About us & our team

Kirsten MacArthur is the Founder and CEO of Chrysalis Recovery Center LLC (CRC-IDCMP). Since opening the doors in April 2009, she has led the organization with heart and soul, operating on the firm belief that every client matters. Her vision has created a supportive environment where individuals are treated with dignity and respect. Under her leadership the agency has served well over 25,000 clients.

A veteran of the field, Kirsten has been working in substance use and behavioral health services since 1996. She earned her first license in 2004 and has successfully maintained licensure across five different states (AZ, MA, NH, VT, ME) throughout her career. Her specialized qualifications include being a Certified Anger Management Trainer (CAMT) since 2009, and a designated Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) for the Department of Transportation since 2018, authorized to conduct DOT evaluations and counseling.

Kirsten brings a unique blend of clinical expertise and administrative leadership to the center. She has personally completed IDCMP evaluations for about thirteen years, and she developed the organization's policies and procedures, its record systems, its reporting and audit processes, and its in-house training for clinical and support staff. She also oversees billing, insurance credentialing, human resources, and budgeting for the agency.

Kirsten has never been far from the work itself. She also held a contract through Keystone Hall in 2011–2012 as a provider for the Department of Justice's Offender Re-Entry Services Initiative (ORSI), supporting clients leaving prison as they reintegrated into the community. Over the years she carried her own client caseload as a counselor at Chrysalis, running intensive outpatient programming along with individual and group counseling. She also secured a three-year contract through the Easter Seals Deployment Cycle Support program with the NH National Guard, from 2010 to 2013, providing in-home counseling and case management for service members and their entire families — before, during, and after deployment.

Before founding Chrysalis, Kirsten worked as a Case Manager with the Merrimack County Diversion Program — collaborating directly with prosecutors, judges, attorneys, and police to ensure people arrested on drug charges completed their court-ordered care — and as Assistant Director of the grant-funded Project Recovering Lives at Keystone Hall in Nashua. Earlier in her career she developed and directed an adolescent intensive outpatient program in Arizona and worked as a Behavioral Health Technician on a child and adolescent inpatient unit.

Kirsten holds a Master's degree in Business Management from New England College, a Bachelor's degree in Clinical Psychology from Keene State College, and an Associate's degree in Chemical Dependency from Keene State College. She also owns Recovery Residences Northwood LLC, a men's sober living program in Rockingham County — a property that formerly operated as a motel, where the IDCMP overnight weekend class has been held, and which is now growing into sober living.

Sarah Haxhija is a Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor (LADC) with more than a decade of experience in the recovery field. As Clinician-Director of Chrysalis Recovery Center LLC, she provides clinical leadership, supervises staff, delivers training, and steps into leadership in the CEO's absence — always with a strong commitment to ethical, client-centered care.

Sarah conducts IDCMP evaluations in compliance with HEA 500 regulations, assessing each client's needs and determining the appropriate level of care for impaired driving offenses, and she conducts court-ordered LADC evaluations and provides individual substance use counseling. She is also certified in Domestic Violence Moral Reconation Therapy (MRT) and has long facilitated the Impaired Driver Education Program (IDEP). Her extensive background in substance use and behavioral health services is built around working closely with the DUI population.

She collaborates with multidisciplinary teams to build and carry out tailored treatment plans, manages client program compliance with state and federal requirements — including DMV and court requirements for both in-state and out-of-state clients — and oversees scheduling, records, and timely communication with clients and collateral contacts.

Before joining Chrysalis, Sarah spent years at Headrest (formerly the Community Alcohol Information Program) in Boscawen, where she rose from Administrative Assistant to Program Director and Outpatient Counselor — overseeing daily operations, staff scheduling and telehealth services, developing agency plans and goals alongside the Executive Director and Board of Directors, and providing evidence-based counseling including screenings, intakes, treatment plans, and crisis intervention. She also helped develop an Intensive Outpatient Program and completed a practicum at Midstate Health in Plymouth.

