With a career spanning over ten years, John West has earned a name for himself as an international alcohol and drug Interventionist, Sober Companion and Crisis Manager, specializing in high-profile clients like celebrities, politicians, musicians, scientists, artists and executives.
Today, John opens up to his dear friend Dr. Flowers about the loss of his father, his battle with drugs and alcohol, and how his personal recovery led him to find his true calling as a Sober Companion and Interventionist in the film and recovery industry, where he can help those who feel unable to share their pain because of their public image. John speaks to the criteria he looks for in a good Sober Companion and the work he and Judy Crane are doing at The Guest House.
Key Takeaways
01:22 – John West shares how his life has changed and his shifted perspective since becoming a father last October
04:24 – John speaks to the incredible work he’s doing at Sober Companions
06:58 – The criteria for a good Companion
12:20 – The Guest House Ocala
17:09 – John opens up about the loss of his father
21:35 – John’s daily routine that sets him up for success
24:10 – Dr. Flowers thanks John for joining the show and lets listeners know where they can connect with him
Resources Mentioned
JFlowers Health Institute – https://jflowershealth.com/
JFlowers Health Institute Contact – (713) 783-6655
Subscribe on your favorite player: https://understanding-the-human-condition.captivate.fm/listen
John West’s LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-west-11377187
Sober Companions Website – https://www.sobercompanions.com/
The Guest House Contact Number – (352) 812-2780
The Guest House Toll Free Number – (855) 483-7800
The Guest House Website – https://www.theguesthouseocala.com/staff_member/john-west/
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John West – Addiction, Loss, And Easing Suffering [Episode 60]
Personal Background
I am so excited to have my incredible friend, John West, with us. John.
How are you, Dr. Flowers? I’m so happy to be here. We don’t get to see each other enough. It’s wonderful to spend some time with you.
We don’t. We collaborate all the time. It’s amazing. You’re in Florida and all over the country, and I’m in Houston and travel all over the country and our paths will cross and we hug each other. You know what, that’s the best kind of friend. It’s when you don’t have to get on the phone and say hello every day, how are you, but when you see each other, it’s like, “I feel like I saw you yesterday.”
No time has passed.
I know. I’m going to be remiss if I don’t make another comment about those glasses. Those are phenomenal glasses. I’m getting ready to go to the progressives, too.
It’s a sign that either maturing or getting older. I fought it for a long time, but my wife thinks it that I look distinguished or smarter.
You absolutely do. How is Audra?
She is wonderful. We had our son who was born on Halloween of 2021. It’s an amazing thing to step into fatherhood and have all these new responsibilities. I went around our town and joined the Board of the Education department. We’re treating all the firemen in town and reaching out to the police force to treat them, because I want to make sure that if he’s anything like me when he is a teenager, he’s got a few get-out-of-jail-free cards.
Let’s get started early and get on those boards. It’s amazing how your life changes when you become a parent. What would you say the biggest change in your life has been since?
I would say a shift in perspective. My life has been focused on the outside world and working 24 hours a day. We’re working with other clients, their needs, and their families. All of a sudden, in one day, that focus shifted to this little human being. I think I was ready for the long nights and I’m prepared for it. I didn’t think I would be, but it’s a shift in perspective, from the outside world and everybody to one little baby.
A huge congratulations to both you and Audra. I know that you guys are already amazing parents and you’re going to raise an amazing human being. I cannot believe I haven’t met him yet, but hopefully soon.
We will travel with him and set it up.
Sober Companions
I want to read something just real quick. You made some show comments before this interview. John West, of course, of Sober Companions and so many other things that we’ll talk about. You said, “Our job is to make space, listen and hear those suffering from substance and mental health conditions that have kept them stuck. Our personal experience of recovery and expertise and connecting those in need with the best and brightest is our mission. It’s a good place to be in these current times of stress, overwhelming anxiety in the world. The future is brighter when we can listen, connect and help.” Can you expand on that just a little bit?
Absolutely. I can’t believe I said that.
John, that was great.
I was thinking about that, about how we were going to be speaking, and about what you do and our experience. I think one of the loneliest places to be is to be suffering in pain and not have somebody who understands to reach out, whatever that pain is. Mental health, physical pain, addiction, loss, depression. I’ve gone through recovery from different things throughout my life. I’m able to share from my experience how I got out of a difficult situation.
