About J. Flowers

Currently serves as the Chief Strategy Officer at J. Flowers Health Institute in Houston, TX. She has been a leader in the behavioral health and addiction recovery field for over 25 years, with 26 years in recovery. She represents the very principles she strives for daily—honesty, integrity, humility, and grace.

Rigby is a prominent figure in the addiction recovery and mental health industry, working with some of the leading treatment providers in the nation. Most recently, she was recognized by the High Watch Recovery Center and presented with the Marty Mann Award in the Fall of 2021. She was recognized by a Resolution from former Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant in 2020 for her dedication to fighting for those caught in addiction within our communities and nationally. She was awarded the Fred R. French Award for Excellence in 2020 by C4 Recovery Foundation for her outstanding service in the field of addiction–with an emphasis on mentoring and/or educating others. Because of her superlative ethical and professional standards, she was recognized nationally at the 2018 Admissions and Marketing Symposium with the Silver Shoe Award. In 2008, she was appointed by former Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour to serve on the Mississippi Drug Court Advisory Board to offer her first-hand knowledge and insight into strengthening the Drug Court System.

Rigby has served on the board of numerous community organizations, church leadership committees, and behavioral health associations such as the Mississippi Association of Drug Court Professionals, Central Mississippi Chapter of the National Council on Alcoholism & Drug Dependency, Mississippi Association of Addiction Professionals, American Diabetes Association, National Alliance for Mental Illness (Mississippi Chapter) and National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers.

In her spare time, Ruth Ann serves on the Advisory Board for the Center for Hope and Healing at Broadmoor Baptist Church, where she is on-call to work with any family that crosses her path. She is dedicated to fighting for those caught in addiction and ending the cycle of dependency. Her leadership in action has been proven repeatedly by her tireless energy and passion to change and save a person’s life. Ruth Ann, along with her husband LTC(Ret) Joseph Rigby, are co-founders of a 501(c) 3non-profit organization called First Responders of Mississippi. They created this organization to help first responders(Individuals, Families,and Agencies) in their greatest time of need with assistance, wellness, and hope.

Rigby and her husbandJosephalong with theirthreeCocker Spaniels—Graciee, Cailee and Darbee reside in Madison County MS on their farm “Stil-Wurkin Farm”.

Ruth Ann states: I am so excited to be working with James, Robbin, and Michael on their leadership team. They truly have created an environment for complete and total wellness. For Executives & Professionals, Children, Adolescents and Young Adults.

Ryan Viviano has a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Houston and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of North Texas. He is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker-Supervisor and a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor. Ryan has been in practice for over a decade and has worked in a variety of clinical settings. Before joining J. Flowers, he spent seven years as a Behavioral Health Consultant at a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC). He has also worked in crisis response teams, inpatient psychiatric hospitals, outpatient substance use treatment and as a health educator. In addition, he has years of experience in private practice therapy.

Ryan is trained in Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT), Motivational Interviewing (MI), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART). Ryan has spent much of his career working with LGBTQ+ populations and those with chronic health conditions. His special areas of interest are crisis intervention, substance use, anxiety disorders and mood disorders.  

In his free time, Ryan enjoys gardening, spending time with family and animals, travel, and all things Italian.  

Farideh Banafshei is the lead in-house Psychologist of J. Flowers Health Institute in London. She has a track record of delivering high-quality services in both English and Persian, and has acquired a wealth of clinical experience with international client groups both within the NHS and private sector. 

Farideh has experience providing care for adolescents, adults and families with mental health challenges and emotional needs, committed to working with clients to facilitate and achieve long-term change. She believes in tailoring evidence-based psychological interventions, and draws knowledge from diverse schools of thought, to optimally create the most supportive approach to best suit her client’s needs. Some of her main specialist areas include anxiety, depression, relationship issues, trauma, cultural and identity-related concerns, and personal development. She integrates a mixture of psychodynamic therapy, person-centred, cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), talking therapy and other approaches to create a confidential, safe, and accepting space that can support an individual’s needs as they explore their emotions.

Farideh has studied at world-renowned universities such as, King’s College London. After achieving an undergraduate degree in Psychology with first-class honours, she completed a postgraduate degree in Affective Disorders, receiving a distinction for her clinical work and research. She later went on to be awarded The Centre of Affective Disorders Most Outstanding Research award, the Studentship bursary award from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, and commenced working in specialist settings whilst producing impactful nuanced research within her field.

Shalonda has had over 30 years experience in various industries working in dministration,Customer Service and Finance. She attended Lamar and Texas Southern Universities where she pursued her studies in Sociology and minored in Psychology.

Shalonda is also the proud mother of one daughter and grandmother to one granddaughter. In her free time she enjoys fishing, singing and spending time with family and friends.

Shalonda has a passion for helping others and feels that her positive attitude and energy is an asset to the team.