Sarah began her education at NHTI, graduating with an Associate's degree in Addiction Counseling and a Certificate in Mindful Communication, then earned her Bachelor's degree in Psychology at Southern New Hampshire University. She is completing her Master's degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at New England College, with an anticipated graduation in December 2026. She is currently completing her internship and practicum for New England College at Chrysalis Recovery Center LLC under the clinical supervision of Shawna Otis, which allows her to see mental health and co-occurring clients under Shawna's supervision.

Shawna Otis is the Clinical Director at Chrysalis Recovery Center LLC, a role she took on in 2025 when she returned to the team. She was first part of Chrysalis from 2019 to 2022, where she provided individual counseling to clients in the Impaired Driver Care Management Program (IDCMP), to adults and adolescents working through substance use, and to children whose parents live with substance use disorder — and conducted LADC, mental health, and anger management evaluations while working toward her advanced licensure.

Shawna is dually licensed in New Hampshire as a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC #2469) and a Master Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor (MLADC #1528), and is also a certified Clinical Yoga Practitioner (CYP). She holds a Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from New England College and a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Colby-Sawyer College, and she is currently completing training in Child-Parent Psychotherapy.

As Clinical Director she supervises and mentors a multidisciplinary team of counselors, case managers, and support staff, monitors the accuracy of clinical documentation, and ensures the agency's work holds to ethical and regulatory standards — while continuing to see clients herself.

Her background spans nearly every corner of the field: emergency services and crisis intervention at Lakes Region Mental Health Center, where she triaged people in emergency rooms, the county jail, and on the crisis line; college counseling at New England College; adjustment counseling in the Sunapee School District; coordinating a Student Assistance Program at Belmont Middle School; and after-hours supervision at the DCYF call center receiving reports of child abuse and neglect.

Alongside her work at Chrysalis, Shawna is a Clinician in the Community-Based Program at Spaulding Academy & Family Services in Northfield, New Hampshire — providing intensive community-based clinical services to children and families involved with DCYF, individualized treatment planning, in-home and community therapeutic interventions, skills training and crisis de-escalation, and coordination of care with school personnel, foster homes, medical providers, and other community providers.

Shawna works with all ages, and she has trained extensively in supporting LGBTQAI+ clients, veterans, first responders, and survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. She is growing her knowledge in eating disorders and somatic therapy, and she brings a calm, steady presence to clients and to the team — her ability to mentor and develop our counselors makes her an invaluable part of CRC.

Alyse Fusco is a Substance Use Disorder Clinician and certified Impaired Driver Service Provider (IDSP) who has been part of the Chrysalis team since 2021. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Psychology with a minor in Substance Use from Keene State College and is continuing her education in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling master's program at New England College, with an anticipated graduation in May 2027. She is currently completing her internship and practicum for New England College at Chrysalis Recovery Center LLC under the clinical supervision of Shawna Otis, which allows her to see mental health and co-occurring clients under Shawna's supervision.

At Chrysalis, Alyse works with clients across both the IDCMP and counseling programs, providing individual and group counseling in telehealth and in-person settings. Her clinical experience in residential substance use treatment includes biopsychosocial assessments, treatment planning, co-occurring disorder groups, crisis intervention, and case management.

At Phoenix House New England, Alyse was promoted to manager in under a year, overseeing staff, shift schedules, and training while coordinating AA and NA groups. Earlier, at Crotched Mountain School, she was promoted twice in her first year while working with mental health and disability populations.

Alyse currently provides clinical care in a residential substance use treatment setting at Farnum Center, including treatment planning and psycho-education groups for clients with co-occurring disorders. Earlier in her work at Phoenix House New England, she served as residential support staff, creating and running recovery groups on clinically based topics and helping oversee daily patient care; as a student intern at Phoenix House in Keene, she was selected as their only undergraduate intern, participating in groups, completing notes, and attending outside AA meetings with clients, experiences that built her early foundation in substance use recovery and prevention. Alyse brings compassion and a person-centered approach to her work, advocating for clients as they build self-awareness and self-compassion.

