Willow Place of Asheville is a place for women who are suffering from addiction to drugs and alcohol and/or eating disorders. We offer a comprehensive medical and therapeutic approach to recovery from addiction and eating disorders to get all of our clients on the road to recovery. We believe in empowering our clients to regain a sense of self-worth and self-love so that they cease the destructive behavior of the past and turn to healthy, sober alternatives. Our dedicated staff is whole heartedly committed to seeing each client thrive and graduate from our program as a brand new person with a bright future ahead. At The Willow Place for Women, we treat each client individually to ensure the best level of care possible, created uniquely for each specific client’s needs.
Willow Place is In Network with Blue Cross Blue Shield.
Willow Place accepts TRICARE.
Dr. Dixie Brown, owner and Executive Director of Willow Place for Women, is an Integrative Medicine Practitioner passionate about helping individuals who seek recovery from substance use and mental health disorders. Through the use of Complementary & Alternative Medicine, she helps her clients feel their best- physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually and guides them in their journey to recovery. Her greatest joy is seeing her clients fall in love with themselves in ways they never imagined possible. Dixie holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and Business Management, a Master of Science degree in Counseling Psychology, and a PhD in Mind-Body Medicine specializing in Integrative Mental Health. Dixie has also completed certification in Integrative and Functional Nutrition, Biofeedback, Wellness Coaching and is a Licensed Clinical Addiction Specialist and Certified Clinical Supervisor. Additionally, Dixie is certified and works directly with the Center for Mind Body Medicine in Washington, DC. Dixie is also the Founder and Board President of The Seraph Fund, an organization that helps provide resources for those seeking recovery, a Board Member of the NC Association of Recovery Residences, and head of the Buncombe County Health and Human Services Patient Brokering work group. Additionally, Dixie is a National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) Certified Personal Trainer and ACE Group Fitness Instructor. In her spare time, she loves spending time with her family and two kitties, hiking, being outdoors, traveling, and taking photos of landscapes and nature.
Allyson Chambers, Certified Addiction Counselor and Certified Recovery Residence Administrator, has been working in the sober living industry since 2008. Originally from New York, Allyson moved to West Palm Beach, Florida in 1994. Seeing the need for women’s supportive housing for women seeking recovery, Allyson opened her first sober living home in 2008, The Lilly Pad, a FARR certified recovery residence. The Lilly Pad was one of the original pioneers of safe compliant sober homes for women in South Florida. Allyson is also one of the founding members of FARR (Florida Association of Recovery Residences) with a group of like-minded individuals who wanted safe housing for those recovering throughout the state. Allyson was the President of FARR during its first year and a board member for several years. “This is not a job to me, this is my wonderful life, I get to see women take their lives back and become their own hero”.
Dr. Brady Schroer obtained his Bachelor of Science in Biopsychology with an emphasis in Chemistry at Nebraska Wesleyan University. He attended medical school at Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences in Kansas City. After medical school, he completed his general psychiatry residency at the Menninger School of Psychiatry, an internationally known psychiatric hospital.
After residency, Dr. Schroer worked in a large hospital setting for over five years as a psychiatric hospitalist taking care of geriatric patients, caring for patients with psychiatric issues on the medical floors and ICU (intensive care units), detoxifying clients from alcohol and benzodiazepines, ECT treatment for depression, and served as Medical Director and Chief of Psychiatry.
Dr. Schroer later moved to Western North Carolina in 2007 to become the Medical Director of the inpatient psychiatric unit and the detoxification unit at one of the areas top hospitals and served for seven years in that capacity. Most recently, he has been seeing clients ages 15 and over in sober living environments, residential treatments, and other outpatient settings.
He has a vast experience from all different perspectives of addiction treatment and knows what it is like to be a family member of someone struggling with addiction. Dr. Schroer views addiction as a poor coping mechanism from past emotional pain. This emotional pain manifests as self-hatred, resentments, shame, and extreme negativity, all contributing to the cycle of pain and addiction. He believes addressing the underlying pain is absolutely crucial in order to find sobriety instead of trying to numb the pain with addicting substances and behaviors.
He is extremely compassionate and nonjudgmental and enjoys teaching clients about the addiction process and how to overcome poor habits that are keeping them stuck. Dr. Schroer has learned a lot from the clients he has treated and continues to use this wealth of knowledge to help others move into a peaceful life instead of chaos.
