Addiction Treatment Staff

DeLisa Duncan Russell, LSW, LPC-SC

Executive Director

DeLisa is a nationally recognized expert in trauma and trauma recovery. In a long career working with the military, the religious community and in private practice, she has extensive experience with complex addiction issues. She is a Texas licensed social worker and licensed professional counselor – supervisor.

DeLisa has developed nationally recognized programs that have been utilized by all branches of the Department of Defense. She has partnered with legislative staff on the state and national levels to address veterans’ issues and has partnered with individual and corporate donors to raise over $3 million for veteran causes.

Tally Breitstein, MSN, BSN, RN

Director of Nursing

Tally Breitstein, born and raised in Israel, immigrated to the United Stated in 1995. She has been dedicated to the field of nursing since 1988! Tally is a Registered Nurse with a Masters Degree in Nursing, and has over 20 years of nursing education experience. She also comes from a background with experience in mental health and administration, which is where Tally has found a passion in behavioral healthcare.

Tally joined us at Promises Behavioral Health in 2020 as the Director of Nursing for The Right Step Houston. Her goal is to further develop the nursing team and expand services in the Houston area. Tally plans to further her education and complete her Doctorate degree with emphasis on Addiction. We are grateful to have such a dedicated and kind-hearted person on our team. Her dedication to our clients is unparalled!

Dana LaFayette, LPC-S, LCDC, PSS

Clinical Director

Dana LaFayette has been in the field of addiction and mental health for over 30 years. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor and Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor with many years of clinical and administrative experience. She has worked with active-duty military, veterans, and first responder personnel and has been recognized by the State of Texas for her work with Crisis Behavioral Health Services and Disaster Behavioral Health Services. She has been requested to speak at several conferences on various topics including addiction, trauma informed care, mental health issues, and leadership skills. She joined Promises Behavioral Health in 2020 as the Clinical Director for Right Step Houston to further develop the clinical team and expand services in the Houston area. She has enjoyed calling Houston her home and is looking forward to increasing services for the community!

Rachel Garner, LCSW

Executive Director

Rachel has worked as a licensed clinical social worker in the field of addiction treatment for a decade. Born and raised in Hawaii, she holds a Master of Social Work from the University of Hawaii and an undergraduate degree from Southern Oregon University. She is inspired by her work in residential treatment at Promises Austin because she helps people transform their lives and become the person they want to be.

Over the course of her career, Rachel has supervised detox, residential, day treatment and intensive outpatient programs. She’s engaged in program development and grant writing. And she has travelled across the country to train treatment providers on an evidenced-based curriculum to address addiction in families with young children. She shares a home in Austin with her husband and two dogs. In her free time, she gardens, runs, bakes and crochets. She loves to go swimming anywhere she can.

Keith Sigmond Garcia, MD, PhD

Medical Director

Dr. Garcia is devoted to helping people change their lives for the better. He is board certified by ABPN in psychiatry and neurology and has worked in a wide variety of psychiatric settings. A native of Texas, Dr. Garcia attended Rice University and completed a combined MD/PhD program at The University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. He pursued residency training in psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, where he remained as faculty until 2010. He relocated to Austin to continue his academic career with the Dell Medical School and Seton Family of Hospitals.

Dr. Garcia has cared for patients with co-occurring substance abuse and psychiatric conditions across the spectrum of treatment settings including inpatient, outpatient and partial hospitalization programs. In 2017, he left academics to start his own practice and has been the medical director for The Right Step Hill Country since then. He has published over 20 articles and chapters across a wide range of topics and has provided mentorship to numerous resident psychiatrists and students. In his spare time, he relaxes by playing guitar and spending time with his family.

Alycia “Ally” DeGraff, Ph.D., LMFT

Director of Clinical Operations

Dr. DeGraff takes a social and systemic approach to addiction. She views addiction as a complex disease in which biological, social, psychological, and systemic forces are constantly at play, often getting in the way of the individual that is trying to find recovery. She works with a multidisciplinary team to shift each of these forces toward alignment with clients’ health and recovery. The core of her approach involves working within the family system to identify and change the family dynamics of addiction. She says it is a privilege to shift family systems and to see relationships shift so that clients can engage in healthy recovery.

Dr. DeGraff specializes in addictive disorders and recovery studies, couple and family therapy, experiential family therapy, financial therapy and relapse prevention. She holds three degrees: a bachelor’s degree in community, family and addiction services from Texas Tech University; a master’s degree in couples and family therapy from Texas Tech University; and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in human development and family science from The University of Georgia. Prior to joining Promises Austin, she served as a program therapist at The Right Step Hill Country and a therapist and research and teaching assistant at The University of Georgia. In her free time, Dr. DeGraff enjoys gardening, cooking, hiking, kayaking and painting.

Jessica Lopez, LCDC-I

Director of Business Operations

Jessica Lopez in the Director of Admissions at The Right Step Hill Country. Ms. Lopez has worked in behavioral health, specializing in addiction, for nearly a decade. She has worked in Admissions at both Residential and Outpatient levels of care. She has her Bachelors in Psychology and is a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor (LCDC). She has spent the majority of her professional career advocating for clients in the substance abuse and mental health field while supporting families and individuals navigating the initial steps of care. In her free time, she loves woodworking, cooking and spending quality time with her miniature dachshund, Bentley.