Doug Lyons is the co-founder of Clere Consulting, an organization that works with families of means and prominence and a confluence of wealth, addiction and mental health concerns. Prior to founding Clere, Doug spent the last fifteen years with the Hazelden Foundation, finishing his career as the Director of Clinical Services. In an earlier role, he served as the Evaluation Directo, conducting and supervising over twenty-four hundred evaluations for physicians, lawyers and other high-profile figures. He is a highly sought after lecturer and speaker.
Neely Lyons’ work includes serving as an Executive at the highest levels in all three branches of State government, including when she made history at the age of twenty-five to become the youngest ever elected Mississippi State Senator. Her Senate policy initiatives focused on the convergence of public health and public safety issues, such as drug control, mental health, addiction, domestic violence, and child protection services policies. While achieving professional success, Neely’s family was touched by addiction and mental health issues as well. Her unique 360 degree perspective, political life, professional engagement, and personal experiences complements the collective depth of Clere Consulting’s team, which she joined Clere in 2018.
Today, Neely and Doug speak to how the world of addiction has impacted them and the inspirational work they are doing at Clere Consulting. Neely touches on how she collaborates with families and the specific processes utilized to ensure their loved ones get better. Doug expounds on his belief that systemic recovery comes from a multi-pronged approach that includes healing the mind, body and spirit. Finally, Neely and Doug reflect on the highlights and low points of their careers and speak to why passion is a critical component of their success.
Key Takeaways
01:25 – Neely and Doug Lyons speak to how they got involved in the world of addiction and the inspiring work they’re doing at Clere Consulting
09:02 – Doug breaks down the specific process they utilize at Clere Consulting
11:22 – Neely speaks to how she works with families at Clere
13:46 – The power of collaboration
14:32 – Doug explains why systemic recovery requires a multi-pronged approach of healing the mind, body, and spirit
19:18 – Neely speaks to her involvement in the oversight of Sober Living Homes and what families should look for in Sober Living Homes
22:54 – Neely and Doug reflect on the highest and lowest points of their careers
30:32 – Dr. Flowers thanks Neely and Doug for joining the show and lets listeners know where they can learn more about Clere Consulting
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
Doug’s LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/doug-lyons-078b96b/
Doug’s Contact Info – dlyons@clereconsulting.com 503-490-2273
Neely’s LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/neely-carlton-lyons-jd-a411259b/
Neely’s Contact Info – 601-720-8734
Clere Consulting LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/clere-consulting/
Clere Consulting Website – https://clereconsulting.com/
Clere Consulting Contact – 866-384-8847
**The views and opinions expressed by our guests are those of the individual and do not necessarily reflect those of J. Flowers Health Institute. Any content provided by our co-host(s) or guests are of their opinion and are not intended to reflect the philosophy and policies of J. Flowers Health Institute itself. Nor is it intended to malign any recovery method, religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything.
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Neely and Doug Lyons – Healing Addiction Through A Holistic & Passionate Approach [Episode 61]
Career Journey
Welcome, everyone, to Understanding the Human Condition. I’m your host, Dr. James Flowers. Thank you for joining us. I’m joined by two really special guests who are wonderful friends and colleagues of mine, Doug and Neely Lyons from Clere Consulting. Welcome, Doug and Neely.
Nice to be here.
Thank you. How’s everything in Mississippi?
Cloudy and cool. It’s a rare occasion.
Last week it was 85 and sunny, and I thought spring had arrived. Now here we are, tonight is supposed to be 34 degrees or something, which is just crazy. How have you guys been?
We are working really hard. It’s been a long two years of COVID. All families have been affected by COVID and have asked for help, and that’s a really great thing. While we’ve been busy, we’ve been honored to be a part of the process.
Talking about COVID, it has been, you’re right, Neely. So many people, obviously everyone in the world, were affected by COVID. But in our particular industry, you guys, sometimes when I’m talking to Doug or he’s in Houston visiting, I’ll say, “How have things been since COVID?” We both say the same thing, the world just lit up with the need for exactly what Clere Consulting does. I want to learn a little bit, want the audience to learn a little bit more about Clere Consulting. I really want to read both of your bios real quick because I’m so proud to work with you guys and collaborate, and I want our listeners to know a little bit more about you. Bear with me.
