YANA (you are never alone) is a women's recovery program offering a safe, nurturing, supportive, structured living environment for women recovering from the disease of alcoholism, addictions, and other co-occurring disorders.
The concept and dream began in 1983 and came to fruition in 1996 with our first resident. After 15 years of serving the recovering community in Nashville and beyond, we are excited to highlight our program, which includes some additions and changes.
Yana was founded based on the commitment of a group of women who were passionate, committed, and had a love for women in recovery. They were concerned for and believed women deserved choices upon leaving treatment, when going home was not yet what they were ready for. Our environment was established with all of this in mind. The selection of homes was based on safety, environment, and resources. Each home accommodates four to six women which allows for interaction and privacy at the same time. We always have a project going since we are forever changing and evolving.
The core foundation of respect, compassion, love, clinical integrity, and a full immersion into the 12-step process is still at the heart of our approach today. The compassion that previous women of YANA feel for what they received causes them to continue to return years after their stay to give back to the newcomers.
We constantly strive to evolve and improve the quality of our services by adding necessary, therapeutic tools and specialties to meet the needs of our gender-specific environment. We could not do what we do without the trust and collaboration provided from the great resources in our community. Thank you for your continued support and we welcome and value your feedback.
Susan O. Binns, LADAC, NCAC11, NCRS
Founder and President
Susan O. Binns has worked in the field of substance abuse and other addictions for over 30 years. She is a Certified Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselor, National Certified Alcohol Counselor and a National Certified Recovery Specialist. During the past 30 years Susan has worked in the treatment field as a therapist, manager, advocate, prevention specialist and served in many leadership positions with various Nashville based programs. Susan is the President of the Music City Recovery Resources Foundation, Inc. and in that capacity spearheaded the development and implementation of extended care facilities for recovering women. In her role as the Founder and President of YANA she has been able to combine her passion, purpose, and experience to help hundreds of women recover and live productive lives in their communities.
Randal M. Lea, MA, LADAC
Executive Director
Randal is a licensed addictions counselor with twenty-five years of clinical and management experience. He has extensive experience with both Evidence Based Practices and with Dreamwork as approaches to client centered recovery. Randal received master’s degrees in Counseling from Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, TN. and in Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute in Carpinteria, CA. He has supported YANA as an adjunct therapist for the previous six years. Randal has recently joined the YANA team as Executive Director. His recent experience includes being Executive Director of a 70-bed treatment center and also spending eight years as Assistant Commissioner with the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services. Randal started his career in the recovery field working at Cumberland Heights. In 2008, the Praed Foundation recognized him for his work implementing the Child and Adolescents Strengths and Needs (CANS) assessment statewide. He also received the “Friend of Children Lifetime Achievement Award” in 2010 from Tennessee Voices for Children.
To learn more about Dreamwork and how it applies to Addiction and Recovery, please go here.
Daniel Sumrok MD, FAAFP DABAM / ASAM
Dr. Daniel Sumrok, a board certified addictionologist who has practiced for the past 22 years in Tennessee and has worked in addiction medicine in both outpatient and inpatient settings for the past seven years. Dr. Sumrok has been a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians since 1995, was one of 106 physicians in North America who received the first board certification by the American Board of Addiction Medicine, and is certified by the American Society of Addiction Medicine.
Daniel Sumrok is a double board certified physician and assistant professor of Family Medicine at the University of Tennessee Medical School, Dept. of family medicine at Memphis Tennessee. Dr. Sumrok graduated from Marshall University School of Medicine in 1984, having published research on combat related PTSD before graduating. He received his undergraduate degree from West Virginia University in 1980. Prior to that, he attended America’s first-degree granting PA program at Alderson Broadus College in WV. Dr. Sumrok has served in both the Navy and Army as an enlisted man and an officer. He served on the crew of the nuclear submarine USS Abraham Lincoln, qualified for SEAL training and in the Army, was an Airborne Special Forces soldier with the 19th Special Forces HHD Group.
Dr. Sumrok has held numerous faculty appointments at UT, Vanderbilt, Marshall, Meharry, and East Tennessee State/Dishner Med Schools and at Bethel University. He has maintained a private practice in Mckenzie, TN, for 25 years in Family Medicine and Addiction Medicine. He founded Spirit Lake Recovery in 2007 where he was President of the board and Medical Director. Recently, he served as Medical Director at The Ranch in Nunnelly, TN, from 2011 to 2014.
