Experts in Professional Wellbeing, Mental Health & Substance Use Disorders at BoardPrep Recovery Center®
DIRECTORS
Derek Robben
MD, FAPA, MRO
Medical Director
Derek Robben MD is double-boarded in General Psychiatry and Addiction Psychiatry. Before coming to BoardPrep as the full-time Medical Director, Dr. Robben served as the Director of the Addiction Psychiatry Residency Program at the University of South Florida. While working at the James A. Haley VA Hospital in Tampa, Florida, in conjunction with his faculty teaching appointment at USF, Dr. Robben trained many psychiatrists in the specialty practice of Addiction Psychiatry, earning him the respect and admiration of his peers for his strong leadership during the heights of the opioid epidemic. Through this work, Dr. Robben became respected as a top specialist in the treatment of addiction and trauma.
Since coming to BoardPrep in 2017, Dr. Robben has been instrumental in the care of each patient. His successful clinical approach has also created significant growth in BoardPrep’s health professionals treatment programs. In that time, hundreds of licensed health practitioners have received the trusted, expert and compassionate care provided by BoardPrep Tampa, without having to leave the State of Florida. The health professionals program has now grown to national recognition, receiving referrals from several other state boards and monitoring programs.
Dr. Robben likes to stay clinically involved with each patient and family that comes BoardPrep’s PHP with housing program, even after the initial evaluation phase. He sees each patient at least weekly or as needed or request and also facilitates many family sessions each month. This level of involvement and dedication is rare among treating psychiatrists at treatment centers and is a testament to the personal connection Dr. Robben attempts to establish with each person and family.
Dr. Robben has been published in peer reviewed journals and has earned the following awards: Faculty Clinical Teaching Award, Outstanding Resident Teacher, Outstanding Student in Consultation/Liaison Psychiatry, Award for Clinical Excellence in Neuropsychiatry Clerkship, Outstanding Radiology Instructor/Preceptor, U.S. Air Force.
Dr. Robben has also been honored by his peers as the “Top Doctor” on Addiction Medicine four years in a row (2016-2019, Tampa Magazine, Physician Voting).
Read my Blogs: What are “Best Practices”? | Medications Used to Treat Addiction and Dual Disorders | Dr. Robben voted Top Addiction Doctor
Close
Derek Robben
MD, FAPA, MRO
Medical Director
Liz Harden
LMHC, CAP
Executive Director
Graduating from the University of Tampa 1989, Liz Harden began dedicating all aspects of her professional career to addictions and dual-disorders treatment. Well known for her development of award-winning specialty programs for women and people with co-occurring psychiatric illnesses, as the first female and clinically licensed Chief Operating Officer of DACCO (2007 – 2014), Liz’s leadership helped propel the Tampa community-based non-profit agency into the modern healthcare era, benefitting the indigent and the working poor. In 2002, Liz began evaluating, treating and monitoring licensed health professionals with substance use disorders and other psychiatric illnesses. Liz’s passion and energy is born from her own family history of alcoholism and recovery. Having walked in the shoes of despair and hopelessness, watching loved ones suffering from the disease, unwilling to seek treatment, Liz became a trusted guide for those in similar circumstances, assisting loved-ones with court-involved involuntary treatment, when necessary.
Read my Blogs: Don’t Let Addiction Destroy Your Family | Recovery: What Does it Look Like? | Understanding Diagnostic Interplay
Close
Liz Harden
LMHC, CAP, CCJAP
Executive Director
John Harden
LCSW, ICADC, MPH
Clinical Director
A distinguished expert in trauma-informed care and addiction treatment, John has over thirty years of experience. As the Clinical Director of BoardPrep Recovery Center®, he leads the team in providing compassionate evaluation and treatment services exclusively to health professionals. John’s journey into the field is rooted in his lived experience—at 18, during a time of significant crisis, he went through a treatment program. The profound change he experienced laid the foundation for a purposeful and fulfilling life. In October 2023, John celebrated 40 years of sobriety with his fellowship. His commitment to the principles of empathy, compassion, and service continues to guide his work. In addition to his clinical leadership, John is a dedicated mentor, having guided more than 25 clinicians into successful and meaningful careers. A lifelong learner, he is a third year doctoral student at Barry University in Miami, focusing on the critical role of trauma-informed care in repairing social neurons damaged by trauma.
Read my Blogs: In Rehab at 18 | 5 Things to Ask When Looking for a Rehab | Countering Stigma: No Shame, No Blame | The Myth of Hitting Bottom | Dual Diagnosis | 12 Steps: Why good addiction centers connect clients to AA or NA | How Addiction Hijacks the Brain | What to Say to your Addicted Friend
Close
John Harden
LCSW, ICADC, MPH
Clinical Director
Close
William Downie
Associate Director
Close
Julia Deitchman
BS, ICADC, CRRA
Manager of Operations
STAFF
Brian Gadbois MD
Psychiatrist
Dr. Gadbois is board certified in General Psychiatry, as well as Addiction Medicine. He completed his General Psychiatry Residency at the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine. Dr. Gadbois received his Doctor of Medicine degree from Florida State University and Bachelors of Science degree from University of Florida. After residency, Dr. Gadbois pursued additional training in Addiction Medicine, becoming one of a very small number of physicians in the US who are double boarded in Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine. Dr. Gadbois has significant experience in the effective treatment of PTSD, opioid use disorders, health professionals with co occurring psychiatric and substance use disorders and forensic evaluations of individuals in safety-sensitive positions. Dr. Gadbois is a known to be a great communicator who makes a connection with each of his patients.
Close
Brian Gadbois MD
Psychiatrist
__________________________________
Sherri Kincade MS, LMHC
Therapist
__________________________________
Leora Schuh, MS
Therapist
__________________________________
Cory Albano LMHC, CAP
Therapist
__________________________________
Nikki Ferguson
Office Manager