Doug Lyons is the co-founder of Clere Consulting. Clere Consulting works with families of means and prominence at the confluence of wealth, addiction, and mental health concerns. Prior to founding Clere, Doug spent the last fifteen years with the Hazelden Foundation, finishing his career as the director of clinical services in Oregon. In an earlier role, he served as the evaluation director, conducting and supervising over 2,400 evaluations for physicians, lawyers, and other high-profile public figures.
Doug is a highly sought-after lecturer and speaker, having presented to the Family Firm Institute in Europe and the United States, as well as the Northwest Institute of Addiction Studies, the Dallas-Fort Worth Behavioral Health Symposium, which, by the way, is coming up very quickly, the Access Core Conferences, the Mississippi Heroin and Opioid Summit, and the Hazelden Foundation’s Continuing Education Programs, just to name a few. Doug, that doesn’t even do you justice. You’re one of the leaders and thought leaders in this industry, and thank you for everything you do.
Thank you, James.
I want to read a little bit about Neely Lyons. Neely’s work includes serving as an executive at the highest levels in all three branches of state government, including when she made history at the age of 25 by becoming the youngest-ever elected Mississippi state senator. That is so cool. Congrats. Her Senate policy initiatives focused on the convergence of public health and public safety issues, such as drug control, mental health, addiction, domestic violence, and child protective services policies. In her legal practice, Neely represented behavioral health and treatment providers, as well as impaired licensees seeking to reestablish their practices and relationships with their licensing boards.
While achieving professional success, Neely’s family was touched by addiction and mental health issues as well. Her unique 360-degree perspective, political life, professional engagement, and personal experiences, complements the collective depth of Clere Consulting’s team. She joined Clere in 2018. Neely is a certified ARISE interventionist and an IRI-certified recovery specialist. In addition to helping families recover, Neely works with executive management teams and law firms to bring addiction, mental health, and intervention resources to their employees.
Neely strategizes with executive teams to create return-to-work arrangements that reflect best practices in recovery. Neely is a writer and national speaker who volunteers with several recovery community organizations, including the Recovery Housing Operators Association of Mississippi and the Mississippi Opioid and Heroin Summit. She received the 2021 Champion in Recovery Award and the Mississippi Business Journal’s 2017 Healthcare Hero Award for her volunteer work in support of recovery organizations.
Thank you so much for reading all of that and I appreciate that. What I do is such a compliment to the work of Clere Consulting and it’s an honor to be a part of the team.
I’ve had the pleasure of working with both of you for several years, and I really want our audience to understand and hear more about Clere. Doug, could you talk a little bit about how you came into, really, we know how Neely came into this world of addiction. How did you come into this world and come up with the idea of Clere Consulting?
Thanks. It’s a good question, James, and a good place to start. Clere Consulting was really the brainchild of Sam Dresser and myself. We had both spent about 15 or 16 years at the Hazelden Foundation and were ready to try something new, and I had an idea that perhaps, maybe, we could fill what I believe was a need in the market. That was to work with people of means and prominence who came from families not dissimilar to mine, where there was a lot of wealth, a lot of addiction, a lot of dysfunction, and, at least from my viewpoint, there was a tremendous lack of understanding about how to work with those folks. They’re not monolithic by any means, however, there are certain skill sets and, I believe, some best practices that you can bring to bear when working with folks that have significant means, especially intergenerational wealth. There are just some different competencies.
Sam and I had a conversation about that many years ago over lunch. We were in Ann Arbor, Michigan, working on a project for Hazelden. Ultimately, that conversation led to what is now Clere Consulting. We, frankly, didn’t know if this thing would work or not. Let’s give it a shot. We were fortunate enough to get a very influential family, and the case went quite well. It was a young woman who’d had many treatments and who finally established long-term sobriety. People began to ask her and her mother, “How did that happen?” They began to talk about us.
