A MESSAGE FROM THE FOUNDER OF PASSAGES MALIBU
PASSAGES MALIBU FOUNDER MESSAGE
Hi, my name is Pax Prentiss. I am the co-founder and co-director of the Passages Addiction Cure Center in Malibu, California, along with my dad, Chris. We opened Passages because of our deep desire to save the lives of people who are suffering from alcohol and drug dependency. Our breakthrough program evolved from our firsthand experience with what works and what doesn’t work.
For ten years I was hooked on heroin, cocaine, and alcohol The reason my drive to do drugs was so powerful was because I wanted to numb the pain of my underlying problems, which were low self-esteem, depression, and anxiety. I was using drugs for the same reason most people are using—I was trying to run away from my problems and avoid feeling the pain they brought me.
During my ten years of using, I did things that I never thought I would do in order to get drugs. I lied, thieved, cheated my friends and loved ones, pawned my possessions, cheated credit card companies, and passed bad checks. Soon I had nothing left, and I had to do something else to get heroin. I chose to do one of the scariest things of all—stealing heroin from dealers. Eventually I was caught, beaten, and hospitalized. You would think that coming out of the hospital, my jaw broken in two places and my teeth wired shut, that I would stop using. But I didn't. I continued year after year until I had no friends, my family was exhausted, and my health was in danger. I remember a time near the end of my ten-year run when I was standing in the street, trying to sell my shoes for ten dollars so I could buy more heroin. This is extreme out-of-control behavior, but I was willing to do anything to get more heroin and avoid feeling the pain of my low self-esteem, depression, and anxiety.
During this dreadful time in my life, my dad and I tried everything we could to get me sober. My dad even sat by my side over and over again while I detoxed at home, and each time I can remember him asking me if this would be the last. I assured him it was, but not long after detoxing I would always relapse because my underlying problems had not been healed yet.
Desperate to find help for my chemical dependency, we made an exhaustive search of our nation's rehabs, but we found that the basis for these programs were mostly the same: group meetings using the 12 steps in which they pound into your head that you are an addict or alcoholic and that you have a disease. They provided zero to little therapy to help me discover the “WHY” behind my using. We tried many of these centers, but they did not work for me. I found myself, day in and day out, in the same groups with the same people going over the same material.
My dad and I knew that getting me sober was going to be difficult given the type of treatment programs available. We finally realized that these programs—based on the disease concept and with lots of group meetings as the main treatment modality—were simply not going to help me heal the underlying causes of my addiction. Their recipe for healing was poor at best.
We imagined the kind of program that would work, one that focused on me as an individual, offered lots of one-on-one therapy, did not believe in the disease concept, and did not look at me as addict but rather a person who needed to heal his core issues. When my dad and I realized that we were not going to find such a program, we created it ourselves. Because of it, I am 9 years sober. Today we offer that program to you at Passages.
My dad and I are pleased to offer you the most cutting-edge treatment program in the world. It is a direct result of us learning what WORKS and also what does not work. We and our team of professionals do not believe in the disease concept. The Passages program includes many hours of one-on-one therapy, is grounded in holistic healing principles, and truly focuses on healing your core issues, the ones that are causing you to use.
We will not enroll you or your loved one in a cookie-cutter program that puts everyone in the same room, day after day, with the same people and the same therapists, hoping to magically arrive at a one-size-fits-all solution. Our goal is to heal each person by providing the finest individual therapy available anywhere.
One of the most powerful aspects of the Passages treatment program, in addition to all the one one-on-one therapy, is that we work as a team. We call it the Passages Team Approach. Nine therapists will work with you each week, and at the end of the week my dad and I meet with your team of therapists, review the information gathered from you, and shape a treatment plan for the coming week based specifically on your individual needs. All of us together as a team work to get you totally healed.
My promise to you is that we will deliver what is the most comprehensive, holistic, cutting-edge program in the world for drug and alcohol addiction. We will put every ounce of effort into helping you heal your core issues and returning you to a life of freedom from drugs and alcohol. The Passages experience is truly a rite of passage from the bonds of addiction to the freedom of sobriety.
Sincerely,
Pax Prentiss
Please see our main site to seek help and start your journey to recover at:
PASSAGE MALIBU : PASSAGES MALIBU DRUG REHAB CENTER :RECOVERY : HELP