Dr. Sumrok and wife, Marquita, with their three girls make their home in McKenzie, TN, on a 150-acre farm where they raise horses, chickens, ducks and goats.
Vaile Wallace-Strauss
Admissions/Marketing and Clinical Support
Vaile attended Middle Tennessee State University and graduated with a Bachelors of Science Degree. She has experience in a variety of treatment settings including residential treatment, transitional living, group facilitation, and case management. Vaile has been assisting the clinical team at YANA in her role for over a year. Some of her duties include helping with client step work, scheduling, group facilitation, and day-to-day needs of clients. Vaile is dedicated to YANA and the women of the YANA program. She is inspired by her understanding of the change and possibilities in recovery from being an alumnus herself. Vaile credits YANA and its staff for the necessary structure and support that was crucial in her recovery journey. She is very excited to have recently taken on a role of marketing and admissions coordinator. Vaile is also working on gaining LADAC training as well as fulfilling a role in continuing to help women on their road of recovery. Her specializations include 12-step recovery, treatment of sex and love addiction, and using her experience to help empower others in their journey.
THERAPISTS
Karen Moran, LADAC
Karen Moran, LADAC, has been working in the field of addiction since 1989. Her career has included specialized work with adolescents and women with substance use disorders. Karen has also helped individuals of all ages who struggle with codependency and other ACA issues. In May of 2010, she started a counseling and consulting practice, providing clinical services, as well as professional clinical supervision. It was at this time that she joined the clinical team of YANA. Karen has been an integral part of creating and sustaining a safe, healing environment at YANA where women can recover.
Kate Martin M.Ed., NCC, CAPOC
Kate Martin earned her Masters of Education in Human Development Counseling from Vanderbilt University in 2007. She began her counseling career as the primary girls therapist for a Level 3 residential school for kids in state custody. In 2008 she transitioned into the role of primary therapist for the Eating Disorders program at the Ranch, a residential treatment center. In her almost four years at the Ranch, Kate discovered and nurtured her passion for helping girls and women achieve their full potential. In 2012, Kate accepted a position at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in the Child and Adolescent Outpatient Psychiatric Clinic, where she currently works with children and families struggling with mood disorders, psych disorders, and trauma. Each week Kate looks forward to the time when she gets to work with the women at YANA, and deeply enjoys getting to keep one foot firmly planted in the recovery world.
Leslie Binch, MA
Leslie graduated in 2010 with a Masters in Counseling. With 25 years of personal recovery from eating disorder, drug and alcohol abuse, and trauma, Leslie has a deep understanding of the issues her clients face. A no-holds-barred, say-it-like-it-is therapist, Leslie is direct but extremely loving and supportive. As her colleagues say, she meets clients where they’re at and then pushes them to the next level.
Leslie also relies heavily on dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) and a mindfulness approach to develop resources for clients to use to so they abstain from unhealthy behaviors. Extensively trained in Level I and II Brain spotting, Leslie draws on a number of experiential therapies in her work, including psychodrama to address trauma and co-occurring disorders. Helping to create a connection to a client’s authentic self strengthens a client’s ability to abstain from behaviors and relapse.
Leslie is a firm believer in the 12 Steps. She explains, “People are reluctant to give up drug use, eating disorder or other behaviors because there’s a payoff: The behavior works to provide relief. ” A daily 12-Step program helps clients feel grounded and connected to a spiritual source,” Leslie says. “With the Steps as a point of reference, the other work they do becomes even more powerful which helps them to hold onto the gains they achieve."
Patrick Dunn MS ICADC
EAGALA Certified Therapist
Patrick holds a Masters Degree in counseling Psychology and is in the dissertation phase of a PhD in Psychology. He has researched, studied and practiced Equine Assisted Psychotherapy for multiple years. He has worked with both adolescents and adults in the field of substance abuse and trauma recovery. He has trained and practiced a variety of modes of experiential therapy and believes in the benefit of horses in the healing process. He is a horse owner and enjoys all aspects of the horse world. Patrick has also spent over 10 years working with adults and adolescents in a therapeutic environment and carries a number of certifications including: Seven Challenges, Recovery Dynamics, and EAGALA, among others.
Nancy Smith, LADAC
Nancy has worked in the Addictions field since 1991. She has worked in various positions over the years including medic/detox tech, primary counselor, case manager and program director. Nancy has been a LADAC since 2003. She has been employed as a primary counselor at Cumberland Heights since 2009 and currently works in the Traditional Adult Women’s program.
