Jan 5, 2015 | By Tim Stoddart

What’s the Deal with Passages Malibu?? – Can Addiction Really Be Cured??

Addiction & Recovery News

passages malibu image source – www.passagesmalibu.com

I’ll never forget seeing that commercial for the first time. I was shocked to say the least.

I’m a pretty unassuming guy. I generally shy away from public debate, I don’t worry too much about what other people do or say. I try to stay focused on whats in front of me which is why we never thought it appropriate to comment on the topic.

Ever since that infamous commercial first aired, we have been sent comments, tweets, memes and questions all regarding Passages Malibu and their magical ability to “cure addiction.” People are dying for us to chime in on the issue. So here goes…

Just in case you haven’t seen the commercial.

I will admit, I laughed. Knowing what I know about addiction, it seemed comical to me that someone had the guts to spend millions of dollars on an ad claiming to the world that he suddenly could cure addiction.

I laughed on the subliminal marketing in the commercial. To be frank, I’ve never seen a treatment center where all the clients had such nice clothes, beautiful hair, skimpy workout gear and flat stomachs. Obviously they want to market their treatment center in the best light possible, but I felt as if this place had a slight misunderstanding as to what condition many people with drug addiction are in.

This is not to say that the Passages Malibu treatment model is not effective. I’m sure there are people out there who have successfully found long term recovery from the Passages Malibu techniques. Whatever works!

We have dodged this topic for quite some time, but this has been and will be a much debated topic. So I thought it best to address this controversial treatment center and its wild claims once and for all.

Keeping an Open Mind

Before I dive into this, I first need to remove myself from the equation. I want to look at this objectively because that’s what good journalists do.

So I thought… yes, claiming to be able to “cure” addiction is a radical idea. However, so is the idea that God can remove the problem of alcoholism. I thought that upon its conception, the founders of Alcoholics Anonymous were probably looked upon in a similar respect.

The difference being, A.A. doesn’t charge $67,550 for a months worth of treatment.

Regardless, many people who are generally regarded as “genius” were at one point also regarded to be insane. New ideas are rarely received well.

Addiction and Choice

Doctors and scientists alike have defined addiction as a “disease of the mind.” There are numerous, very long winded definitions that go into more detail, but you get the point. Addiction shares many similarities with heart disease, diabetes I and II and cancer in that there is a genetic correlation, it is often fatal if untreated and shows abnormal brain patterns.

For me, seeing addiction as a disease makes sense. It stems in an organ, it has symptoms that root from an underlying cause and it can be treated the same way any other chronic disease can be treated. That is good enough for me.

However, there is something a little off with this whole “disease concept” thing. I’ve researched dozens of articles. Many studies show similar information, but there doesn’t seem to be any unified definition of addiction.

A large number of people aren’t convinced. Watching someone who is dying of alcoholism just doesn’t feel the same as watching someone die of cancer. Why is it that we just can’t seem to all agree on this?

The reason is choice. The reason is because someone who is drinking themselves to death is perceived to be doing so because “he or she wants to.” From an objective perspective, it’s perfectly rational to see why people would have a hard time seeing addiction as a disease, when it seems that millions are choosing to drink or hit the needle.

It’s tricky. No doubt about it.

This brought me a strange realization. How can Passages Malibu claim to “cure” something that they don’t define as a disease? Isn’t that kind of like fixing something that isn’t broken? That may be beside the point, but I thought that was interesting.

Finally… Is Addiction a Curable Disease??

First… is addiction a disease at all? After everything I have read my answer is yes. Addiction is a disease because smart people who know a lot more than me say it is a disease. All the strange irregularities aside.

Finally, can addiction be cured?

I don’t think it can.

addiction is a disease

Hundreds of millions of dollars and thousands of man hours have been spent studying addiction. Granted, there are some lose ends, but the science has proven that addiction is a complex brain disease characterized by compulsive, at times uncontrollable, drug craving, seeking, and use that persist despite potentially devastating consequences.

