Clinical Team
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Kay Vossler, M.Ed., M.A., LPC, LCDC
Program Director Kay Vossler has been involved in the chemical dependency field since 1987. Kay held the position as counselor and a member of the clinical team for four years at the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, California. She has worked as a therapist in private practice and in the field of psychiatry. She is a former educator, has owned her own business, and developed community based resources for human service organizations.
She is an active member of the Al-Anon family groups since 1985 as a result of various loved ones who have been affected by the disease of chemical dependency.
She believes in a holistic approach to treat the disease involving mind, body, and spirit. Kay is a proponent of the theory that compassion for the self and others is the greatest gift we as individuals have to offer along with a balance of personal boundaries. Everyone in the chemical dependency family has a role and unknowingly plays their part in the family disease.
Healing of the family disease of chemical dependency involves letting go of our false self, judgment, guilt, shame, and self-righteousness. In discovering our true self, our spiritual aspect, which lies underneath the disease, we are transformed.
Kay has a grown son who lives in Austin.
Bachelor of Science from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas Master of Education from Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas Master of Arts from Pacifica Graduate Institute in Carpinteria, California
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Shirley Haywood, M.Ed., LCDC
Program Manager -
Shirley Haywood entered the social service profession in 1972 as a counselor for teenage pregnancy with Austin Independent School District and Child Family Services. Her work in addictions started in 1975 with Austin Travis County MHMR. Her role as a case manager offered diverse experience. She worked with the chemically dependent person as well as with their family and support system as she held the position of clinical supervisor over the detox, residential, and outpatient services.
Shirley's background includes working with two psychiatric facilities offering services to chemically dependent persons and their families in the Austin area. She trained at Hazelden in Minnesota, a leading institute to receive further training in family counseling.
Shirley's personal philosophy aligns with the 12 step program and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
Texas Star Recovery began with a vision that the total person would be treated by a well seasoned multi-disciplinary treatment team of social workers, licensed addiction counselors, and nurses under the direction of Dr. William "Bill" Loving, a board certified Psychiatrist and Addictionologist.
Bachelor of Arts from Huston-Tillotson University in Austin, Texas Master of Education from Prairie View A & M University of Texas in Prairie View, Texas
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Juliet Weldin, RN
Nurse Manager Juliet has worked as a nurse in various capacities for the last 29 years. In her career, she has worked in three countries in jobs as diverse as nurse for the Philippine Racing Club, Neurological nurse in Amman, Jordan, and nurse manager in three companies in Austin, Texas.
Juliet's nursing career has included work as a clinical nurse, neurological ICU nurse, renal transplant nurse and medical surgical ICU nurse. Currently, she is the manager of the Texas Star Recovery Chemical Dependency Unit, the Neurorehab Unit and Tejas Assisted Living Unit at Texas NeuroRehab Center in Austin, Texas.
Juliet has lived in Austin Texas for the last 16 years with her husband and various cats. Juliet enjoys walking, movies, cooking and riding motorcycles with her husband. Juliet was born and raised in Santa Cruz, Zambales, Republic of the Philippines.
Juliet attributes her success in nursing to her philosophy of treating each patient and family, as she would like to be treated if she were a patient.
Graduated from Saint Anne's School of Nursing in Makati, Philippines
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David Kapelle, LCSW
Clinical Social Worker David Kapelle has been a Social Worker since 1993. David has worked extensively in the psychiatric field and with Hospice patients. David's 18 years of personal recovery brings a depth of understanding and compassion to his work. It is because of his experiences in recovery that he entered the field of Social Work and feels very comfortable with the work. He feels such dedication to his work.
David Kapelle has two primary theoretical orientations. The first is Family Systems. He believes that people must be viewed within the context of their environment. If the family and/or social network of an individual are not supportive of recovery efforts, those efforts will frequently fail. Addiction affects everyone within the family system. At Texas Star Recovery, we provide family education and brief family therapy so that the entire system can become healthy again.
David Kapelle's second orientation is Cognitive-Behavioral. In order to stay sober, a shift in the way an individual views the world and him/herself is necessary. At Texas Star, we show individuals how to incorporate cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques into their daily lives. We also use a 12 step approach to recovery which taps into a persons' spirituality as a means of changing their view about the world and self.
Bachelor of Science from Texas Christian University in Forth Worth, Texas
Master of Science in Social Work from University of Texas at Arlington in Arlington, Tx
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Roland Gonzales, LCDC
Chemical Dependency Counselor Roland Gonzales has been working in the Social Services & Mental Health field since 1978. Initially, he began working with Hidalgo County MHMR in a stroke rehabilitation program. Later, he became a social worker with the Meals on Wheels in Austin helping homebound elderly.
In 1982, Roland began his now 25 year tenure at Texas NeuroRehab Center (TNC). Over his time at TNC, he earned a background in Cognitive Rehabilitation and EEG Biofeedback (Neurotherapy), and cultivated a strong desire to help individuals with addictive disorders.
At TNC, Roland began to see a pattern in individuals with head injuries, often they also battled Addictive Disorders. As a result in 1992, Roland became a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor (LCDC) in order to follow his interests with TNC's BI/AD (Brain Injury/Addictive Disorders) Program. With this focus, he worked with both adolescents and adults with alcohol/drug abuse histories.
Roland also became ROPES Certified in order to address one of the physical aspects of recovery. He is very excited to be able to add this component to Texas Star Recovery's Program on a newly designed ROPES Course (Reality-Oriented Physical Experiential Services).
Roland has also been an integral part of Texas Star Recovery's Alumni Group, which is the aftercare program in which all graduates are encouraged to participate. It has been rewarding for Roland to see the AA program at work with previous patients in maintaining sobriety and mentoring new patients in the program.
Roland's philosophy is to address individual needs while integrating treatment concepts. It is his belief that having structure enhances sobriety and assists in the transitional stage of treatment to daily life.
Bachelor of Arts from Pan American University in Edinburg, Texas
