Banyan Boca Raton

Dr. David Husted is a highly regarded psychiatrist with a strong educational background who has helped thousands of patients with depression and anxiety. He is passionate about helping his patients “live their best life.” As we journey through life, there are expected and unexpected events, negative emotions, and even choices that happen. Overcoming fears, anxieties, mental struggles, and depression are so important for us all, and our ability to cope and achieve wellness impacts us and the people we love. Dr. Husted’s mission is to help patients get better and start to thrive. Living our best life is something we naturally desire.

Dr. Husted decided to pursue psychiatry as a surprise choice upon completion of his Doctorate of Medicine at the University of Florida. As top of his medical school class, he had several prestigious options yet felt unexpectedly drawn to psychiatry. He has never regretted this choice as he finds being a psychiatrist immensely rewarding. He has received many awards, published many papers, and has delivered numerous speaking engagements over the course of his career, yet what he values most is seeing his patients get better and have hope. The importance of mental health and its treatment is increasingly recognized

Amy Horan was born in Illinois and moved to Coral Springs, FL when she was 5 years old. She obtained her LPN in 2001 and her RN in 2020. She got her start in the addiction field by working at another treatment center right out of LPN school in 2001. Amy developed a passion for mental health when she lived in Arizona for a year and worked at a community inpatient center. She is passionate about what she does because she enjoys working with substance abuse and mental health clients. Her goal is to always provide them with the dignity and respect that is often overlooked with their diagnosis. She has always enjoyed watching their transformation. She says, “they arrive to use at one of the hardest times in their lives and transform into the healthy members of our community.”

Amy’s favorite part of her position is mentoring the new nurses and teaching them about mental illness and substance abuse and watching them blossom in their career at Banyan.
Her goal at Banyan is for every one of our clients to be treated how we would treat our own family. She instills this in each one of our nurses. Amy

Samantha Beyer was born and raised in Honolulu, HI, but moved to Lake Mary, FL, when she was nine years old. She received her bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and Child Psychology from the University of North Florida in 2017. Not long after, Samantha went on to receive her Masters of Social Work at Florida Atlantic University in 2019. In 2020, she became a licensed clinical social worker.
After losing her father suddenly at the age of 8, Samantha discovered her passion for becoming a therapist. She wished to provide the same comfort, support, and clarity that many therapists provided to her at a very young age.
Initially, Samantha began working as a group facilitator and was able to strengthen her knowledge of trauma therapy and achieve EMDR certification. After hard work, dedication, and persistence, Samantha was promoted to Clinical Supervisor. She believes learning and growth are endless within the mental health industry and wants to continue to change the lives of her clients for the better.

Alison Parente was born and raised in South Florida. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts in English as well as a Bachelor's of Science in Psychology. Later, Alison received a Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy from Nova Southeastern University. She is not in recovery herself and has never suffered from neither substance abuse nor mental health disorder but she has had family impacted by addiction. Witnessing her family members suffering from this disease led to her interest in working with the SUD population. Alison began working in the addiction field in 2017 as a Behavioral Health Technician and was quickly promoted to case manager the following year. Currently, Alison works as a dual-diagnosis primary RES therapist at Banyan Boca.

Madyson Levinson was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. She moved to South Florida when she was 8 ½ years old. Madyson attended Florida State University from 2012-2016 and obtained two undergraduate degrees, one in Religion and one in Psychology, with a minor in child development. Madyson graduated from FSU in 2016 and started her master’s program at Lynn University in the summer of 2016. She graduated from Lynn University with a Master’s of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling in the summer of 2018. Upon graduating, Madyson completed the state of Florida’s requirements to become a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and a National Board Certified Counselor. Madyson started working in the mental health field during her master’s program where she quickly took interest in personality disorders and mood disorders. Madyson specializes in Borderline Personality Disorder and is intensively trained in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). Madyson is passionate about mental health because she believes that every person deserves to live a happy and healthy life! Madyson aspires to continue to advance within Banyan Treatment Centers and become a clinical director. Madyson also hopes to one day open her own mental health IOP and DBT program. Madyson enjoys music, theater,

Nicole Blackburn was born and raised in Newark, Delaware. She is currently a degree in Nursing/ Psychology. Nicole traveled down to Florida at the age of 18 to get sober and has been in recovery for over 5 years now. She continues to work on her 12 step program and remains consistent in attending her meetings.
Nicole began working in the addiction field as an overnight Behavioral technician at a women's PHP treatment facility. She began working at Banyan Boca in 2019, and after multiple promotions, she was offered the Case management position. She appreciates the continuous growth she has achieved during her time at Banyan. Due to her struggle with addiction, she hopes to be that positive source to the patients she serves. Nicole strives to offer hope to these patients and represent herself as a model figure. Her main goal is to continue growing within the company and to never lose passion for helping others.

Christina was born and raised in South Florida. She received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology at Florida Atlantic University in 2017.
Christina began working for Banyan Treatment Center in July of 2018 as a Behavioral Health Technician. After being promoted to lead BHT she was later offered a role as a case manager. She is passionately working in mental health and substance abuse treatment because of the struggles she suffered personally as well as witnessed through family members. Christina wants to be able to help others and provide care and service for those who are in need but do not know where to start. Christina understands and appreciates how networked Banyan centers are and enjoys creating aftercare plans for her patients so they feel more resourceful and optimistic for the road ahead.

Alicia is the alumni coordinator for both Banyan Boca and Banyan Stuart. Her journey with Banyan started on April 20, 2018 as an overnight Behavioral Health Technician. Alicia quickly proved her worth and was shortly thereafter promoted to a Lead Technician for the weekends. Her experience in active addiction and in sobriety is what gave her a passion for this field. Today that passion has turned into using the tools she learned to helped others in our Alumni community.

Christina was born and raised in New Jersey where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Health Studies from Monmouth University. With much uncertainty about which career path she wanted to pursue, Christina found herself involved with the wrong crowd. She began experimenting with drugs and struggled with addiction for eight years. During that period of time, Christina had several unsuccessful treatment attempts, and tried many unconventional methods to achieve sobriety. Upon finding her bottom, she was able to create a plan with the support of her family that landed her in South Florida for long term treatment. Christina began her career at Banyan in early recovery as a receptionist, worked directly with our clients as a case manager, and most recently joined our Family Services team. She recognizes the immense impact that her family has played in her recovery and looks forward to supporting and guiding the families and loved ones of our clients.