkable ability to work with young people.
In her spare time Emma enjoys rock climbing, guitar strumming, and exploring the world with her nieces and nephews. She likes to build things, walk dogs and learn something new every day.
Monica Blume, LCSW
Therapist
Monica joined New Haven after working for nearly 20 years with adolescents and adults in outpatient and hospital settings. She earned her Master's degree from Virginia Commonwealth University in Social Work and continued working with adolescent girls and their families throughout the next many years. Her love of the work and belief in the ability of families to make changes in their lives for the better has led her to New Haven.
Her experience in clinical practice has varied, with specialties in family relationships, anxiety, depression, self-esteem, peer relationships, bonding and attachment, and issues surrounding adoption. She is a published author and has presented to audiences all over the country.
Monica is married with six children and loves running, swimming, skiing, and anything fast, adventurous or outdoors.
Danna Olinick, LPC
Assistant Clinical Director
Danna is originally from Northern California where she is one of ten children. She came out to Utah and earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from Brigham Young University and her masters in counseling from the University of Phoenix, Provo campus. Danna has worked with adolescents in and out of residential treatment centers and in the community for the last 9 years. Her specialties are sexual abuse and trauma, attachment, self harm, and destructive behaviors. Danna has also worked with at-risk teens with mood disorders and substance abuse issues. She enjoys working with adolescents and their families to rebuild their relationships.
Danna is married and has two children. She and her family enjoy spending time together playing games and gardening.
Karolee Koller, CSW
Therapist
Karolee completed her bachelor's degree at Brigham Young University and then went on to complete a Master of Social Work degree from Colorado State University. During school, much of her research focused on the animal-human bond and the uses of animal-assisted therapy in various human service areas. Karolee's experience with using companion animal and equine assisted therapy is extensive and she is often accompanied to work by her own therapy dog "Jessi." Although much of Karolee's early schooling was focused on medical and veterinary science, she changed her focus to social work because she believed strongly in the idea that true health is not just physical, but also includes spiritual and emotional peace.
Karolee's clinical practice has included work with sex offenders, trauma survivors, eating disorders, and self-harm. She has a special interest in helping young women empower themselves and have the courage to follow their own hearts. Outside of work, Karolee enjoys hiking, working with horses, and sheep herding with her border collies. She also spends quite a bit of time vacuuming up pet hair. ☺
Jeff S. Finch, CSW
Therapist
Jeff comes to you with a spirit of compassion and is highly motivated toward healing homes, hearts and families. Most of Jeff's early years were spent on a large dairy, where he worked hard for the necessities of life; planting, harvesting, and being grateful for the little things in life. He has worked with adolescents for over 20 years in a variety of settings, starting in 1989 as a home parent for a boy's ranch. In February 2003 while working as a mental health associate in rural Alaska, he was asked to be the only full time certified chemical dependency counselor in that community. He reports, "I was fairly new at the substance abuse field but went to work to help those individuals in our community to fight their addictions and, in many cases to save their lives." He went to graduate school in order to become more effective in treating dual diagnoses. Jeff specializes in trauma, recovery, depression, and family work. He is skilled at getting to the core of what is driving negative behaviors and belief systems. He uses a nurturing approach and is appropriately quick to build a bond and a therapeutic alliance with the girls and families he works with. His nurturing approach allows him to be firm and to hold solid boundaries which are necessary with the adolescents we work with. The girls respect the boundaries more because of the nurturing approach. Jeff appreciates the team approach taken at New Haven and believes in the power of the group process. He is grateful to work with a dedicated group of individuals where the extraordinary can and does happen.
Jeff reports that he has achieved most of his occupational and educational goals; a masters degree in social work at BYU, being an Alaska commercial salmon fisherman, being a corporate president, being a general contractor, having a family business, teaching, administrating, counseling, managing and facilitating. In his opinion; it is better to build lives instead of houses; and better to be a fisherman of mankind than to fish. He loves to spend time with his family. Jeff and his wife, Deborah, have been married for close to a quarter of a century. They enjoy doing many different and varied family activities with their children, including being in the great outdoors. Jeff has many wonderful life experiences that he brings to the table at New Haven which gives him a unique perspective.
Bridger Jensen, APC, CTRS, TRS
Recreational Therapist
Bridger has a passion for outdoor leadership, counseling, and therapeutic recreation. He received an undergraduate degree from Brigham Young University with an emphasis in Therapeutic Recreation. There he participated in BYU's conservation & outdoor leadership training program to further his outdoor pursuits. While gaining an undergraduate degree, Bridger worked as a lead field guide and then field director for wilderness/adventure therapy programs. After becoming a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist, Bridger became the Parent-Alumni Director at Outback Therapeutic Expeditions where he facilitated over 100 seminars for families and students.