That was almost fourteen years ago. In that time, we have added staff over the years. Most of our team, Amy Prouty, Eve Ruff, obviously Neely has joined us, Sam Dresser, Dr. Glenn Brasington in Oregon, a Ph.D. who works with us, and Leah Randi, a KDAC out of Malibu, California, who has worked with us for a lot of years providing sober companionship and other services, we have grown but have still stayed essentially a boutique firm. People often ask me, “Why don’t you build this thing out? Why don’t Sam and I expand it?” Frankly, I feel like quality control is everything. In order to be as nuanced as we are and as high-touch as we are, we have to stay small. I hope that begins to answer your question a little bit.
I couldn’t agree more with you on the boutique part of what you’re saying, staying small and having quality control. You and Sam are really the faces of Clere Consulting and the co-founders of Clere Consulting. When we all start growing, people ask me the same thing. It’s like, “Are you going to grow? Can you put an office in Malibu or in Atlanta?”
Consulting Process
It’s like, I really want to keep quality control small. I want it to be a priority and make sure that whatever I’m doing is overseeing patient care and ensuring that families are well taken care of. I know that’s your philosophy as well. I know the average length of stay, if we can call it that, with Clere is about 18 to 24 months. Can you talk a little bit about what families experience during their time with you guys?
Sure. I’ll start, and then I’m going to pitch it to Neely in just a second. What we do is we try to build a superstructure, if you will, essentially a strategic plan, around this family system. We do a deep dive into their history, not only the person of concern’s history, but also the family’s history in terms of what they have attempted to do with respect to this individual or individuals in order to help them. Once we have a really solid understanding of what that looks like, we can begin to map out solutions.
Typically, there’s a sequential, logical process, understanding the case, getting in front of these decision-makers, and ultimately determining who our client is, that’s an interesting process. Once we’ve established who the client is and we’ve contracted, two of us typically come into town and we begin to build out a plan. Initially, it’s understanding the severity, the acuity, and the complexity of the case, then understanding what needs to happen next. If this person needs care, where is probably the best resource for them?
If that person has been transferred to care, how do we stay connected with the family system or the business system or the family office so that we can be effective in terms of supporting the treatment center? J. Flowers, for instance, when we’ve done this most on a case that you and I worked on, we become a liaison between our payer, our client, and your providers. That’s invaluable because that’s where the ball gets dropped so often.
I saw that over the years at Hazelden. People would come into treatment, and there was a black box. Neither the families nor an interventionist could see into that box because often people wouldn’t sign releases. We work very diligently to make sure that we keep releases open. One of the beautiful things about working with Flowers is you work so hard on your end to help clients understand the importance of that.
Working With Families
Once we have that transparency built, then we can monitor and marshal this plan over time. We work with the families or the family businesses on the backside while you’re doing your clinical work. That’s what leads to long-term success. Neely is an expert at working with these families, and frankly, the work that she and Eve and Amy do, let’s just face it, I’m not as good, better than I am and better than I ever will be. Sam and I are lucky to have all these great folks with us. Neely, would you like to talk a little bit about what you do with families?
Sure. As I listened to Doug, one of the things that I was thinking about was how many families come in, and they’re fairly frustrated. They’re tired, and they are looking for hope. They’re trying to figure out what’s going to work this time, and they’re skeptical. I think we have to listen primarily. That’s our job, to be able to listen to their story. That story is unique to them. In every family story, there are things that have gone well and things that have not gone well. I just really have to honor families for being brave and courageous enough to ask for help one more time.
“Listening to families like Doug’s, who come in frustrated and tired, seeking hope and solutions, is essential. They often feel skeptical about what will work this time. Our primary role is to hear their unique stories and understand their journey.”
Oftentimes, the affluent families that you guys work with, it is not easy to ask for help. People with whom you work are traditionally problem solvers and are successful because they’re able to navigate whatever difficulty is there. But when it’s within your own family, it’s so difficult to do that. You guys, Neely, feel part of what your job is, is filling that role of helping them really problem-solve.
