Resurgence Behavioral Health

Steve Fennelly is the founder and CEO of Resurgence California and holds a place in his heart for those in recovery. He has served the recovery community since 2009 when he founded Solid Landings Behavioral Health and realized his long held dream of creating a culture of recovery and “Gold Standard” quality service to those his program served and employed. Through his experience in recovery, Steve has developed a sense of what it takes to change lives and carry the message that recovery and an enhanced overall quality of life are possible. Steve earned his Bachelor’s of Science degree in Accounting and Finance from Albertus Magnus, located in New Haven, CT, in 2001 and from there, he went on to found his first company Fennelly construction where he demonstrated his ability to create a quality product and grow a business from small beginnings to countless successes. Through his non-stop efforts, Steve grew Solid Landings Behavioral Health by over 200% in just three years and earned the prestige of the having the number one place to work in a private company in 2015. Solid Landings also received the “Gold Standard of Excellence” through its Joint Commission Accreditation in both Las Vegas and Austin locations and has received a three year accreditation from CARF in Costa Mesa. Recognition by both organizations affirmed the companies’ national recognition and commitment to excellence. Following his successes in business and program development, Steve continued to expand his experience and his desire to help others by being appointed to the Board of Directors of the REACH Foundation of Orange County which provided resources to those who struggled with addiction based on need. This was the first non-profit Steve was involved with. In addition to the above accolades, Steve was named one of the 100 most influential people by the Orange County Register for his work in addiction treatment in 2015. Resurgence California is proud to have Steve at the helm of their ship guiding them through any kind of weather.

Kristen is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and comes to us from a clinical and administrative behavioral health background. Educational achievements include both her masters and doctorate in psychology from Argosy University. Her training includes: substance abuse recovery, trauma focused therapies, as well as family, individual, couples and group therapy. Kristen is also able to serve as a clinical supervisor to registered interns. Her work with multiple populations and clinical presentations has led her to gain a wide breadth of experience and an ability to work with many different types of clients. Kristen has the ability to develop rapport with all those she works with due to her: patience, warmth, and overall compassion which has led to success with even the most difficult of cases and situations. Additional achievements include developing a recovery program for Solid Landing’s Long Beach branch (Hope’s Landing),which required building a recovery program from the ground up. She was also tasked with creating a clinical and operations team while developing a program that met both clinical, regulatory, and client needs. Within 6 months, the program grew from 12 to 22 beds and treated levels of care from RTC to IOP. Her team development and family team approach helped create a success story for the clients and staff alike. Kristen’s main focus is overall client health, meeting the needs of all program participants including staff, and creating a clinically sound environment.

Dr. Christian Small is a board certified psychiatrist and family medicine physician. Dr. Small’s treatment philosophy is founded upon the idea that empathy, self-empowerment, and the re-establishment of trusting relationships are key to recovery. Dr. Small utilizes the latest in evidenced-based medical treatment to treat addiction. He is also skilled in treatment of dual diagnosis clients, outpatient detox, and other psychiatric disorders. He is a graduate of the University of Hawaii John A Burns School of Medicine and completed a combined residency in Psychiatry and Family Medicine residency at UCSD.

Tiffany Nicolau, CADCII – As the Program Director, Tiffany Nicolau brings extensive knowledge of quality care standards established by the Joint Commission and DHCS, experience in addictions treatment and successful program management to the team. With over 9 years of experience in addictions treatment, Tiffany has held many roles within the industry ranging from a Case Manager to a Program Director to a Corporate Compliance Officer. Tiffany focuses on strong relationship based leadership, bringing empathy, compassion and insight, so as to provide a culture within the facility that promotes healthy boundaries and allows those trying to recover, the ability to immerse themselves in their treatment and have fun while they are in treatment. Working with the Leadership Team of Resurgence California Tiffany continues to create a culture that promotes the health and wellbeing of all that seek help.