“I think one of the loneliest places to be is to be suffering in pain and not have somebody who understands.”
I think our jobs are to be as informed and good at what we do, excellent at what we do, and get the information and care to people who are cut off. Their trauma, addiction or mental health, shut them off from the outside world. It’s a very lonely, scary place. If we can make that really inviting and comfortable, and you use all our skills of communication, humor and expertise in the medical area to bring them out of that shell and to serve as a bridge to healing.
When I was a kid, I wanted to work in film, be a movie producer, and do all these things. This career came to me through a series of different, long path. I’m very clear about it now, which is however we can break down those barriers to get help to people and the clientele that you work with, that we work with, there are these extra barriers. Not everybody understands complex medical conditions, massive wealth and family dynamics and all these things. Our job is to be excellent at getting to the client and having them trust and connect and be able to share with us. Finding a way to be there as a safe space.
I can’t tell you how important it’s been at J. Flowers Health Institute to really collaborate with you over the last few years as much as we do in working with companions and what those companions bring as far as stability to the clients that fly in from really all over the world into Houston and stay with us anywhere from two weeks to a year at a time. I think we’ve worked with some of you guys or your companions for over a year with the same client. They truly become just a foundation of stability in their life.
Criteria For A Companion
When you’re interviewing companions and talking to people, people call you all the time and say, “John, can I work with you and be a companion?” What do you look for in the qualities of someone? Not everyone can be a companion. It’s tough. I cannot. I truly do not think I could be a companion. I don’t know about you, but it’s a tough job.
It takes a very special person. I did it for a long time. I got to a point where I couldn’t do it anymore because it was a point in my life where I could do it eighteen months in a row and travel the world. It switched where I wouldn’t be as good. We had training for a year. I don’t necessarily have that in me anymore. It’s a very specific piece. The first thing to look out for would be everybody reads articles about it being the rock and roll lifestyle and the money and stuff like that. That would be the first thing that’s a red flag when people start talking about that.
The second is I just want to help people and this is my recovery and it’s a very different thing from recovery. That would actually be a red flag, too. Helping people is absolutely the motivation, but this is separate from somebody who’s in recovery. It’s a professional paid position, so it’s somebody who’s very good at listening to the clinical team. That’s the most difficult point. Companions are basically an arm of the clinical team. They have to take direction and they can’t be questioning the clinical team. They’re an extension of the clinical team for the other twenty hours of the day.
That’s what I was going to say. They actually spend far much more time with individuals than the clinical team. It’s so important for them. All of your companions clearly have been trained well by you and your team, but they listen, watch for nuances, and pass that information along to the clinical team. That really helps us have a great understanding, a better, more clear understanding of that individual when they’re not in treatment.
Somebody who comes and wants to be a companion and say they want to treat people, there’s all these red flags. Over the years, there have been so many people. From my own experience, mistakes I made and the things I learned. It’s somebody who’s really great at being, as you say, observant and passing the right information to the clinical team, so then they can work with that.
They see things that you won’t see in the office when you’re doing a two-hour session or an assessment. This information, we got to make sure we’re protecting the client’s privacy, but is this something that rises to the level of this will help them if it’s shared with the clinical team and it can be worked on? It’s looking for themes things that pop up your gut like, “This doesn’t seem right,” or, “The client’s doing well, but why do I have 37 calls from the mother today?” I have to feed this information. I can’t judge that. I can feed that information to your team and have that dealt with. The client is given the space to heal. It’s an intangible, and you can see quickly if somebody’s good or not. They’ll be flushed out in a couple of weeks.
You and I have not talked about this beforehand. I think you and I obviously will share the same philosophy on this, but someone goes to Guest House and they go through treatment, and they’re there for 3 months or 6 months, or they’re at J. Flowers Health Institute or anywhere else in the country in amazing programs. They get out of treatment and they’re still in this pink cloud phase and they’re like, “John, I want to be a companion. I’m available tomorrow.” What’s your answer?
I would say, “Here are some other companies that you could work with to do some transports maybe,” like a half a day transport or something like that. It takes a long time because I’ve had situations in which reputation is everything. One person doing something that’s off-putting can really take down years of great stuff.