I appreciate that you brought that up because, as a lawyer, I spent 25-plus years practicing law with people coming to me and asking for help with a problem, with an issue. That’s where I really honed the skill of being able to listen to clients and understand what their objectives and goals were. All of those skills, the advocacy skills, the counselor skills, they transfer perfectly into a role of helping solution, solve problems, and find solutions for families in the role that I play with Clere.
I want to say one more thing about hope, which is, hope is different than wishful thinking. Hope is based on data of a verifiable change process that families can engage in. That’s based on best practices and lived experience that we bring as a team. We’re not asking people to wishfully think that their loved one will get better. We’re asking them to engage in a process that’s verifiable, where they can really start to hook into a hope that their loved one will get better.
“Hope stems from a verifiable change process that families can engage in. We’re not asking for wishful thinking; we’re encouraging families to participate in a tangible process that fosters real hope for their loved ones’ recovery.”
Power Of Collaboration
That’s right. I think part of the magic also of what you guys do, and what Doug was just talking about, is collaboration. You guys serve as the center point or the hub of the wheel and spoke and collaborate both with the treatment center, with the family, with the therapist, with everyone involved on the team. You really help that spoke, or that wheel, turn with ease. And if it does get squeaky, you oil it and put everybody back in place, whether it’s the family or whether it’s the patient, the identified patient, or whomever it is. I just think that the collaboration that you guys do between the treatment provider and family is just priceless. It’s so effective in doing that.
Mind Biopsychosocial Spiritual Approach
Doug, I know I wrote myself a little note because I put a star by it. I wanted to ask you this. I know that you personally are a big mind-body-spirit believer in treatment. You believe in that mind-bio-psychosocial-spiritual approach. My understanding is that systemic recovery requires that. I wanted you to explain what that is because I share that philosophy with you. I’m wondering if you could help our audience understand that systemic approach.
I’m glad to tackle that. I’m glad you asked because, to me, this is literally what I talk to families about when they call, the fact that it’s a four-pronged issue. It’s biological for sure. Some of the latest research, I was talking to Dr. Marvin Sepulveda, the former chief medical officer at Hazelden, the other day. We were in Oregon, spent some time with him and his wife, and we were talking about heritability factors with addiction. It’s looking closer to the newest data we have, which is 60% to 65% heritability factors. That’s really big. More than half. Statistically, that’s just gigantic.
There are also these psychosocial aspects that we all know about that influence, impact, and exacerbate substance use disorders, especially trauma. We know that now. We know from the ACES study, thanks to Kaiser some years ago, and thanks to Vanderkolt’s work, we understand now how these things not only relate and interplay but how they exacerbate and create difficult conditions for people to recover.
You have that biological, psychological, and then the social component, which is so critical because, most often, at least in my recovery, when I was using, my social milieu was lousy at best. Terrible. This idea, especially entering recovery communities, 12-step, SMART Recovery. I’m a big 12-step guy. Frankly, anecdotally, I always just had a felt sense it works, but there’s nothing like empirical data.
Now that we have John Kelly’s and Dr. Humphrey’s studies out of Harvard and Stanford, these two researchers have done this comparative analysis and meta-analysis of all these different disparate therapies, like MET, CBT, RET, and they put them up against just AA. Find out. Empirically, with the largest meta-analysis ever done in the last year or two, finally, somebody did this research. It meets or outperforms all of those other tools. That’s remarkable.
That leads me to the spiritual piece because I think what’s happening there, and again, I don’t know all that is, but my instinct is that human connection is the difference. There’s also a design for living within 12-step communities. Those steps are actually very cognitive-behavioral, with a spiritual aspect to them, which asks you to look for something bigger than your own ego.
“And that leads me to the spiritual piece. My instinct is that human connection is the difference.”
As Dr. Walt Byrd from Happy, Texas, the medical director at Serenity Lane, said to me in 1989, he ended up being president of ASAM. I said, “I don’t buy any of this 12-step stuff, Dr. Byrd. I’ll go to your treatment center because you’ve intervened on me, but I have no intention of reading that blue book. I don’t believe in God, but I’ll do the other counseling part because you’re going to brainwash me.”
