John Kiernan was born in New Rochelle, NY in 1955.  He grew up in the suburban New York City area.

A child of two alcoholics who divorced when he was one year old, his formative years were spent in the depths of his parents' alcoholism.

He became a compulsive overeater at an early age and while blessed with intelligence, could do nothing to lose the weight brought on by his disease.

At the age of 19, he found alcohol and was able to lose weight for the first time in his life.  Unfortunately, the alcohol quickly took over and within a short time he was a full blown alcoholic -- and also back to being a practicing compulsive overeater.

In December 1980, John was admitted to an alcohol detox in Norwalk, CT at the weight of just under 300 pounds.  In a short time, he found recovery in the 12 Steps for his alcohol problem and later he found 12 Step recovery for his food addiction as well.

Since then, he has continually attended meetings in various 12 Step programs.  He has spoken at Conventions, and led Retreats across the U.S. and Canada.

John is a state certified Substance Abuse Counselor in Los Angeles, CA and works at a Mental Health Treatment Center, as well as having his own private practice.

John is available for private sessions, however to stay in compliance with state regulations, if you are seeking help and are from outside California, the relationship would be as a coach.  (Most states do not allow counselors to be called "counselors" for residents of their state unless the counselor has passed that state's certification exam.  With the emergence of Zoom, this has become problematic for many mental health professionals.)

To schedule a free introductory session with John, please see the "Contact" page for more information.