Bridger was hired at New Haven while working on a Master's degree in therapeutic counseling. After completing his therapeutic Master's degree at New Haven, Bridger became licensed as an Associate Professional Counselor and today practices family and individual therapy alongside recreational therapy at New Haven. Bridger has a great interest in social research, especially as it pertains to the therapeutic process, existentialism, and positive change. He has presented in regional and national conferences, published two abstracts and has two papers currently submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journals.
Among other outdoor sports, Bridger loves canyoneering, mountaineering, backpacking, and survival. Bridger especially loves traveling with his wife and three children. He hopes that he can continue to experience many adventures in his lifetime.
Kevin Randall, LMFT
Assistant Clinical Director
Kevin is originally from Nebraska; as one of twelve children he has always recognized and appreciated the value of family. Kevin completed his undergraduate degrees at the University of Utah and then received his master's degree at the University of Nebraska. Over the past several years Kevin has provided therapy for at-risk adolescents and their families, crisis counseling and treatment for suicidal individuals, and individual and marital therapy. Kevin has been foundationally trained in DBT. He recently traveled throughout the country providing aftercare to families who were bringing their teens home from wilderness and residential placements. He has experience working with mood disorders, oppositional defiant disorder, and marital and family relationship issues. Kevin has been married for nearly fifteen years and enjoys spending time with his wife and five children.
Rachael Collinsworth, LMFT
Therapist
Rachael is originally from Santa Cruz, California. She received her Bachelor's degree in Sociology in 2001 and her Master's degree in Counseling Psychology in 2003. She began her practice with young children, using play, art, and sand-play therapies. She then worked with adults primarily using cognitive-behavioral and equine-assisted psychotherapy.
It wasn't until she focused her practice on adolescents that she realized her niche in the world of therapy. She found that she liked being a part of the process a student and their family go through towards healing and having quality relationships. She is known for being both personable and firm. Parents say she is easy to talk to, but is not afraid to point out errors. She loves riding horses and uses them as much as possible to demonstrate and instill relationship values. She believes that a horse herd acts similar to a human herd (family) and uses the parallels to help parents and teens better understand their roles and connectedness. Rachael's experience has varied over the past several years as she has honed her professional identity. She has worked with substance abuse, victims of crime, mood disorders, dual-diagnoses, family relationship issues, eating disorders, oppositional defiance, adjustment disorders, grief and loss, reactive attachment, anxiety disorders, as well as parenting issues.
An interesting fact about Rachael is her mother's family is from Iran and her father's family is from Russia, making her 50% Russian and 50% Assyrian. Rachael enjoys photography, writing, singing, hiking, playing with horses and spending time with her toddlers.
Janette Davenport, LPC
Therapist
Originally from the Seattle area, Janette first came to Utah to pursue her Bachelor's degree in therapeutic recreation at BYU. After graduation, she returned to Seattle and worked as a therapeutic recreation specialist for a few years and then, as a teacher for troubled students at a private school. After earning her master's degree in counseling psychology and school counseling from Central Washington University, Janette returned to Utah and worked as counselor at a junior high and as a therapist with teens and adults dealing with substance abuse and mental health issues. She has experience with working with individuals that deal with substance abuse, bipolar disorder, attachment, mood and anxiety disorders, ADD/ADHD, Learning disabilities, personality disorders, and self-harm behaviors. She enjoys interacting and building relationships with teenagers and seeing them make positive changes in their lives. Janette tries to stay active by running, hiking, swimming and in the winter, cross country skiing. She recently completed her first triathlon.
Janine Rockwell, TRS, CTRS
Recreation Therapist
Janine got her start at a privately-owned challenge course in 2005. The clients she worked with for that company included several youth treatment centers, three adult addiction rehab centers, a company that specializes in treating sex offenders and a company that specializes in treating eating disorders. She was also involved in building over a dozen challenge courses in the state of Utah.
She received a BS in Recreation Management from Brigham Young University in 2006 with a minor in psychology. In 2009 she went back to BYU to change her BS to Recreation Therapy. She loves recreation therapy because she can challenge students and families in a fun way and has seen the positive impact these challenges have on the participants. Her specialty is the challenge course, but she also loves any type of experiential activity that provides a physical or emotional challenge.
