About AMS – Christian Medical & Dental Associations® (CMDA)

Embracing Christ-centered Recovery

John 10:10

Meet Our Leadership:

Don Middleton, DO

Chair, AMS

Dr. Middleton's Biography

Dr. Middleton is currently works with Meadows Behavioral Health in Arizona. He provides addiction-based services, withdrawal, and MAT. He provides full service medical care and serves on the MAT implementation team and COVID response team. He currently serves as the Chair of the Addiction Medicine Section of the Christian Medical and Dental Associations.

Dr. Middleton also serves as a Clinical Preceptor at Midwestern University in the Family Medicine Department. He graduated from the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific in Pomona, California and did his Family Practice Residency at Flint Osteopathic Hospital in Flint, Michigan.

Dr. Middleton’s professional memberships include American Osteopathic Association, Arizona Osteopathic Medical Association and Christian Medical and Dental Associations.

Kurt Bravata, MD, FASAM

Vice Chair, AMS

Dr. Bravata's Biography

Kurt grew up in a Christian home where his parents were very involved in ministry outreaches to the poor, outcast, and downtrodden. From a young age he was impressed by the joy and fulfillment of seeing lives restored and hope given to the hopeless. He determined early on that he wanted to follow Christ and make a real and lasting difference in people's lives. Although Dr. Bravata did not initially set out to become an addictionologist, he soon felt called by God to share his grace by helping to lead people out of lives of deeply rooted hurt, dysfunction, and addiction. As a Family Physician Dr. Bravata simply responded to the need for effective, evidence-based treatment of Substance Use Disorders in his rural patient population. This growing passion led Dr. Bravata to seek education in addiction medicine, become DATA 2000 waivered to prescribe buprenorphine, and eventually obtain Addiction Medicine Board Certification through the practice pathway provided by the American Board of Preventive Medicine (ABPM). Along the way, Dr. Bravata has been involved in local and national Family and Addiction Medicine leadership, education, and publication.

CONTACT KURT

Darren Caparaso, MD

Outreach Coordinator, AMS

Dr. Caparaso's Biography

Darren is a Family Medicine and Addiction Medicine physician. He is also Co-Director of Embrace Recovery Buffalo, a ministry affiliated with CMDA with the mission to help those struggling with addiction or life-controlling problems find compassion, hope, healing and lifelong recovery through a collaborative effort that includes a Biblical Faith-Based Approach. Embrace Recovery Buffalo offers current and future healthcare providers that are on the frontlines opportunities to identify and medically treat addictions and co-occurring mental health conditions. Equipping providers to become leaders of healthcare transformation and education. Mentoring and outreach to a variety of community connections including schools. CCAR (Connecticut Community for Addiction Recovery) Life Recovery Coach training for volunteers as part of the community care team serving at their church, local healthcare office, hospital, community center or their own family. Embrace Recovery Buffalo ministry offers free Life Recovery Bibles, Promise Books, and journals to healthcare providers, students, organizations, ministries, patients and families.

CONTACT DARREN

Warren Yamashita, MD, MPH

Treasurer, AMS

Dr. Yamashita's Biography

Warren is a double board certified Family Medicine and Addiction Medicine Physician. He is currently serving at an FQHC called Hurtt Family Health Clinic in Orange County, California. He is also a Stanford Addiction Medicine Fellowship Adjunct Instructor where he leads their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion didactics. He also serves on the CMDA Racism, Reconciliation, Equality and Diversity (R2ED) Committee to address ethnic and racial disparities with a Biblical worldview. Warren published the following Op-ed on the overlap between addiction and ethnic stigmas: Breaking Free from the Model Minority Myth: Lessons from the 1970s Japanese American Drug Epidemic - Rafu Shimpo.

CONTACT WARREN

Michelle Knapp, DNP, PMHNP-BC

Secretary, AMS

Dr. Knapp's Biography

Michelle is the founder of Wholistic Psychiatry in New York City and Venice, Florida. She is a Fellow of the International Society of Nurses on Addictions, an appointed committee member of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association’s Addictions Steering Committee, and a member of the Christian Medical and Dental Association's Addiction Medicine Section. Dr. Knapp received her Masters Degree from NYU and her Doctoral degree from Chamberlain University. She helped to develop the first PMHNP residency training program in addictions at the San Francisco VA and subsequently served as the director of the PMHNP Program at New York University where she was a primary investigator with the NYU Langone NIDA-funded SARET (Substance Use Research Education and Training) Program. She is the author of several peer-reviewed articles and textbook chapters on the topic of substance use across the lifespan. She has also presented on substance use at several conferences. She is an active member in a care team ministry at her home church in Venice, Florida where she resides with her husband.

Craig Brown

Pastoral Liaison, AMS

Craig Brown's Biography

Craig is a seasoned expert in overcoming adversity working with individuals, groups, families and organizations looking to discover how to be set free from pain and shame that can lead to addiction and other painful life struggles and live a life of freedom, meaning and purpose.

Craig transformed his life from the brink of destruction, overcoming addiction and financial hardship—Craig now dedicates his career to helping others navigate their own challenges. As the Founder of Stop Hiding Start Healing, Craig has guided countless individuals through their personal struggles, using his unique blend of practical life principles and inspirational storytelling. His work focuses on mental health, emotional resilience, and personal growth, making him a sought-after speaker for organizations looking to foster a culture of well-being and success.

Donate to the Addiction Medicine Section

Our Mission

The Addiction Medicine Section of CMDA exists to prevent and treat addiction and transform lives, by God’s grace, love, and power. We strive to provide compassionate excellence in all aspects of addiction care, including whole-person prevention and treatment, education, advocacy, empowerment of others, research, church, and community partnerships, and interprofessional collaboration and support.

Our Purpose

To RISE with Christ and, by His power, excel in these areas:

Research – Support, assist and network with those interested in doing faith-based study and research in addiction medicine.

Inspire – Encourage and support opportunities for interprofessional health professionals, pastors, theologians and the broader recovery care community to co-labor and network together to share ideas, concerns, successes, and prayer for one another.

Serve - Provide excellent, Christ-centered, evidence-based, clinical care to individuals struggling with addictions and their families using the biopsychosocial-spiritual model of whole-person healthcare.

Educate - Educate, equip, and mentor others about successful approaches to addiction - including students, health professionals, patients, families, churches, community groups, politicians, media and others.

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