Denielle Marcoux is the Operations Coordinator, Intake Coordinator, and Case Manager at Chrysalis Recovery Center LLC, where she oversees daily front office operations, scheduling, and the intake process, and keeps client records accurate and confidential in line with HEA 500 requirements. She joined the team in 2024 as our Intake Coordinator and Case Manager and moved into her current role in January 2026.

Denielle is a New Hampshire-approved Certified Recovery Support Worker (CRSW #0807), and is also an approved Impaired Driver Service Provider (IDSP) and Impaired Driver Education Provider (IDEP). She brings five years of experience specifically within New Hampshire IDCMP programs, and she is well-versed in the state's laws and rules — knowledge she uses to guide clients through the process with confidence.

During her time as Intake Coordinator she conducted intake screenings, completed admission documentation, and provided case management for IDCMP clients — including regular check-ins to monitor counseling attendance, program compliance, balances, and completion of the required 20-hour class. Before joining Chrysalis, she worked at CAIP at Headrest in Boscawen, where she handled intake screenings, client orientation, scheduling, clinical file preparation, and coordination between clients, treatment providers, the DMV, the courts, and BDAS.

Denielle is currently pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Psychology with a concentration in Addiction Studies and an Associate's degree at Southern New Hampshire University, with an anticipated graduation in May 2027. Her deep personal passion for this field shines through in her dedication to every individual she helps — she makes enrollment seamless for both DWI and counseling clients, and clients consistently appreciate her kindness and how promptly she answers every call, email, and message.

Donna Breault is a Master Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor (MLADC) and a certified Impaired Driver Service Provider (IDSP) and Impaired Driver Education Provider (IDEP). She has worked in impaired driver programs and counseling agencies, both inpatient and outpatient, since 2007 — and her connection to Chrysalis runs deep: she first worked here from 2010 to 2015 as an IDSP and WIDEP instructor, and returned to the team in October 2024.

Donna completed her Master's in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Plymouth State University in 2022, earned her Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Granite State College in 2012, and her Associate's degree in Addiction Counseling from NHTI in 2008. She is licensed in New Hampshire as a master-level addiction counselor (MLADC #1542).

Donna has built experience across nearly every part of the impaired driver and substance use landscape. At Home Base, from January 2024 through August 2025, she completed IDCMP evaluations, service plans and reviews, individual and group counseling, and NH DMV hearings, and participated in treatment team meetings. From 2006 through 2024, her work at Headrest and the Community Alcohol Information Program included IDCMP evaluations, service plans, reviews, consents and referrals, DMV hearings, and individual and group counseling across their Boscawen, Nashua, Laconia, and Keene sites. At Farnum Center, from November 2016 through May 2020, she completed level-of-care assessments, provided individual and group counseling, supported intensive outpatient and partial hospitalization programming, and developed treatment plans.

Earlier in her career, Donna worked with the Multiple Offender Program in Laconia as an intern and substance abuse counselor from 2007 to 2009, meeting one-to-one with clients to review assessment results, assess motivation, discuss relapse prevention, explain aftercare, and facilitate daily process groups. During her 2006 internship at the Odyssey Family Center in Canterbury, she facilitated psycho-educational groups and took part in individual counseling, case management, and treatment planning. She has completed court-ordered, pretrial, and probation evaluations, drawing on structured assessment and clinical interviewing to build a full picture of each client. She has taught Prime for Life classes, co-facilitated IOP using the Matrix Model, collaborated with probation and parole, prescribers, IDCMPs, and other collateral contacts, and prepared monthly progress reports.

Donna has trained continuously from 2006 to the present through the NH Training Institute of Addictive Disorders and other agencies, including in trauma-focused CBT, Seeking Safety, harm reduction, dual diagnosis treatment, ethics and confidentiality for IDCMPs, DWI law, and more. Her depth of knowledge of the field is what makes her an incredible resource for the people she serves, and we are fortunate to have her back on the team.