He looked at me and said, “Your brain might need some washing.” I didn’t think it was funny at the time, but what I learned is that by reading that book and by being involved in good psychotherapy combined with a spiritual component, my ego didn’t have to run on everything. I didn’t have to run completely on self-propulsion, which was a huge relief.
I’ll tell you, the group, for me, was the central organizing feature of my recovery for many years. As time has gone by, I’ve deepened and widened my meditation and spiritual practices, but I have friends that are atheists. One of them is a PharmD at the University of Washington. For him, TOD is a group of drunks. He’s 34 years sober. That’s a great life.
Helping people find something that’s bigger than themselves, I think, is a critical aspect of this. Again, the biological thing, we get them time and distance. Psychologically, we get them to you or a provider like you, and we get them psychotherapy and care and really good mind-body stuff with respect to exercise and moving again. We know how important that is. Nutrition. All of those things combined create a long-term trajectory, an expectation that people will heal.
That’s right. I couldn’t agree more on the spirituality component and the connection, and the lack of connection, both with the complex families that you guys work with and the families that my practice works with. So many of the treatment centers around the country that we work with see people who just don’t have a sense of connection, either to a family member because they grew up in an affluent family and were too busy and raised by nannies or other house staff, or due to a lack of spiritual connection. It’s just not there.
Sober Living Homes
I’m really glad that you guys incorporate that, and I’m so glad you do as part of the 12-step recovery. I think it’s amazing that you’re talking about that, and I think it’s such an important component to recovery. Neely, I wanted to ask you, you’re really involved in the oversight. Tell me if I’m wrong on that word, oversight, but really on the oversight of sober living homes and making sure that sober living homes are doing the right thing. Can you talk a little bit about that?
In Mississippi, currently, there is no certification or licensure required for someone to open a sober living home. In that environment, what you see is that the public does not have any way to evaluate or reference whether or not that’s the type of quality care their loved one deserves and needs. I’ve been working with a national organization to try to bring some of those best practices to Mississippi and, frankly, to work regionally with some of our other partners.
What we know is that recovery happens along a continuum, and for some of us that are in recovery, we need a safe place to go. You guys were just talking about having come out of an environment where maybe it wasn’t the healthiest friend circle for us. We have to find a new place to put the wheels on our recovery, if you will. That oftentimes is a place like a sober living home.
There’s some excellent sober living in Houston and, as you know, certainly also around the United States. As providers, we want to provide care, but we also want to see our clients do well. Oftentimes, this one little piece, this sober living, is that bridge process where people can go from the protected, supported, therapeutic environment back into their life. It’s a really important venue, I think, for us to be focused on.
“As providers, we want to provide care, but we also want to see our clients do well. Oftentimes, this one little piece – this Sober Living – is that bridge process where people can go from the protected, supported, therapeutic environment back into their life.”
I think it is too. Please bring that to Houston or to Texas because it’s the same thing, there’s no oversight of recovery and sober living homes in the state of Texas. There is some amazing recovery both here in Houston, Austin, Dallas, all over the state. Also, there are some really not-so-great recovery homes that appear on the outside to be nice but that a family really doesn’t know what they’re looking for. Neely, can you talk just for a second, just briefly, about what a family would look for when they’re looking at a sober living home and how they would choose the right sober living environment?
Sure. I would probably start by saying that when we are making this recommendation to a client or their family, we’re working with the therapy team. So we know and understand where they are when they’re leaving treatment, and the recommendation would be based on the individualized continuing care plan. Some of the things a family might be looking for are whether or not there’s supervision in the home. Another thing they might want to know about is whether there’s some requirement that the individual be either in education, working, or have some vocation, so that they’re not just sitting there all day long. You’re going to want to know if there’s a drug policy, for example.
It’s very common for a sober living home to be affiliated with a continuing care plan that includes therapeutic care, individual therapy, intensive outpatient, or a PHP, a Partial Hospitalization Program. It really is dependent on where that person is, but it is often, like I say, that final piece that helps them make a smoother transition back into life.
Highest And Lowest Career Points
I’d love to know from both of you, what’s the highest point of your professional career? What do you feel, I hate to say the lowest point, but maybe a part of the industry that you’ve struggled with over your career in this field? Doug, I’ll start with you.