In general, I like to have somebody jump through hoops with another company and then start with maybe transport or something like that, train somebody for a little while, and then ease them into situations. It’s not an exact science because the calls are so immediate. I think it takes, I would say, at least five years of sobriety if you’re coming from recovery. When we have a client, we ask the clients how it was. We’re constantly interviewing. It takes me a long time to trust somebody.
The Guest House Ocala
You guys are impeccable at what you do. You have an amazing training program, and you put the right people. It’s an art. It really is. It’s an art and almost a science together, and putting the right companion with the right client. You guys do an amazing job with it. Let’s talk just a minute about, obviously, I want to talk about you and Judy and the Guest House and Guest House Ocala, which is one of my favorite programs in the United States. It’s amazing what you’ve done and the growth that you’ve experienced. Huge congratulations on that. Tell everybody a little bit about your experience at Guest House and what’s going on now.
I feel like we’re from similar classes. We all sat down and we’re opening our programs at a similar time. I think we were in San Diego talking about like, “Who are you going to build the website with?” Now there’s this great success and it’s amazing. I went to The Refuge in 2004. Judy was the head of The Refuge. It was a treatment center. I went through that program. I went back out into the world and started working back in film. I went to some trainings and became a sober companion and interventionist. I was working with this client where he had been to treatment and they had violated his privacy a couple of times. He had a schedule to do.
Hundreds of people were basically being employed. If he went off to treatment or went off course for the next eighteen months, there was going to be a lot of people that would’ve lost their jobs. We set up a team that traveled with him. A chef, a beautiful environment, therapist, spiritual advisor, a companion. His physical health was taken care of by this very talented person. While I was doing that job, I was also working with Judy. We had been working with different families, and we had this idea where we’d been traipsing all over the world, setting up very similar to what you do in one place. You’re trying to do that in different countries. She said, “We have to do this in one place,” because of the group dynamic.
The idea that between 9 and 18 people, you work a lot better because if somebody else is sharing, your guard is down and you’re actually doing work listening to them. We went and found this property and started off with sixteen beds. We’re now up to 35, but the idea came from when I was traveling with this client, very similar to what you’ve done. How do we make an environment where we bring those barriers down? The beds are beautiful, the food is wonderful. You’re doing all this really difficult emotional work. How do we make it a beautiful place where you feel supported by the staff and you can let go and let down? COVID hit. We’re basically saying, “We’re going to have this safe 50-acre environment and we’re not going to let that in the door.”
We set up a quarantine protocol and other things like that. We haven’t had a client get sick since the beginning of the pandemic, but it’s just one piece of how we make this a safe space. We do all the things, all the clinical things, but at the heart of it, what I wanted was selfishly, if I relapse, where would I go? I went back to treatment. I want something where the food’s good, the beds are nice, the clinical team is not shaming. They’re supportive and they’re the best at what they do.
“At the heart of [The Guest House], what I wanted was, sort of selfishly, if I relapsed, where would I go?”
There are some people who have a philosophy of they don’t need the best blankets and the best beds and the best property, and the best this, and the best that. I disagree with that. I really believe that if you have a strong clinical team in place like we have, like Guest House has, you have Judy Crane, you have the rest of the team at Guest House. It’s beyond reproach. They do amazing clinical work. When you leave an environment of comfort and you go to treatment, you want to be in comfort. There’s nothing wrong with that. There’s nothing wrong with being comfort, cared for, loved, and taken care of holistically while you’re doing good hardcore recovery work. I applaud what you guys are doing, and I see that you’re doing amazing work at Guest House. Tell Judy I said hello as well.
I definitely will. I think our two programs are very simpatico. The philosophies are the same, the work is the same, that idea that of you’re going someplace to really do this work. It’s difficult to go through emotional turmoil. I was in treatment with a Green Beret. He said jumped out of airplanes and been on the battlefield. This work is scarier and harder. You want it to be comfortable and supportive. I’m proud to say I believe in that.
I am, too.
There is a stigma to it.
Losing A Father
I think that you, Audra and Judy are an amazing team and I love just following and watching you guys grow and the things, the great work that you’re doing. You and I also share something else. That is we both lost our fathers and it was pretty difficult on both of us. It still is. As adult men, I miss my dad tremendously. He died when I was ten years old in front of me. He had a heart attack in front of me at the dinner table. You lost your dad. Talk a little bit about your dad and your experience in growing up with him. Tell the world who he is and who he was, and then what you’ve gone through since losing your dad and how you’ve made it through that trauma.
It’s interesting. I still remember you and I had dinner in Florida and we talked about your history and family history is so fascinating. Very cool. My dad was an actor. His name was JT Walsh. He was a character actor. He started a little bit later in life. I grew up around Broadway and later on, movie sets. I was about 6 or 7 years old when he started. He started on Broadway. I didn’t know anything different. I just thought, “Our life is changing. We’re meeting all these famous people and it’s a different experience.” I would tell my friends in school and things like that. At 23, I was living with him in California and I was working in film, and he died suddenly.
We were in an argument. He was in recovery at the time, and I was, at 23, drinking and using, and we were arguing about that, basically, in a general way. I felt that I had messed up because I had an unfinished phone call with him, basically. We weren’t able to end that argument or that fight about the way my life was going and my relationship with him. For the next nine years, that really guided my addiction and I took on all this guilt. Doing trauma work, I saw that he had his own path, I had mine and having a son, I named him Liam James Walsh West.
I gave him my father’s name. The relationship now is this wonderful memory. Also, realizing having a son the difficulties or the things that I used to be upset with him about, father and son, it makes so much more sense now. The love I have for this child, but also like, am I able to protect him? Am I going to be a good father? All the different questions you have and then having a career, put it really into perspective. I think that abandonment or loss at a young age, father and son, I said this when it happened. It felt like there was a crack in the universe and only other people would lost a parent would understand.
“Abandonment or loss at a young age, like a father and son, felt like there was a crack in the universe, and only other people who had lost a parent would understand.”
All of a sudden, I felt like you understand and that you just have to say your experience. I go, “You get that.” It’s guided. I’m trying to live up to him and followed into film, which was great, but then I found my own path. I know now that this is what I’m supposed to be doing. It still is connected to film. You have like a media wing and there’s things that we’re doing in recovery that keeps me in that world, but it’s on my terms. It took a while to grow up and work through that. I just did an intensive with Judy and Tom. We do these intensives. That was the work. It was about a letter from my son to my father. I don’t know if that answers the question. It’s gotten better.
Of course, it does. You have an amazing mother as well. I’m sure she must be in awe over this new grandchild.
She moved two blocks away. She bought a house two blocks away. She’s coming over every day. She bought a second home that’s right around the corner and would walk the dogs and come see the baby. She fell off a chair and broke her femur. All of a sudden, now we’re looking after her. We just had a big gathering with our whole family and celebrated her birthday. She’s just over the moon with having a new baby.
I know she is. All the best to her and her recovery. It’s not fun to break a femur.
Straight through. It’s like a family thing. The fire department was there and they were asking her what her pain level was and she couldn’t really say. They checked her and her blood pressure was 250. I said, “Just let it go. Just tell them you’re in pain. It’s okay.”
Daily Routine
“Let them give you morphine. You’re going to be all right. You need pain meds.” Exactly. I love it. Do you have a daily routine that creates a successful day? Do you follow a daily routine that really sets your day up for success?
I’ve been doing editing the routine. I have a whole team of people. I have a doctor that I check in with every morning. I have to send them my intake from the day before of protein, fiber and calories and where I’m at. I have a meditation routine in the morning, which is guided by my sponsor. I walk the dogs. I pretty much 99% of the time make breakfast and coffee for my wife. That’s because I can’t get away with it. Basically, meditating and trying to get into the day and plan out the day. This is a particularly stressful week because we have Jay.
Is he coming to do a re-certification?
Yeah, which is the end of the certification board. We’re mopping and cleaning, everything’s beautiful. At the end of the day, I’m doing some journaling, going through the day. It’s something that started off years ago with just a quick meditation in the morning and at night. Now, it’s been tweaked to having other people outside of myself tell me what to do.
You’ve got to be able to listen to those people.
When I look at it, I’m like, “It takes a lot of people helping me to run my day, my life.”
Robin Mooney, I think, told me about this doctor that you’re working with, and I think I looked him up on Facebook, maybe. You need to text me his information because I’m super interested in what you’re doing with them. Obviously, anything to improve our health and nutrition. You’ve got Audra to help you do that and stay on top of you and watch that you’re doing it. That’s so cool.