Claire Merrill is an Intake Coordinator, Case Manager, and Counselor at Chrysalis Recovery Center LLC. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Psychology with a concentration in Addiction Studies from Southern New Hampshire University and an Associate's degree in Addiction Counseling from NHTI, and she has been a Certified Recovery Support Worker (CRSW) in New Hampshire since 2025.

Claire's experience spans nearly every level of substance use care. She worked as a case manager in residential treatment at the Farnum Center, where she developed individualized aftercare plans, collaborated with interdisciplinary teams to support client progress, and helped people connect with housing, outpatient services, and medication-assisted treatment. Before that she was a senior counselor at New Season in Manchester, overseeing client files, evaluations, and reports for a large caseload while keeping documentation compliant with state requirements, and she also supported patient registration and insurance verification there.

She is currently pending IDSP approval, has passed the ICRC exam as a LADC, and has submitted her supervision paperwork to the licensing board. Claire is currently working toward her LADC licensure and is completing the supervised hours required for it. With more than seven years of experience in regulated healthcare settings — including records management, documentation, and quality assurance — Claire is the person who makes intake feel clear and manageable rather than confusing, and she is known for answering every call, email, and message promptly.

Mike Dymek is a Counselor at Chrysalis Recovery Center LLC. He is currently enrolled in the bachelor's track in Addiction Counseling at NHTI with a certificate in Mindfulness, and anticipates completing his Associate's degree in December 2027. He is a New Hampshire Certified Recovery Support Worker (CRSW #0418) who is also approved to provide supervision for other CRSWs in the state. He has passed his ICRC LADC exam and is currently working toward completing the supervised hours required for his LADC licensure. His certifications include IHAT Practitioner, Mental Health First Aid, and SMART Recovery Facilitator.

Mike has worked in the substance use treatment field for over a decade's worth of roles across the recovery community. Most recently he supervised a criminal justice team at SOS Recovery Community Organization, where he carried a caseload, facilitated group meetings and group supervision, provided peer support, navigated participants into treatment, and responded to hospital crisis calls — assessing patients and connecting them to the right level of care or medication-assisted treatment. Before that he was a CRA Lead at Aware Recovery Care, supervising certified recovery advisors, overseeing documentation quality, supporting families through family meetings, and taking on the hardest client-engagement challenges.

Earlier in his career Mike spent years as a Personal Care Assistant, supporting elderly and disabled adults with daily living, personal care, medication schedules, and medical appointments — experience that shaped his patient, practical approach to helping people.

With more than three years of experience in the substance use treatment field, Mike specializes in supporting people involved with the legal system, with the goal of reducing recidivism and building long-term recovery. His strengths are active listening and motivational interviewing, which let him build strong therapeutic relationships and help clients identify and reach their own recovery goals. He is a certified SMART Recovery Facilitator, so he is well placed to support the new SMART Recovery group. Committed to compassionate, client-centered care, he supports individuals at every stage of recovery — and we are very happy to have Mike as part of the team here.

Kendall Bryant is a Counselor at Chrysalis Recovery Center LLC, where she works with individuals completing impaired driver counseling as part of the DUI process — supporting clients as they navigate both the legal requirements and the personal impact of their experiences. She joined Chrysalis in April 2026 and is currently working toward her Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor (LADC) certification.

Kendall earned her Bachelor's degree in Sociology from the University of New Hampshire in 2018 and is pursuing her Master's degree in Addiction Counseling at Hazelden Betty Ford Graduate School, with an anticipated graduation in May 2027, where she was elected Winter 2024 Student Cohort Representative.