Dr. Schroer is a Christian, loves traveling and playing golf, enjoys all forms of motorsports and photography. He loves spending time with his wife and family in the great outdoors. He feels especially fortunate to call Asheville his home!
Nicole works as the behind the scenes Executive Assistant from her home in Georgia. While her degree is a Bachelors of Science concentrating in Marine Biology, her journey in college began her work in the Recovery field in West Palm Beach Florida. Taking a part time job to pay her way through college, Nicole started her first job as a night tech at a local detox. There she was able to hone her skills as a Quality Assurance Manager, being taught every aspect of the administrative parts in Behavioral Health. As she was able to see the direct impact of a well maintained office to the future of the clients being served, her soul began to sing joy from the lives she was able to touch. This love for helping others is what continued her journey in Recovery instead of pursuing a job in her field.
From there she was able to assist opening another IOP in West Palm Beach leading her to her future job at Willow Place. In April of 2016, Nicole took the position as the office administrator in Willow Place’s West Palm Beach location. After working for Willow for 2 years, her journey involved her moving to her current home of Rome, Georgia. She was gladly able to take on the remote position of Executive Assistant, which she holds today.
Nicole’s expertise in Quality Assurance, Billing, and Office Administration has allowed Willow Place to thrive in new ways as she assists its leaders to be the best they can be. Playing the support role brings life to Nicole and Willow Place creating a symphony of amazing accomplishments. Her desire to serve and help other is what fuels her soul to work hard to make Willow Place the best facility it can be.
In Nicole’s spare time she is the mother of two children, animal mommy to 6 animals (dogs, cats, tortoises, and guinea pigs), serves at her church, and loves to paint.
Melissa is originally from central Illinois. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Human Nutrition from Southern Illinois University. She went on to complete a combined dietetic internship and Master of Science in Health and Human Performance from McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
During a road trip with her husband, they discovered the northwest part of North Carolina and absolutely loved the beauty and culture. They moved here in November 2019 and have been enjoying the beautiful scenery and outdoor activities like hiking, mountain biking, and backpacking ever since.
Over time, working with patients in hospitals, it became clear that body size and health are not always related. Also, the effects diet culture can have on people and their health are not always positive. Melissa believes in the importance of building a healthier relationship with food and enjoys encouraging an anti-diet culture. She also believes health exists at every size. Additionally, Melissa enjoys finding new recipes and experimenting with them in the kitchen.
Naomi is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor who enjoys meeting clients where they are with a heart of compassion in their journeys to wholeness. She has experience working with people of all ages in community mental health, addictions recovery, eating disorders recovery, and church settings. She also brings her experience as a neurofeedback therapist to Willow Place, offering neurofeedback brain training as part of services received here. Naomi is originally from New Jersey and received a Bachelor’s degree in Food Science from Rutgers University, working in that field for several years before deciding to switch directions and become a counselor. She received her Master’s degree in Community Counseling from Western Carolina University in 2006. Outside of being a counselor, Naomi loves being a mom to her teenage daughter who is a competitive dancer, and has lived in the mountains of Western North Carolina since 1997.
LuAnn Jefferson, LCMHC, LCAS is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor and a Licensed Clinical Addictions Specialist in the state of North Carolina. She has 21 years of clinical counseling experience including Substance Abuse, early recovery issues, Mood Disorders, Anxiety Disorders, Eating Disorders, codependency, family of origin issues, grief process and family/relationship issues. LuAnn’s experience ranges from outpatient treatment, residential treatment, partial hospitalization, and private practice. She is skilled at and utilizes a variety of modalities of therapy depending on an individual’ needs.
LuAnn can assist you in looking at your concerns from the perspective of your childhood experiences, current family and life experiences. She ready to guide you through identifying how these patterns repeat themselves, and how to utilize recovery and use healthy coping skills that will redirect behavior changes that you want to make.
Robin is a Certified Eating Disorders Specialist at our Asheville facility, and also an Approved Supervisor for clinicians seeking certification through the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals™. She has over two decades of clinical experience working with women and their families in both inpatient and outpatient settings. Many of her clients have co-occurring anxiety and mood disorders, substance abuse, and disordered eating and body image issues. In the past, Robin served as Lead Program Therapist in the first eating disorders inpatient psychiatric treatment program in the state of NC. She has facilitated multi-family therapy groups and workshops and provided individual, couple’s, family and group therapy. Intuitive Eating, Interpersonal Therapy, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy–especially the mindfulness skills–form the foundation for her work. Robin models how humor and laughter are essential in the healing process and teaches clients to use non-judgmental, compassionate curiosity as their pathway to self-awareness and positive change. Licensed to practice in NC as a Licensed Professional Counselor, Robin is also a National Certified Counselor.