Andrew Krichels
Andrew danced in New York for twenty years with a dozen different companies. He toured extensively around the world and appeared at many renowned festivals. While based on New York he also taught at the Lincoln Center Institute, the 92nd Street YMCA, NYU, conducted master classes and residences at many other universities and facilitated hundreds of workshops on the artistic process. He trained at the Boston Conservatory, SUNY Purchase along with many other studies. Andrew began his Pilates work in 1970 with Romana Kryzzanowska, spent fifteen years with Robert Fitzgerald, and was certified through a multi-year program with Ray Kurshals in Santa Fe. Mr. Krichels moved to Nashville to co-direct the Tennessee Dance Theatre with Donna Rizzo, to teach for the Nashville Institute for the Arts, and serve as the founding artistic director of the Leonard Bernstein Center. Andrew has created and led workshops, trained trainers and collected research in collaboration with Howard Gardiner’s project Zero. Andrew is a founding board member of the Estuary & School of Healing Arts, Artsynergy, and the East Nashville Center for the Arts. His work has been seen in Good Morning America (Erica), World News with Peter Jennings, CNN, PBS, CMT, and Bravo. He currently conducts workshops and individuals at YANA, Spirit Recovery Ranch, The Estuary, Voyage JourneyPure, and Onsite Workshops. Andrew is also the director of Creative Action, a Healing Arts Center in Nashville offering workshops, Essential Pilates, Bowen therapy and many other modalities that support living and learning on a centered, balanced healthy body, mind and spirit.
CLINICAL AND RESIDENTIAL SUPPORT
Alice Cardozo
Alice has been assisting the clinical team at YANA for over a year. Some of her duties including scheduling and facilitating a weekly art group. Alice is inspired with the way creativity can help aid in the recovery process and is dedicated in helping women access their creative side. She has both residential and extended care experience that helps other women relate on a day -to -day basis.
Alice is in long- term recovery and is passionate about helping women find their voice on their journey. She uses her experience to empower others in their recovery and we are grateful she is on the YANA team.
Rebekah Batyah Freedman
Rebekah Batyah Freedman has been part of the YANA team as a Pilate’s teacher for almost 2 years. In the past year she has added the duties of nutritional and exercise education as a form of self-care for the YANA clients. She believes in helping YANA clients and women in recovery find holistic solutions to life issues.
Rebekah Batyah uses her background in dance, Pilates, and Feldenkrais technique to help clients get back in touch with their bodies, so that the mind, body and spirit can once again become connected.
Alison Wayne
Alison Wayne received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Salisbury University. She most recently worked at the Recovery Ranch in the eating disorders program for a year-- extensively training with eating disordered clients. Alison is knowledgeable in DBT, de-escalation, boundaries, codependency, and other modalities focused on attachment theory.
She attended YANA for 16 months where she built a solid foundation for her own recovery. At YANA she found the safe, supportive environment that empowered her to face her fears and make healthy decisions. Alison is in long- term recovery and currently working towards LADC 2. In addition to all of that she is most proud of being a super awesome partner, kick ass mother, and an honest friend.
Chandelle Binns Dunn
Marketing Coordinator
Chandelle Binns has been an integral part of YANA and introducing women to recovery for the majority of the last decade. She has embraced the benefits and possibilities of recovery through her own experiences and those of her family. Her most recent experience was working at The Ranch in management for the women’s CRSR program. Currently she is the marketing coordinator at YANA where she embodies her passion by communicating the true value of long term treatment for women. Chandelle has worked in the treatment field for the last 8 years in a variety of roles including supervisor, counselor, marketer, group facilitator, and yoga instructor. She believes in the connection between mind, body, and spirit in the overall health of clients. Chandelle traveled the world for multiple years and became a certified yoga instructor while studying at an ashram in India in 2007. Chandelle specializes in working with women with trauma recovery, sexually reactive behaviors, and brings her passion for life, peace, and love to everything she does.
Business Associate
Lee Tucker, MD
Medical
Baptist Medical Center
Maintenance
Chris Parker Construction
Tech Support
Chris Morrison
Holistic Healing Instructors
Chandelle Binns, RYT
We constantly strive to evolve and improve the quality of our services by adding necessary, therapeutic tools and specialties to meet the needs of our gender-specific environment. We could not do what we do without the trust and collaboration provided from the great resources in our community.