Dr. Jerry Law has a longstanding relationship with Meadows Behavioral Healthcare, having held key leadership roles, including Executive Director of Gentle Path, Willow House, and The Meadows Texas residential treatment programs. He also served as Director of Family Education and Leadership Training for MBH, working with family members of those in treatment. In 2021, Dr. Law was appointed Executive Director of The Meadows, our flagship program, and in 2024 he was promoted to Group Executive Director for both The Meadows and The Meadows Seasons. In this role, he is responsible for overseeing day-to-day operations, working closely with the clinical team to deliver exceptional care and ensure excellence throughout the treatment process. Dr. Law also collaborates with senior leadership and the Meadows Senior Fellows to maintain the continuity of care that defines MBH programs worldwide.

Phoenix, Arizona native Bre Mylius earned her bachelor of arts degree in psychology from Arizona State University, graduating magna cum laude with a minor in human and family development. She followed that with a master’s degree in counseling from Phoenix Seminary/Ottawa University, becoming a licensed professional counselor and LPC supervisor. Mylius is also EMDR certified, a Complicated Pain Recovery Coach, a Certified Sexual Addiction Therapist (CSAT), and trained in a Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy (PACT).

While working through her own struggles, Mylius discovered a passion for working with others who struggle as well. She began at MBH in 2015 as an intern before moving into a family therapist role. She then became the primary therapist before assuming responsibility for the internship program as clinical supervisor. In 2021 she became assistant clinical director of The Meadows before being named clinical director in February 2022.

Much of her focus in this current role is on ensuring The Meadows’ clinical staff are equipped with what they need and practicing good self-care, because Mylius knows that when her team feels supported, they are better able to do the amazing work they do with the patients. She’s also responsible for creating programming for the patients, training new team members, supervising the staff, assigning patients to their primary groups, researching training for staff, and supporting other team members any way she can.

When asked to name a favorite part of her job, Mylius doesn’t hesitate. “Honestly, it’s the people. Everyday I get to work with some of the most passionate, kind, loving, and hardworking people. They constantly amaze me with the work they are doing with the patients and their dedication to growing themselves as well! I mean, how often can people say they work at a place surrounded by miracles? Yes, it is difficult work but it is worth every minute of it.”

Cresta Conlee was named director of nursing in 2022, after a four-and-a-half-year tenure as the assistant director of nursing, and eight years as a nurse on the floor, providing direct care to patients at The Meadows. While offering a helping hand whenever needed to other programs within Meadows Behavioral Healthcare, she has worked the entirety of her mental health nursing career at The Meadows, MBH’s flagship campus. Conlee began her nursing career in large tertiary hospitals, first as a neuro ICU nurse, and then as a labor and delivery nurse. While grateful for the experience and ability to hone her nursing skills in those specialized fields, she always knew that mental health and addiction nursing was her true path.

While currently working toward her master’s degree, with an emphasis in nursing leadership at Grand Canyon University, Conlee is a member of Sigma Theta Tau, the international honor society for nursing, as well as the National Association of Collegiate Scholars. She also holds a seat on the Grand Canyon University President’s List for outstanding academic achievement. Dual-certified in addiction and psychiatric and mental health nursing, Conlee is passionate about the population served at The Meadows. She believes that the opportunity to impact even one patient’s life for the better as a registered nurse is a blessing, but the opportunity to impact exponentially more patients lives for the better, through leading a team of skilled and passionate professionals, is her calling.

In her free time, Conlee is a wife and mother of two amazing girls and is active in her faith community. She enjoys making things with her hands, reading, and family game nights with her loyal German Shepard, Freyja, at her feet.

Dr. Robert Darden serves as staff psychologist at The Meadows. Originally on staff at The Meadows from 2008 to 2011, he has worked as a psychologist, a therapist, and in management within the mental health field since 1993. Dr. Darden started his career as a mental health worker at a hospital in Flagstaff, Arizona, while working on his master’s in psychology at Northern Arizona University. After completing that in 1994, Dr. Darden entered the PhD program in counseling psychology at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan. He completed his pre-doctoral internship at Lake Forest College in Lake Forest, Illinois, then received his PhD in 2002.