Robin holds an MA in Psychology from West Georgia College and a BA in Journalism from UNC-Chapel Hill. Before entering the helping profession, Robin was an advertising copywriter in Atlanta, GA. There she became alarmed about society’s obsession with female appearance and narrow definition of beauty and fitness, which is still harming the self-esteem and health of women and girls. She is a passionate activist for a medical and cultural shift to the Health At Every Size® paradigm. More holistic and inclusive, the HAES® approach recognizes that true health and well-being are multi-dimensional and include biological, psychological, social and spiritual aspects. Robin empowers people of all sizes to make peace now with their bodies and with food, and get on with living a mindful, meaningful and skillful life.
Tai is a Licensed Professional Counselor and a Board-Certified Registered Art Therapist. A graduate of Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY, she has spent over 16 years working with adolescent girls and women with a strong focus on trauma and identity development. Tai spent two summers in Africa doing art therapy with ex-child soldiers, as well as Sri Lanka doing crisis intervention work immediately after the Tsunami. She is passionate about creating spaces that encourages others to brave their truth and be the alchemist of their own story.
Since 2016, as Administrative Assistant, Annette Krukowski has compassionately welcomed clients and loved ones to Willow Place. Annette has proven to be indispensable in managing the office, maintaining records, and facilitating communication for therapists, clients, and families. Her compassionate presence and diverse experience serves Willow Place well.
Annette brings decades of related experience to Willow Place. Annette’s passion for helping others began with her service in a medical unit in Europe. As time went on, she grew her organization and communication skills in management roles at Fortune 500 retail companies in Detroit. Annette’s career path led her to customer service in the medical field for many years, gaining valuable experience with the complexities of record keeping and insurance. Annette’s family roots in Asheville go back many generations, and in 2007 she returned to the mountains of her childhood vacations to be with family.
Haley was born and raised in Franklin NC, growing up she never imagined she would struggle with drugs and alcohol. Haley moved to Asheville in 2016 in search of a new beginning, a life free from active addiction. She was a resident at the Women’s First Step Farm in Candler for a year before moving on to an Oxford House in West Asheville. From there Haley started her journey to give back what was so freely given to her– support in learning how to live life without alcohol or drugs. Helping other women is crucial in her personal recovery and a career path she plans on pursuing. At Willow Place, Haley gets to be a part of beautiful transformations in Women’s lives. She says for her that is a dream come true.
Emma is currently working on her MA in clinical mental health counseling at Lenoir-Rhyne University in Asheville. She is an eating disorder recovery advocate and passionate about the Health at Every Size approach. Through her studies and work in mental health, she hopes to assist folks with healing their relationships with their bodies.
I was born and raised in Asheville, NC. I have two beautiful and amazing boys. I’m a firm believer in the four dimensions of recovery which are Family, Health, Employment and Housing; all of which helped me become the person I am today. I believe in helping others overcome their addiction no matter what it is, and helping them become successful in life. I have seen my fair share of alcohol addiction. I was very persistent and eager in overcoming my addiction due to my kids looking for guidance. I have been in recovery for several years which was the best thing I could have done with my life. In my spare time I love to ride or walk the parkway and meditate and just enjoy life.
I joined Willow Place as a house manager after watching many people throughout my life struggle with addiction and losing many that were close to me. Following in my mother’s footsteps, being at Willow Place gives me the opportunity to make a difference in these women’s lives. I was born and raised in Asheville. My goal at Willow Place is to help create a healthy environment of love and support where these women feel safe to heal and process their hardships.
Dixie Brown, co-founder of Willow Place for Women, was born and raised in Asheville, North Carolina, later moving to Southern Florida to pursue her career in addiction treatment. Once in Florida, she met up with her future business partner, Allyson Chambers – a like-minded woman with a similar interest in addiction recovery and recovery from eating disorders. Together the two women worked to establish what would soon become one of North Carolina’s premier female-specific treatment centers. Thus, the Asheville location was born, and has, to this day, helped innumerable women successfully overcome their addictions and dual diagnosis disorders.