Her experience with the legal system runs deep and from more than one side. Kendall served as a Corrections Officer with Strafford County Department of Corrections. She has also worked as a Behavioral Health Technician and Office Manager at Bonfire Behavioral Health, where she provided crisis intervention and coordinated care between clients and medical professionals, and as a Behavioral Health Professional at Pathways of Maine, supporting clients in their homes and communities and mediating family conflict. Kendall is currently completing her internship and practicum at Chrysalis Recovery Center LLC under the clinical supervision of Shawna Otis, which allows her to see mental health clients under that supervision.

Kendall is passionate about creating a respectful, nonjudgmental space where clients feel seen beyond their circumstances, while supporting growth, accountability, and meaningful change.

Anastasia Barrick joined Chrysalis Recovery Center LLC as our Admissions and Case Manager, and she is often the first voice people hear when they reach out. She brings more than a decade of experience in client relations, conflict resolution, and team leadership to the role.

Anastasia spent years as a property manager, where she handled tenant relations, resolved complaints and disputes with patience and fairness, trained and supported staff, and managed the day-to-day operations behind a busy organization. She studied Psychology at Keene State College, and her work in that field earned her national recognition, including Leasing Consultant of the Year and a Property of the Year award.

Her move into the recovery field comes from something personal: a genuine belief that people deserve to be met with patience and respect, and that the right support at the right moment can change the direction of a life. She brings that conviction to every intake call, every question answered, and every client she helps get started. Anastasia is excited to attend the Certified Recovery Support Worker training this fall as she takes the next steps toward becoming a CRSW.

Courtney Parker is a Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor (LADC) with six years of experience in therapy and counseling across residential, outpatient, and emergency settings.

She holds a Master's degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from New England College, a Bachelor's degree in Counseling Foundations from Granite State College, and an Associate's degree in Psychology from Nashua Community College. Her clinical background includes individual and group therapy, addiction counseling, crisis intervention, and psychosocial assessment, with experience facilitating co-occurring mental health groups and supporting people through acute crises.

Courtney has worked across several New Hampshire programs, including GateHouse Treatment and The Process Recovery Center, where she carried her own caseload and provided both individual and group therapy. She is trained in non-violent crisis intervention (CPI) and is certified in BLS, and she was twice recognized as Therapist of the Month at GateHouse Treatment.

She also works as an Emergency Services Clinician at Riverbend Community Mental Health, providing emergency crisis assessments in the community, in the office, and in the emergency department — and connecting people to the resources and dispositions they need.

At Chrysalis, Courtney is known for a warm, steady presence and a strong commitment to client safety, meaningful progress, and connecting people to the resources that support lasting recovery.

Jen is our weekend WIDEP instructor. Prior to COVID she ran our weekend program, and now she teaches the Zoom IDCMP course.

She has been teaching Prime for Life for more than 20 years and does a wonderful job making the weekend overnight program fun, educational, and welcoming.

Jenn has her MBA and is also completing her PhD in Clinical Psychology. Jen is an IDEP — Impaired Driver Education Provider.

Kyle MacArthur handles facilities and maintenance at Chrysalis Recovery Center LLC, where he has been part of the team since 2013. He came to the agency after his years as a union carpenter, and he puts that trade to work across every property Chrysalis operates — renovations, repairs, and ongoing upkeep inside and out.

Earlier in his time here, Kyle served as our Compliance and Completions Manager, overseeing regulatory adherence, audit readiness, policy enforcement, and staff accountability systems. He has also stepped into the Intake Coordinator role on and off over the years whenever that position was unfilled, covering it for roughly three years in total — and he has helped train every intake coordinator the agency has had. That range means he understands the IDCMP from the inside: the intake, the compliance requirements, and the completions. He is the person staff and clients go to when they have a question about the process and the steps involved.

Kyle is OSHA 30 certified and holds journeyman credentials from the United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners of America, along with scaffold and powered industrial truck certifications. He also runs his own residential and commercial construction and remodeling business, handling finish work, framing, renovations, and project management.

Before his time at Chrysalis, Kyle spent several years in collections, college admissions, and banking, followed by nearly a decade as a carpenter and contractor.