STAFF

Gene Ross

Executive Director

A Dallas native, Gene Ross serves as Executive Director of Serenity View Recovery Center. Over the course of his career, he has provided services in a variety of settings including child protective services, prevention services for at-risk youth, residential addiction treatment, and outpatient psychotherapy. He has also served as an adjunct professor at the University of North Texas and sits on a number of advisory boards.

A self-described “child of the ’60s,” Ross grew up with a family that he says was very much involved with community development. That may account for his desire to be a social worker from as far back as he can remember. Specializing in the treatment of mental health and substance use disorders, trauma, and relationship problems, Ross is passionate about expanding the sensitivity of human suffering and combining evidence-based methods for the alleviation of this pain. “One of the things I value most in my life is helping people who are suffering,” he says.

Paul Lee, MD

Medical Director

Originally from South Texas, Dr. Paul Lee brings nearly three decades of experience in psychiatric and addiction medicine to his role as medical director. Dr. Lee did his undergraduate work at Lamar University before heading to University of Texas-Houston for medical school. An internship in Austin was followed by a residency at Medical College of Georgia in Augusta.

When it came time to put all that education to good use, Dr. Lee returned to Texas, opening a private practice in the small town of Paris. He also gained valuable hospital experience, and on the behavioral health side, he cut his teeth at Fulton County Detox. That’s what sparked his interest in psychiatry, inspiring him to go back and retrain in 1995.

Addiction treatment is a subject close to his heart as well. He first got sober in 1989 then had a brief relapse in 2009. It was that experience that Dr. Lee credits with helping him develop a real passion for recovery, a feeling that is renewed with every new patient he meets. It’s no wonder he says that one of his favorite things about his current job is watching people become free.

Married for nearly as long as he’s been practicing, Dr. Lee and his wife have two children. When not working, he enjoys spending time with family, at church, and mowing his pasture.

Delise Morris, LPC, CSAT

Clinical Director

From Sherman, Texas, Delise Morris earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Texas Tech University followed by a master’s in community counseling from Southeastern Oklahoma State University. She is currently a Licensed Professional Counselor and Certified Sex Addiction Therapist as well as being PIT-trained (PIT-1). Her varied career has included work as a psychometrician, providing psychological and neuropsychological testing across the lifespan, and in outpatient private practice. Her personal recovery experience also aids in recognizing and empathizing with the patients she serves.

Growing up in an environment where she says shame was reinforced and things were “not talked about,” Morris made it her mission to help de-stigmatize addiction and raise awareness about the disease by giving it a voice. She developed the program curriculum used at Serenity View, infusing addiction-specific treatment with the Meadows Model, allowing the clinical team to also treat any underlying trauma. In her current role, she supervises the clinical team, wellness manager, and neurofeedback tech. She says she loves being involved in helping people get, and stay, in recovery. When not busy helping others, Morris enjoys mountain biking, hiking, walking her dog, reading, traveling, and spending time with friends and family.

Denice Slemmons, RN

Director of Nursing

Registered Nurse Denise Slemmons joined our staff in 2017, after several years as an acute psych nurse, but she actually began her career in healthcare in 1989. A graduate of the Paris Junior College School of Nursing in Paris, Texas, she’s worked in many different areas over the years, from customer service, marketing, and billing to compliance, direct patient care, and in various leadership roles. That broad experience provided her with an expanded knowledge of the healthcare system and how difficult it can be for patients and families to navigate that system during a crisis.

In order to be effective in this field, she believes it’s really important that people understand that addiction is a disease, not just a behavior or a habit, and that it does require clinical and medical intervention to be successful for most people. “What I love about Serenity View,” Slemmons says, “is we are small enough to ensure that each client’s individual needs are met, and yet being part of The Meadows provides us access to some of the most renowned experts in the field.”