Holistic_Approach_May_Be_The_Key_to_Curing_Addiction

							Title:
Holistic Approach May Be The Key to
Curing Addiction

Word Count:
279

Summary:
Though the medical profession label
s alcoholism and addiction - Americ
a's No. 1 health problems - as incu
rable diseases that are manageable
at best, one man is determined to p
rove that there is a complete cure
for those twin demons.


Keywords:
Holistic Approach May Be The Key to
Curing Addiction


Article Body:
Though the medical profession label
s alcoholism and addiction - Americ
a's No. 1 health problems - as incu
rable diseases that are manageable
at best, one man is determined to p
rove that there is a complete cure
for those twin demons.
According to Chris Prentiss, co-fou
nder of the world-famous Passages R
ehab Center in Malibu, Calif., and
author of the new book, "The Alcoho
lism & Addiction Cure, A Holistic A
pproach To Total Recovery," the cur
rent treatment methods are obsolete
. Prentiss says that alcohol and dr
ugs are not the problem.

"It will be clear to anyone who thi
nks about it," he says, "that we ar
e using drugs and alcohol to try an
d cope with lives that are not work
ing. We use them to change the way
we feel, to blur the images that ha
unt us, to deal with failure, broke
n hearts, growing up, stress, depre
ssion, trauma and all the other eve
nts that regularly befall all of us
. Once the real reasons we are drin
king and using addictive drugs are
discovered and cured, our dependenc
y disappears along with our cravings."

Although that's a strong claim, Pre
ntiss relies on statistics to prove
 his point. In an era when the nati
onal relapse rate is between 80 per
cent and 90 percent, Passages repor
ts that 84.6 percent of their gradu
ates have remained sober.

Prentiss' book describes the Passag
es holistic three-step program in d
etail, and it lists what he claims
are the four causes of dependency a
nd how to cure them. He says that e
ach person's reasons for using subs
tances are unique, and therefore ea
ch person's treatment, if it is to
succeed, must also be unique.

Prentiss became involved in the fie
ld to save his son's life from 10 y
ears of addiction to heroin, cocain
e and alcohol.