Janine's passions include anything that can be done in the mountains. She loves to rock climb, hike, and camp, and often takes her teenage nieces on these adventures with her.
Matthew C. Bartlett, M.Ed., LMFT
Assistant Clinical Director and Transition Director
Matt received his master's degree from the University of Oregon in education with a specialty in marriage and family therapy. He spent the past five years working with at-risk youth in residential treatment and providing aftercare services to families across the nation. Prior to coming to New Haven, Matt worked with individual couples and families in an outpatient setting and with adolescents in the juvenile justice system. He has experience working with mood disorders, ADHD, attachment, oppositional defiance, and marital/family relationship issues.
He loves to laugh and believes that humor is an important part of healing difficult family relationships. Matt and his wife have five children enjoy spending time together traveling, camping, golfing, singing, and cooking. Matt also makes amazing wedding cakes as a hobby!
Dayna Buxton, LMFT
Therapist
Dayna comes to New Haven with a wealth of experience including therapeutic and administrative roles at two other residential programs. She is originally from Northern Utah where she earned her BA in Family and Human Development from Utah State University. She then went on to the University of Kentucky for her MA in Marriage and Family Therapy. She is a fully Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the State of Utah. Prior to being a therapist Dayna had over 4 years experience working Adolescents and Young Adults. Dayna enjoys working with youth and can't imagine anything being more rewarding than helping teenagers and their families turn their lives around. With Dayna, people experience a wonderful balance of nurturance and healthy boundaries as they progress through their difficult work.
We love having Dayna as a part of the New Haven family and the expertise she brings to the New Haven team.
Brad Rentfro, LPC
Therapist
After graduating from the University of Utah with his bachelor's degree in psychology, Brad continued on to the University of Phoenix, where he received his Masters degree in counseling. He has been with New Haven since November of 2001. He specializes in helping his clients to improve family relationships, in helping to overcome sexual abuse and other traumas, personality disorders and attachment issues. Brad is married with four children, including two daughters of his own. He loves sports, being in the outdoors, and spending time with his family.
Listen to Brad's Sound Advice.
Allison Rencher, Licensed Associate LMFT
Therapist
Allison was raised in Utah surrounded by family and the beautiful mountains. She attended Utah State University where she obtained a bachelor's degree in family, consumer and human development. She returned to Utah State and received a master's degree in marriage and family therapy. Allison's primary areas of interest include grief, anxiety disorders, mood disorders, helping individuals understand their worth and potential and helping families to have healthy, positive relationships. She enjoys reading, hiking, photography, and laughing with her family and friends.
Kjrstin Walters, Licensed Associate MFT
Therapist
Kjrstin Walters received her Bachelor's degree in Recreation and Youth Leadership from Brigham Young University and her Master's degree from Amridge University in Marriage and Family Therapy. She as been at New Haven since 2004, working in both the residential and clinical departments. She loves experiential therapies, especially the ROPES course. Prior to working at New Haven, Kjrstin worked in a wilderness therapy program and on a ROPES course. In her spare time she loves to be with her husband and daughter outside climbing things.
Brian McElligott, Licensed Associate MFT
Therapist
Brian grew up overseas in Athens, Greece and moved to Utah when he was 21. He has worked in the residential treatment setting for 14 years. He received his Bachelors Degree from Utah Valley University and received his Masters Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Amridge University. Brian has experience working with adolescents, specifically with attachment issues, oppositional behavior, and trauma. Brian has been married for 9 years, loves spending time with his wife, is an avid reader, and loves chess, basketball, and the outdoors. Spend a little time with Brian and you'll enjoy his deep and quick-witted humor.
Melissa Sprague, TRS, CTRS
Recreational Therapist
Melissa graduated from Brigham Young University in 1991 with a B.S. degree in Therapeutic Recreation and a minor in psychology. She completed an internship at the Utah State Hospital and started her career at a residential treatment facility for teens where she worked for over 12 years treating adolescents with anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, and substance abuse issues. Melissa also worked for several years at a facility that specializes in treating women and girls for eating disorders. She utilizes a variety of experiential interventions and expressive arts in group, family, and individual recreation therapy.
Melissa is a certified RAD Instructor, a trained Ropes Course Facilitator, Licensed River Guide and an Emergency Responder Instructor for the American Red Cross. She enjoys being outside and spending time with her family. She is active in her community teaching first aid and CPR classes, safety education classes to elementary children and self defense classes for women. Melissa loves helping women and children to feel more empowered.