Although Passages Malibu claims to cure the disease, what they are actually doing is providing a unique “treatment plan.” This isn’t a cure. It is a treatment plan just like all other treatment plans. It requires maintenance and constant self-evaluation.

In the same way you would provide a treatment plan for someone who has heart disease. A doctor and a patient would work together to build an exercise regimen, a new diet, obviously it would be recommended that the patient stop smoking and not engage in other unhealthy lifestyle habits.

This is exactly the same thing…

As Dr. Volkow, Director of NIDA explains,

“People say if you consider drug addiction a disease, you are taking the responsibility away from the drug addict. But that’s wrong. If we say a person has heart disease, are we eliminating their responsibility? No. We’re having them exercise. We want them to eat less, stop smoking. The fact that we have a disease recognizes that there are changes, in this case, in the brain”

What is the Real Issue?

In flipping back and forth with research it suddenly occurred to me that none of this is important. If Passages Malibu wants to say that their therapists and their $27 million dollar mansion can cure addiction, well good for them.

What is really important is how we regard the treatment of addiction. Addiction must be treated as a health issue. The danger in saying that addiction isn’t a disease is that you are giving all the power to the self-will of people. This makes it very difficult to not charge drug addicts as criminals.

We have essentially two options. We can throw addicts in jail, or we can treat them as sick people who need help.

If we don’t look at suffering addicts as sick people, than we can’t treat them as sick people. Our only other option is to look at them as criminals. There is real danger in this mind set. America leads the world in incarcerated prisoners per capita and 66% of criminals are doing time for some type of drug charge.

For the sake of progress, regarding addiction as a disease is paramount. Yes, there may be trauma, underlying cognitive issues and behavior problems – but at its root, addiction is proven to be an innate chemical imbalance of the mind.

Many outside factors may lead to a person drinking or drugging to cope, but the inability to stop is what separates the alcoholic from the heavy drinker. The inability to stop is what kills people, is what motivates people to break the law and is what is most painful about addiction.

We need to approach this practically with proven treatment plans which treat addiction as a disease. We don’t need a magical cure.

My mother always told me that if it is too good to be true, that means that it is.

We would love to hear your thoughts on this? Please leave your comments below. 🙂

24 responses to “What’s the Deal with Passages Malibu?? – Can Addiction Really Be Cured??

  • I like your statistic on 66% of criminals are one drug charges, but working in the prison field, I wonder how many have assaults, etc. etc. were under the influence of alcohol/drugs? More than we think, I suspect!

  • I am absolutely certain drug addiction is a disease of the brain chemistry. I was addicted almost immediately at 48 years old with no prior drug experience. It was a long hard fight to finally let go and I thank God and the people in my life for sticking with me through the worst years of my life.

  • When I saw the commercial for that Passages Malibu I had to laugh. I struggled with alcohol. I don’t want to say mine was more or less than someone else’s. I think each is different with each person. I know that I had the support of my family, my church family, and close friends. Next month I will have 5 years of sobriety I choose to stay this way. I honestly hope that place is there to help people who need the help. I couldn’t imagine paying $67 thousand plus a month for treatment.

  • Joseph Duggan

    9 years ago

    As a recovered alcoholic,as a result of doing the steps through big book, I found malibu’s claims to be preposterous. I am glad you chose to give this place a closer look. I’m not judging, but I know what worked for me!!

    • Sorry but if you are a student of the Big Book then you should know there is no “recovered” but only a “daily” reprieve from the condition. Recovered, by definition is to regain control of or regain possession of permanently. Once you are a pickle there is no returning to a cucumber.

      • Kelley B.

        7 years ago

        I like it … an alcoholic or drug addict is never “recovered”. There is no going back once you have crossed that line into addiction. It’s a disease caused by brain chemistry. We can only be “recovering” but never “recovered”.

  • Frank Conrad

    9 years ago

    In my area of SW Louisiana, the number of incarcerations due to drugs and alcohol approaches 80%, and the recidivism rate is around 75%. I brought meetings to the local corrections facility for several years, and we would see the same faces over and over. I

    Treatment centers of any type have to help, as they remove the person from the problem for a while. