Background...

My name is Ryan West and I currently serve Greenbriar Treatment Center, a leading regional chemical addictions treatment provider, as the Manager of Corporate Trainings and Business Development.  From 2007 to 2010, I worked as a clinical evaluator and admissions counselor, specializing in helping employed individuals suffering from substance misuse and mental health issues.  My goal was simple... assess each individual's situation, prescribe the most appropriate treatment program(s), coordinate care with medical providers and community supports, and work with their employer and/or employee assistance specialist to get them back to work a better version of themselves. 

 

Every single one of the 1,500+ patients that I've had the privilege of working with reminded me of the devastating effects that substance misuse creates for the individual, the family unit, and the employer.  The approximately 80 percent of patients who were employed shared their experiences with me, providing "insider information" concerning the concealment of their substance use and impairment while working.  I quickly learned that employers are either unequipped to deal with substance use in the workplace, mis-equipped, or equipped but are not using the tools properly.  Thus, I re-focused my efforts and began working directly with employers in 2013. 

 

Over the past seven years I've partnered with numerous local and national employers, helping them to revise their drug and alcohol policies, drug testing procedures, and substance misuse training programs.  "Reasonable Suspicion" and "All-staff Substance Use Awareness" are the most commonly requested trainings by employers, as they provide a significant and immediate return on investment.  Click here to learn more about my offered trainings.  

 

While I no longer meet with patients as an admissions counselor, I continue to meet with patients referred by Substance Abuse Professionals (SAPs), EAPs, employers, and treatment providers, who don't require treatment but need some type of drug and alcohol education.  I also enjoy educating physicians, nurses, therapists, and the general public on the commonly misunderstood condition of addiction.  Some of my clinical topics include "The Neuroscience of Addiction", "Medical Marijuana", and "Being Therapeutic Without a License".

 

I hold a bachelor’s degree in criminology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree in psychology, with an industrial-organizational concentration, from Southern New Hampshire University.  In addition to being a chemical addiction specialist, I have extensive training in nonverbal communication and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®, the world’s most widely used personality instrument.  I am a Certified Forensic Interviewer (specializing in body language interpretation) through the Center for Interviewing Standards and Assessment, and a certified Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® practitioner through Executive Strategies International, Inc.  Each skill set is applied on a daily basis for improved communications between myself and patients/corporations served.  When communications are maximized, so are outcomes.