Phoenix House Appoints Dr. Deni Carise as Chief Clinical Officer - Internationally Recognized Leader in Substance Abuse Treatment and Research

NEW YORK, Nov. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Phoenix House, the nation's leading non-profit alcohol and drug abuse treatment and prevention program, announced today its appointment of Deni Carise, Ph.D., a nationally and internationally recognized leader in substance abuse treatment and research, as Chief Clinical Officer, effective January 1, 2010.

"Dr. Deni Carise is at the very forefront of substance abuse treatment research and her work has resulted in a significant transformation of the ways in which treatment providers worldwide approach and administer client care," says Howard Meitiner, President and CEO of Phoenix House. "In addition to her research-based contributions, she also brings to Phoenix House over a decade of hands-on clinical experience. She is doubly poised to be an invaluable asset to the advancement and success of both our clients and our organization as a whole."

An Adjunct Clinical Professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Department of Psychiatry, Dr. Carise joins Phoenix House from the Philadelphia-based Treatment Research Institute (TRI), a not-for-profit research and policy development organization specializing in the development, evaluation, and improvement of substance abuse treatment in community-based programs, with an aim toward impacting policy in the field both internationally and locally. Her foray into the research field followed 12 years in clinical practice, during which time she worked directly with patients in a variety of modalities and settings, including public and private facilities, abstinence-oriented, methadone maintenance, hospital-based, and residential programs, as well as numerous types of outpatient environments.

"Phoenix House is the perfect place -- and now is the perfect time -- to maximize the impact of my work in both hands-on treatment and research," says Dr. Carise. "I have this rare opportunity to return to direct client care -- which I love -- while also applying cutting edge research findings to bring the power of science to guide and maximize the effects of clinical service delivery and to continue to bridge the gap between science and practice."

As TRI's Director of the Treatment Systems Section since 1998, Dr. Carise made significant advances in the quality of substance abuse treatment through exhaustive research and the development of new interventions, systems, and technologies. She was the Principal Investigator on numerous grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as well as a five-year White House-funded "Drug Evaluation Network System" (DENS). Under her direction, the DENS computer-assisted assessment system became the nation's first real-time system for tracking drug related problems and drug use trends and is still installed in over 300 drug and alcohol treatment centers and drug courts across the nation, and in use in eight countries worldwide. Dr. Carise currently has four health services grants from NIH -- including those from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. She will continue her work with NIH, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and TRI on these and other projects in the future.

In addition to her work in the United States, Dr. Carise has worked extensively with treatment providers in such countries as Nigeria, Mexico, Thailand, Egypt, Greece, Singapore, Brazil, China, and others to help develop national systems that integrate scientifically-validated treatments into their treatment programs. She is also a consultant, trainer, and advisor for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

Dr. Carise earned both her Bachelor's Degree and Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Hahnemann (now Drexel) University, followed by an internship at Homewood (part of the Johns Hopkins Health System) and Union Memorial hospitals in behavioral medicine, and a Post-Doctoral fellowship at the Center for Studies of Addiction at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Carise resides in Philadelphia with her husband, A. Thomas McLellan, Ph.D., founder of the Treatment Research Institute and currently Deputy Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

She will succeed current CCO Dr. David Deitch, who will continue to support Phoenix House as a consultant on a broad range of strategic issues from January 2010 onwards.

For more information, to speak with Dr. Deni Carise, or for any media inquiries, please contact Karen Sodomick, Director of Marketing and Communications for Phoenix House, at 646-505-2093 or ksodomick@phoenixhouse.org. You may also contact Davia Temin or Allison Bennett of Temin and Company at 212-588-8788 or news@teminandco.com.

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About Phoenix House
Phoenix House is one of the nation's leading non-profit substance abuse prevention and treatment service organizations, serving close to 7,500 men, women (including women with children), and teens each day at more than 150 drug and alcohol treatment and prevention programs in 10 states -- California, Connecticut, Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Texas, and Vermont. For information, visit www.phoenixhouse.org.