Director of Nursing
Lisa Sewell, RN, BSN joined the Muir Wood team in April of 2023 as Nursing Director. She graduated from the College of Marin Nursing Program in 2010 and received her BSN from Herzing University in 2021. After applying her skills in addiction programs and operating rooms, Lisa quickly distinguished herself as a leader among her peers. She began to take on more advanced roles like Charge Nurse, Assistant Director of Nursing, and Health Services Director in various skilled nursing facilities.
Lisa has also taught classes in Addictions Nursing at the University of San Francisco and holds regular lectures on the subject throughout the bay area. She is passionate about working with adolescents in recovery and is dedicated to helping her clients achieve long-term sobriety.
A life-long student of her field, Lisa maintains an enthusiastic interest in the ever-evolving addiction medicine world. She hopes to keep her team on the cutting edge of research and practices related to genomics, dual-diagnosis application, and medication-assisted treatment.
In her free time, Lisa enjoys hiking, biking, reading, and spending time with her family and dog, Bella.
Who We Are
Muir Wood treats primary mental health and co-occurring substance use disorders with equal clinical depth. Our approach is mental health-first, trauma-informed throughout, and grounded in nationally recognized expertise in adolescent substance use treatment.
Every program is designed exclusively for teens, with specialized environments for those needing an even greater level of psychiatric, trauma, or clinical support — like our Penngrove campus for girls, and our upcoming Sonoma Mountain campus for boys (Fall '26).
Mental Health First
Every program treats primary MH — anxiety, depression, trauma, mood — as the core clinical focus.
Trauma-Informed Lens
Every staff interaction, not just therapy, is filtered through a trauma lens. It is our operating principle, not a modality.
Integrated SUD Expertise
Substance use is treated alongside mental health throughout all programs, not in a separate track.
Adolescent Specialists
Every clinician, psychiatrist, nurse, and educator works exclusively with teens ages 12–17.
We Treat the Whole Teen
Nothing is treated in isolation, because nothing exists in isolation.
Every teen arrives with behaviors that developed for a reason — ways of coping with or adapting to emotional pain. Our role is to understand what's driving those patterns and build healthier, more sustainable ways of regulating and coping.
Mental Health
Trauma Informed
Emotional Functioning
Family Systems
Why Specialized Programming Matters
Many teens benefit from environments designed around shared clinical presentations and needs.
Greater Peer Alignment
Shared clinical presentations create more cohesive, therapeutically relevant group dynamics.
Individualized Treatment
Approaches tailored to the specific developmental and psychiatric profile of each population.
Improved Emotional Safety
Environments designed to reduce threat, increase predictability, and foster genuine connection.
Clinically Relevant Groups
Group therapy dynamics mirror real-world experiences of teens with similar presentations.
Lower-Stimulation Environments
Sensory and environmental design calibrated to the needs of highly activated or sensitive teens.
Enhanced Psychiatric Support
Specialized staff training and clinical protocols matched to the population's complexity.