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Arche Wellness Staff
Erin McClelland, MS
Executive Director
Erin McClelland has over 13 years of experience in the addiction field as a counselor, program director, researcher and process improvement specialist. She started her career researching addiction at the University of Pittsburgh Alcohol and Smoking Research Laboratory under Dr. Michael Sayette. Her research continued at St. Francis Medical Center examining substance abuse wrap around services available to opiate dependent patients at local methadone clinics. Her clinical work includes treating addiction in methadone maintenance programs, outpatient drug-free programs, specialized services for women, children and families and prevention program development and implementation.
In 2002, Mrs. McClelland began a private practice called Arche, in which she developed a community based prevention program designed to reach parents and educators through school and community seminars and home sessions. She also began developing a more comprehensive treatment approach that included diet and exercise as a critical component of addiction recovery. As a certified personal trainer and certified lifestyle and weight management consultant, she believes diet and exercise are paramount to attaining a true, maintainable recovery.
Erin was hired as the Practice Improvement Collaborative Manager at the Institute of Research Education and Training in Addiction (IRETA) in 2003. In her time at IRETA, she was trained by the Pittsburgh Regional Healthcare Initiative (PRHI) to implement the Toyota Production System in healthcare settings in order to reduce waste and errors and improve performance. This training consisted of the case method training approach of Harvard Business School (HBS) and TPS case studies created by HBS professor Steven Spear, who wrote the first article interpreting TPS for implementation in the U.S.
Erin returned to her private practice in early 2006 to create an outpatient treatment program that treats addiction like a chronic disease as opposed to the acute, episodic treatment model that currently existis in Pennsylvania. Inspired by treatment programs throughout the midwest and Western United States, Russia, Israel and Canada and the work of Linus Pauling, Abram Hoffer, Joan Matthews Larson, Chris Prentiss and Yakov Marshak, she began the process to create Arche Wellness.
Erin?s experience and unique education in process improvement strategies have helped to make Arche Wellness a state-of-the art learning organization dedicated to achieving perfect patient care and providing an ongoing, long-term treatment model for addiction treatment.
Geraldine L. DeSena, MEd, LPC, CAC Diplomate
Lead Therapist
Geraldine L. DeSena is very pleased to be a part of the Arche Wellness team that provides a unique approach to the treatment of alcoholism and drug addiction. Ms. DeSena began working in the field of social services in 1971 after earning her Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Welfare from Pennsylvania State University. She worked at the Department of Public Assistance and was assigned to the Social Services Unit. During that period she was given the drug and alcohol caseload for case management. This prompted her to enroll in the Masters of Education course at the University of Pittsburgh where she received her masters degree in counseling in 1980. In 1983 she began working as a counselor for the Columbiana County Area Council on Alcoholism, later known as the Family Recovery Center. She became a Certified Addictions Counselor (CAC) in 1986 and functioned as the Clinical Supervisor at the Family Recovery Center until 1990. In 1990 she began working at Drug and Alcohol Services of Beaver Valley, Inc. where her initial task was to design, implement, and supervise the Partial Hospitalization Program. She was then promoted to the Program Coordinator position and supervised the Intensive Outpatient Program (a change from the Partial Hospitalization Program), and the Bridge to Recovery. The Bridge to Recovery is a transitional living facility funded by the Beaver County Children and Youth Services for single parents whose children have been affected by parental substance abuse. Throughout this time, Ms. DeSena was the liason for Beaver County Children and Youth Services and provided direct services in the form of individual therapy to drug and alcohol clients. In 1998 she completed a 90 credit course entitled Psychodynamic Psychotherapy through the Pittsburgh Psychoanalytic Society and in 2002 she was licensed as a professional counselor (LPC) through the Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists, and Professional Counselors.
Brian L. Mallow, BS
Counselor
Brian L. Mallow is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh with a Bachelors of Science in Psychology and Religious Studies. He started his career studying addiction in the University of Pittsburgh alcohol and smoking research laboratory under Dr. Michael Sayette. Prior to his employment with Arche Wellness, Brian was a D&A counselor with The Academy, administering diagnostic evaluations and working with addicted adolescents. Brian was also recently ordained as a Pastor and serves as the spiritual advisor to Arche Wellness patients who choose to incorporate spirituality into their recovery.
Laura Sestric
Personal Trainer & Massage Therapist
Laura obtained an Associates of Science degree in Massage Therapy in May 2005. She is certified as a personal trainer by the American Council on Exercise (ACE) and is currently working toward certification as a lifestyle and weight management consultant through ACE as well. She has undergone extensive training in yoga and since joining our team, has streamlined and customized patient workouts to meet the specific biochemical needs of patients based on their biochemistry and history of addiction. Laura has been a member of our staff since July 2007. Prior to joining Arche Wellness, Laura was a personal trainer at a fitness center in the North Hills area of Pittsburgh and has been a massage therapist for a number of spas and gyms in Western PA.
Sandy Jones, RN
Registered Nurse
Sandy is a registered nurse with over 30 years of hospital nursing experience. Sandy spent most of her career in the intensive care unit of Citizen's General Hospital. She joined Arche Wellness in June of 2006 and was instrumental in development of the program's medical model. She has extensive IV team experience and also serves as the nutritional and dietary consultant to Arche Wellness patients.
Ralph Miranda, MD
Medical Director
Ralph A. Miranda M.D. is a graduate of Saint Vincent College and Penn State's Hershey School of Medicine and has twice been certified by the American Board of Family Practice.
Dr. Miranda has been a member of the American College for Advancement in Medicine (ACAM) since 1981. In 1992 he was elected Fellow of ACAM. He has served on ACAM's board of directors, as program chairman, advisor to the board and as President. He is past chairman and currently on the teaching faculty of the ACAM workshops on EDTA chelation therapy and metal toxicity. He also teaches doctors how to integrate IV therapies into clinical practice. Dr. Miranda has been a diplomat of the American Board of Chelation Therapy and has demonstrated advanced proficiency in chelation treatments. He is past president of the American Preventive Medical Association and served on the Board of Trustees of Capitol University of Integrative Medicine in Washington, DC.
Dr. Miranda is recognized nationally and internationally as a leader in integrative medicine and EDTA Chelation Therapy. He has been an invited speaker throughout the United States and several foreign countries including Brazil, Mexico, Italy and Austria.
(Dr. Miranda does not perform chelation treatment at Arche Wellness. Chelation treatment is not used in the Arche Wellness addiction treatment methodology.)
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