Clinical and Medical Treatment Staff

Courtney’s vision for this treatment center was created when she recognized that there was a need for addiction treatment that truly acknowledges the humanity within each client. A place where clients have space to find out who they really are and which problems in their lives they have been ‘solving’ with their current addiction and/or mental health presentations. Having graduated with an undergraduate degree in psychology and a Master’s degree in social work from the University of Southern California, she added a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology to her educational background, focusing solely on the interventions and outcomes utilized at Good Heart Recovery. With her past experience of directing a luxury alcohol and drug treatment center and working in several non-profit agencies, including the recovery residence she owns and operates, she is dedicated to healing others using her entrepreneurial and clinical abilities. She sought out Good Heart’s staff based on individuals whose luxuries were of internal substance, something she realized is what fuels the true positive outcomes of clients in treatment. She is happily married, cares deeply for her only son, and is honored and truly blessed to watch her own personal life, the lives of those she loves, and the lives of her clients excel beyond all expectations based on the programming and history of Good Heart’s mission and philosophy.

Lacee has been working in the field of mental health and addiction for more than 10 years. Lacee attended California State University, Northridge for both her undergraduate study in psychology and MFT graduate program. She’s has been working as a Marriage and Family Therapist doing direct one-on-one work as a therapist for the last seven years. Lacee is passionate about working with clients through a transpersonal lense, using spirituality to explore and understand human conditions that can often contribute to substance abuse issues. It is an intention of Lacee’s to model authenticity for her clients, allowing them to witness the freedom that is available in being comfortable with who you truly are. She feels honored to be a part of Good Heart, a place of healing through the great gift of compassion. Her passion lies in her connections with others in, both in her work and personal life. She is also deeply in love with nature, meditation, her family and friends, and anything that helps others find what makes their heart sing.

Jaymee Carpenter’s true name should be ‘Walking Compassion’. We would be so bold to suggest with great conviction that no one in the field of mental health and addiction has walked towards so many people struggling with pain with the measure of loving kindness and gentleness that our Co-Founder and Spiritual Director Jaymee displays each day. His ability to consistently express himself with the deepest level of authenticity gives great permission for the people he is helping to do the same. Jaymee has a reverence for life that translates effortlessly into helping others discover what gives their own life meaning and purpose. He does not see things as “right” or “wrong”, but rather seeks to define what in our lives is “creative” vs. “destructive”. Jaymee credits the last 15 years of dedicating his life to his meditation practice as the true agent behind what has allowed him to have a deeply trusting relationship between himself and his own mind. This Trust allows Jaymee to not let any chances of helping another human being get away from him. He takes risks with Love, Truth, and Curiosity that we at Good Heart have seen radically change people’s lives. Words truly are difficult to find in expressing our ceaseless gratitude for Jaymee’s work and enduring devotion to Love and Service!

Dr. Marjorie Gies graduated Magna Cum Laude in Psychology from Princeton University. She got her Medical Doctorate from the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University. She completed her residency at UCLA in Psychiatry and was the Academic Chief Resident and later the Chief Resident of the UCLA – NPI Adult Outpatient Eating Disorders Program. Dr. Gies started her Santa Barbara Psychiatry private practice in April of 1993. She got her Ph.D. in psychoanalysis from ICP-LA in 1999 and was later deemed the medical director of Cottage Hospital’s eating disorder program from 1995 – 1997. Prior to working at Good Heart Recovery, she was La Ventana’s Partial Hospitalization and Intensive Outpatient Medical Director for four years. She is now the Medical Director for Good Heart Recovery IOP & PHP. At Good Heart Recovery, Dr. Gies provides all clients with weekly medication management, psychiatric evaluations, and a compassionate, psychoanalytical experience of one-to-one sessions between clients and their psychiatric experience.

Trever has been working in the field of addiction and recovery for five years. He is a certified addiction treatment counselor who graduated from the Addictive Disorders program in Oxnard, CA and is currently working furthering his education in psychology. He started working in the non-profit sector of rehabilitation and then worked for three years at a luxury treatment center in Malibu, CA. Trever has a passion for helping individuals break their own cycles of addiction, while finding new freedom and sense of purpose. Trever truly believes that each individual is unique in their process of recovery and meets each client where they’re at, and models a client-centered treatment approach. Trever’s goal is to empower each person with the tools and skills needed to live a life free from addiction, while finding their new purpose in life. He feels very blessed to be a part of the Good Heart Team and looks forward to continuing to grow with the organization.

Jessica has worked in the addiction treatment field for four years. Harnessing her life experience, education, and time in various roles in the field, she is able to advocate for her clients with passion and authenticity. Jessica is currently enrolled at Santa Barbara City College to finish her internship to be a certified drug and alcohol counselor and was recently accepted to Arizona State University’s online program to pursue her bachelor’s degree. She works tirelessly to ensure her clients come first. Jessica is a mother to two young boys and looks forward to integrating more into service in the Santa Barbara community.

Natalie has a reverence for bearing witness to those who are telling their story with the hopes of healing. Due to this, she was drawn to the Good Heart Recovery philosophy when she discovered it in the Summer of 2017. She believes that the compassionate and non-judgmental environment provided by Good Heart can foster the ability for people to develop self-acceptance and find out who they truly are. After receiving her undergraduate degree in Liberal Arts with a concentration in Applied Psychology, she completed her Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology at Antioch University Santa Barbara. She strongly believes that we are all connected, and that pain can be used as an opportunity for growth. Over the last year, she has been working towards her MFT and LPCC licensures at the Community Counseling and Education Center and on Cottage Hospital’s psychiatric and addiction unit. Her motivation and determination drive her passion for working with LGTBQ+ populations and people struggling with their mental health and substance abuse. She is honored and grateful to be a part of the Good Heart team, where she feels she can continue to meet clients where they are at. In addition to her therapeutic and case management work, she is passionate about spirituality, writing, meditation, exercise, and nature as tools for her personal growth. She is happily engaged and enjoys spending time outdoors and working on her own personal growth.

Mike has lived many lives. He’s been a singer and a songwriter, a baseball player and an engineer and an Art Director and, one day hopefully, a blacksmith. Mike’s most recent life started when he found himself in the care of many of the Good Heart clinical team some years ago at a different recovery home. They helped him find a new life and set him on the path of becoming a therapist. Mike will graduate with an MA MFT from Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena in Spring 2019. Mike has been drawn to helping his clients find meaning through an existential lens but also believes whole-heartedly in directly treating trauma and behavior as a means to freedom. He is a fully trained EMDR therapist. Before coming to Good Heart, in addition to practicing EMDR, Mike was responsible for the Family and Couples therapy at Refuge Recovery Center. It is family therapy that he’ll be primarily focused on at Good Heart. Mike loves his family, friends, and dogs. He also loves making things and having baseball break his heart.