That’s a big question. The highlight of my career, I wish I could tell you there was one instance. What I can tell you is that the thing that juices me, the thing that keeps me going, is watching people get recovery. It’s a rolling thing. It’s just, we get joy out of this. We refreshed our website, and one of the questions that the interviewer asked me was, “Why do you do this work?” I said, “I cannot. It’s a vocation. It’s a calling.” “In vocata,” in Latin, is to hear, to listen. I don’t really think I can do anything else.
The joy I get is when I get that text, and I got a couple of them this week, or I get that phone call. Somebody’s got nine years, they’ve got one year, they’ve got 90 days. But that substantiated, long-term recovery that people get who have had seven treatments or ten treatments or seventeen treatments, and we’ve got two years, not because we did anything magic but because we applied our framework at Clere Consulting, which is long-term engagement and some critical analysis around monitoring people, some critical analysis around supporting families, and helping them get the care they need.
Those are the kind of things that I get excited about, helping families build these plans. I got a call from an oil and gas family in Dallas this morning, and they don’t even know. She ran errands and got home, and I haven’t even talked to her about it. But this is a gentleman who’s had multiple treatments and is in dire need of care, and this family can’t imagine anything will ever work.
We get that call frequently.
Usually the call we get is, “We’ve done this fifteen times, we got your name from so-and-so, and what makes you different?” I tell them it’s not magic. What makes us different is we stick with you. My great-grandparents were ranchers in West Texas, and they managed the Pitchfork Ranch. There’s a big spread, about 180,000 acres, east of Lubbock. My mother grew up out there, and on their gravestone in Lamesa, Texas, it says, “They never left a herd on a dark night.” We don’t have it on the back of our business cards, but I think we should.
“Usually the call we get is, ‘We’ve done this fifteen times. We got your name from so-and-so. What makes you different?’ And I found it’s not magic. What makes us different is we stick with you
I think you should too. It’s just perfect.
We are 24-7-365. The highs I get are even answering the phone at 2:00 in the morning and walking somebody through, then getting to go back to bed and later seeing that person graduate from treatment and get a coin, get a year, that’s the sponsor. In terms of the lowest thing, probably, we’ve been fortunate enough not to ever have a client perish on our watch, but we work with people who eventually perished. It’s such a constant reminder, this is a chronic, progressive, and ultimately fatal disease if not treated. That’s always the hardest phone call or letter to get, that they had X amount of great time and, for whatever reason, they weren’t able to complete recovery. But it’s extremely rare, thank goodness. I’ve only had one or two of those in fourteen years. Nonetheless, we know that’s always a possibility.
To be honest with you, that’s the hardest thing. With respect to the end, that’s personally the hardest thing, the very hardest thing. But with respect to the industry, I think a lot of us have been doing this a long time. When organizations are successful, often private equity becomes involved. I understand, look, I’m a businessperson, and I’ve got a business degree, but I do know that often that will shift an organization’s focus.
There’s always this margin-versus-mission dynamic conflict. It’s not completely unhealthy, but I’ve got to be working with organizations where mission is still beating out margin. That’s something that I have to watch. It’s a commitment we have to our clients. One of the processes that we engage in when we analyze the best resource for your loved one, or your business partner, whomever it might be, is asking, do we know these people? Do we know their minds as well as their hearts? Do we know that mission will always win out over margin at this organization? I think that’s something that we try to keep our finger on the pulse of.
I couldn’t agree more with you on the passion. When you have the passion that you have inside of you, it doesn’t feel like we get up and work in the morning, it feels like we get up and we’re just living our life. We’re having a great life, having the gift of helping other people. I also couldn’t agree with you more on the venture capital folks that are coming into the industry and offering great sums of money to buy a treatment center, and then that treatment center selling and looking at the bottom line. It just changes. When you start changing the dynamic of a treatment center and changing the programming, deleting programs because of a dollar, then I think it changes the whole dynamic of treatment. I agree with you.