During COVID and having a baby. She was in the hospital for 78 days and we were ordering Cheesecake Factory in the hospital and bringing pizzas to the staff and all this. We saw this doctor. Basically, it’s an inflammation diet. Take your blood test and find out what you’re allergic to. For her, one of the things was vinegar and she’s been putting vinegar on her salads for years. I’m not understanding why she’s not feeling well. It’s a process, and we’re trying to tell other people that we know what a good routine is and what a good way to recover is. I do the best I can to live that as well. I can’t be telling somebody something I’m not willing to do myself.
Episode Wrap-up
Same here. I think life, we’re always navigating through the best we can do. Both of us. We have these busy careers and we have busy families and lives that we go on. You’re someone who sets the bar in this industry, and I thank you so much for what you do. I appreciate you coming on this show. Unfortunately, I’m a little bit out of time here, but I just wanted to say you’re amazing. I love you and congratulations on all the success. The baby, Audra, Judy, everything.
I have to say, double to that to you. Thank you for supporting us, supporting me over the last few years and basically changing our life in all sorts of ways and collaboration. I think the world of you. It’s wonderful to see somebody who’s at the top of their game in living excellence. Seeing that it is so inspiring.
“It’s wonderful to see somebody who’s at the top of their game living in excellence; seeing that it is so inspiring.”
Thank you so much. Likewise.
It’s great to see it and as we go along, that road narrows. There are all these different programs. What you’re doing is excellence.
Thank you so much. Two questions. One, if someone is looking for a companion, a family out there that’s reading this wants to talk to you about a companion, how do they reach you guys and discuss that process?
Our website is pretty simple. It’s just www.SoberCompanions.com. One of our two will find you somebody wonderful.
Both are amazing women.
They oversee all the companions. I’ve actually found that when I step out of the way, it runs a lot better because
Yes, me too.
It’s going so much better because I’m not sticking my nose in. I’m so used to doing everything, writing every contract and doing everything. Now, it’s flowing well with these wonderful women who are running the program.
I was in London and I was there for seven days, I think. I came back and I walked in the office and someone literally said, “When are you leaving again?” I’m like, “Thanks. It’s good to see you, too.” I’ve learned just to step back. We have good people around us, don’t we?
Absolutely. What they don’t see is the hard work that you did to get to that point where they have an awful.
People, those suffering from trauma and addiction, how do they reach Guest House?
I can give out that number. The website is TheGuestHouseOcala.com. Actually, the best number would be Jessica in our admissions line. Her number is (352) 812-2780 or (855) 483-7800. That’s the toll-free number. Basically, we treat people who are suffering from anything that’s traumatic in your life. We can figure out a way to either refer, working with your team and stabilizing. What’s so wonderful is the clients that could come to you. We’ve had clients that have been with us. After a bit of time, they go to you because they need something different or we’re working on a certain area and then they’re through that. Now it’s time to work on more of the medical assessment.
You and I are both at that phase in our career, thank goodness, that we both collaborate with people. We are collaborators with people all over the literally internationally. If Guest House is not the proper place, so there’s something going on with a patient that you guys can’t quite pinpoint, you’ll either give me a call, or you’ll give people around the country a call and people call you guys. I think collaboration is so important and I appreciate collaborating with you guys every day.
I’m so grateful for our collaboration. I can’t thank you enough. I’m very grateful and it’s an honor.
Please give Audra a kiss on the cheek for me.
She wants to come see you and hopefully, you’ll take us to that wonderful Mexican restaurant.
Yeah, we will do it again. If someone wants to reach J. Flowers Health Institute, it’s JFlowersHealth.com or (713) 783-6655. John, I love you. Take good care.
Thank you, sir.
I’d like to remind everyone that there are numerous platforms to find our show, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud, Spotify, Stitcher, and iHeart Radio. Please share this episode on social media or with someone that you think it could help. We remind you also that a clear diagnosis is key to the most effective treatment possible.
See you next time.
Thanks again, Robin.
Thank you.
Important Links
- John West
- Sober Companions
- The Guest House
- YouTube – Understanding the Human Condition
- Apple Podcasts – Understanding the Human Condition
- Spotify – Understanding the Human Condition
- iHeart Radio – Understanding the Human Condition
- The Guest House – John West’s page
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