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Staff

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Paul Taylor, MS - Executive Director
Paul joined Copper Canyon Academy in June 2001. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Sociology, a special education teaching certificate, and a master’s degree as a Comprehensive Behavior Specialist from the University of Utah.

Paul began working in residential therapeutic programs in October 1989. He worked for Utah Youth Corrections programs for 12 years as a teacher, special education teacher, intake coordinator, youth supervisor, and group therapy facilitator. He also has specialty training in positive control techniques, behavior management, behavior consultant, assessments and testing, vocational training, female offender training, and criminology and corrections. Paul and his beautiful wife, Sara, are the proud parents are five amazing children.

Daniel Harner, MS, MA, LAC – Counselor
Daniel is a licensed psychotherapist in the state of Arizona. He received his B.S. and M.S. in Psychology from the University of Salzburg, Austria. Additionally, he holds a M.A. degree in Counseling Psychology from Prescott College. Daniel worked in community mental health, residential substance abuse treatment centers, and psychiatric inpatient facilities. Daniel brings to Copper Canyon Academy a great passion for doing counseling with adolescents and their families. His therapeutic approach is eclectic/integrative, drawing upon a wide variety of techniques in order to adapt to each students individual needs. He believes that sincere self-examination carried out in a therapeutic setting of warmth and understanding unveils the hidden blocks to lasting happiness, authenticity, and acceptance of self and others. In addition to his therapeutic duties at Copper Canyon Academy, Daniel is working on a dissertation and a book on developmental aspects of narcissism across life span. His leisure time usually consists of spending time outdoors, playing soccer, tennis, swimming, and hiking. Additionally, Daniel likes to cook, travel, and spend time with family and friends.

Jennifer Liatas-Underhill, MA, LMHC - Counselor
Jennifer is a licensed mental health counselor with a Master’s degree in Counseling & Guidance. Her clinical experience includes working with adults, children and families for the last five years. Jennifer has experience working with the Adult SMI population, team work with 24 hour crisis response and Diagnostic assessment based services. Jennifer’s approach implements behavioral therapy with other proven methods in an approach that considers the uniqueness of each client in order to provide support, assistance and encouragement to the adolescents and families she serves.

Sara Wasserman - Counselor
Sara is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Board Certified Registered Art Therapist. She has been a therapist at Copper Canyon Academy for over three years but has been a therapist for 35 years in many different residential and outpatient settings, providing her with a solid foundation for her responsibilities at CCA.

Her educational background includes a bachelor’s degree in Special Education from the University of Cincinnati. Her master’s degree in Art Therapy from the University of Louisville offers students another avenue of expression. Sara believes if you can create an idea in art you can create it in life. Use of images allows for the unfolding of information often difficult to put into words. Sara combines verbal and non-verbal therapies as avenues of expression. She has expertise in working with adoption, depression, grief and loss, and the value of living in the present moment.

Taylor Watts, MA, LMHC - Counselor
Taylor is a licensed mental health counselor trained in psychotherapy, expressive therapies, substance abuse, mind-body, relaxation, and cognitive restructuring with a specialization in child, adolescent, and family therapy. She graduated from Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Taylor has worked with children and their families in various settings including outpatient clinics, schools, public housing projects, hospitals, community centers, and in private practice. She has worked in administration as a clinic director, coordinator for child/family, and educational services, but her heart and primary focus is in direct care and therapy with children and families.

Her experience in counseling is augmented by an earlier career in the arts, which contributes to a unique skill set and a commitment to a multidimensional approach that recognizes the importance of the adolescent, family, culture, and community in providing the supports necessary for successful treatment.

Rodney Adams, M.S. Counseling Psychology - Counselor
Rodney has experience in substance abuse treatment, mental health residential programs, and residential programs for adults with developmental disabilities. He moved back to the Verde Valley area from Anchorage, Alaska. In Alaska he worked for a private substance abuse agency, providing treatment in both outpatient and intensive outpatient programs.

Rodney earned his bachelor’s degree in Psychology through Northern Arizona University and his master’s degree in counseling psychology through Alaska Pacific University. He uses an eclectic approach to therapy, understanding that each individual is unique. His main emphasis is on helping teenage girls understand their self-limiting thoughts and beliefs, which often lead to behaviors with undesirable consequences.