I’m going to restate what I think the question is. The question was, what is an example of a high that I’ve experienced at this point in my career, and maybe a low? That’s a great question. I would say that, in order to address the low, I would have to go back to a prior career decision. I retired from my first career at 33, and then my second career at 48. While I still have an active practice law license, I don’t practice law except for family matters. When I was in that process of making a decision, I had to really ask myself, this is changing my identity. Is this the moment where I learn that I am more than the people I can pick up the phone and call? I am more than the scorekeeping that goes on at work?
When I found that place, where I found that I was who I really was, which is a person who has a lot of compassion and a willing desire to help others find recovery, then that’s when I had comfort in being able to change over, work for Clere, and get involved in direct care with families. It wasn’t exactly low, but it was a shift, perhaps, in how I wanted to use the gifts that I’ve been given. When I was in a very public-facing role, it was very isolating. It was hard for anybody to know that you were struggling, and I think that’s something that I can identify with in the families that we work with. It’s very hard for them, even if they are people who help others philanthropically or otherwise, it can be hard to ask for help for yourself.
Completely agree.
The high side of it is that we get to see the miracle happen for individuals every day in what we do, and that is such a blessing. It is inspiring. It is also common for us to get a call from a family, maybe even years later. I had a text message this week from a family that I had worked with, thanking me for their daughter’s recovery. This is a daughter that they felt like they had lost for over a decade, and she now has all of her family back with her. She is able to show up and be present for her children, and she has a great life ahead. To be able to be the firsthand witness to that process is a real honor, and that’s a real high for me to be involved in the work that I do with Clere.
Episode Wrap-Up
That always makes my heart feel warm, just to hear that from families and from the patients that graduate and move on. They continue working with you guys, but they leave us. They continue working with you, and so we get to hear the stories as the success continues. I love that about the work that you do, and I think that both of you are two of the most authentic people that we get the pleasure of working with. I want everyone that’s watching or listening to understand how to reach Clere Consultancy. Doug, what’s the best way for the audience to reach out to you guys?
We are so small, our phone numbers are the best way to reach us, or email. It’s just really simple, DLyons@ClereConsulting.com. But we spell Clere funny, and we do not have time for that story. My phone number is 503-490-2273, and Neely’s is 601-720-8734. That’s really the best way to reach us because we are that small. We do have an 800 number, but I’m not going to bother, it goes to our central headquarters in Minneapolis.
It’s on our website.
It is. Our website, if you Google Clere Consulting, you will see us.
I have not seen the new website. Is it launched?
It is.
I’m going to go look at it this afternoon. That’s fantastic.
We love your new website too.
Thank you so much. We did a lot of work. Robin Mooney worked so hard on that, so thank you guys. Again, I cannot tell everyone how amazing it is, whether you’re a circular, amazing treatment program up in Utah, or any other program in this country, or here at J. Flowers. We all love working with you guys. You’re a bright star and a shining star and a shining couple in our industry. Thank you for doing the work that you do at Clere. Sam’s not here, but tell him hello.
He’s on an airplane.
Is he? You all are always flying everywhere. Again, thank you guys for what you do. It’s wonderful to see you, and I know we’ll be talking to you soon.
Terrific. Thank you, James.
Thank you so much.
Take good care, you guys. Bye.
I’d like to remind everyone watching or listening to us that there are numerous platforms to find our podcast, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud, Spotify, Stitcher, and iHeartRadio. 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.
Yes, it is. See you again next week.
Thanks again, Robin.
Thank you.
Important Links
- James Flowers on LinkedIn
- Flowers Health Institute
- Subscribe on your favorite player: https://understanding-the-human-condition.captivate.fm/listen
- Doug Lyons on LinkedIn
- Neely Lyons on LinkedIn
- Clere Consulting
- Clere Consulting on LinkedIn
- Hazelden Betty Ford
- Serenity Lane
- Doug’s Contact Info – dlyons@clereconsulting.com – 503-490-2273
- Neely’s Contact Info – 601-720-8734
- Clere Consulting Contact – 866-384-8847
- YouTube
- Apple Podcast
- SoundCloud
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- Stitcher
- iHeart Radio