Deirdre Stewart is the Vice President of Trauma Resolution Services for Meadows Behavioral Healthcare. She holds a BA in communication from Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, and a Master of Science in counseling from The University of New England in New South Wales. Stewart trained at South Pacific Private in Sydney, Australia, Silver Hill Hospital in New Canaan, Connecticut, and Family Behavioral Health in Boca Raton, Florida. Before relocating back to the US in 2008, Stewart worked in private practice at Hong Kong Psychological Services. She is a licensed professional in the State of Arizona, board-certified in neurofeedback, trained in both traditional and somatic attachment-focused EMDR, and Somatic Experiencing. Stewart also co-facilitates Pia Mellody’s Post Induction Therapy training and Inner Child/Feeling Reduction intensives.

Dr. Jon Caldwell is a board-certified psychiatrist and clinical research investigator who specializes in the treatment of adults who are healing from relational trauma and addictive behaviors. He is currently the Chief Medical Officer of Meadows Behavioral Health and The Meadows. His theoretical perspectives are heavily influenced by his PhD training at the University of California at Davis, where he began researching how early childhood maltreatment and insecure attachment relationships affect cognitive, emotional, and social functioning. His clinical approach has become increasingly flavored by the timeless teachings of the contemplative traditions and by the daily practice of mindfulness. Dr. Caldwell has published a number of articles on child maltreatment, attachment theory, emotion regulation, and mindfulness. He is also a noted international speaker and trainer on these and other topics.

Dr. Michael Denicole has practiced primary care addiction medicine since 2007 and currently serves as the Medical Director of Addiction Medicine for The Meadows. After receiving a medical degree in 1984 from the University of Health Sciences/College of Osteopathic Medicine in Kansas City, Missouri, Dr. Denicole served a medical internship at Phoenix General Hospital. He is currently board certified in both family practice and addiction medicine.

Arizona native Joell Menefee studied at Grand Canyon University, earning a BS in counseling with an emphasis in addiction, chemical dependency, and substance abuse followed by a master’s in professional counseling. Her experience in the mental health field includes mentoring teens and young adults, interning at Changing Lives Center, holding student leadership roles in college, and doing nonprofit work and volunteering with homeless and youth populations.

Joining the MBH family in May 2016, Menefee has worked on several of our campuses in a variety of different roles ranging from family therapist and survivors therapist to clinical support therapist, IOP primary therapist, before becoming clinical supervisor at The Meadows flagship program. In early 2022, Menefee was promoted to assistant clinical director. In her current role she supervises staff, provides crisis management, does some patient psychoeducation, and handles administrative and other tasks. Being a part of developing therapists and empowering them to embrace their clinical skills is a particular passion.

Kristen Burnsmith graduated from Ottawa University in 2014 with a Master of Arts in professional counseling with a focus on trauma, abuse, and deprivation. Her experience in the mental health field focuses on trauma-specific modalities derived from cutting-edge therapy models and evidence-based models that include Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Post-Induction Therapy (PIT), Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART), Internal Family Systems (IFS), Somatic Experiencing (SE) therapy for trauma and nervous system regulation, the Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) developed by Dr. Stephen Porges, as well as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT).

Burnsmith joined The Meadows in 2013 and has filled a variety of different roles ranging from an evening weekend crisis therapist, primary therapist, art therapist, and a trauma therapist before becoming the clinical supervisor for the trauma department. In 2022, she was promoted to assistant clinical director of trauma resolution services. In her current role, Burnsmith supervises staff, provides specialized trauma services for clients, and handles administrative and other tasks. She also has a passion for working with the LGBTQIA+ community and those struggling with gender identity issues.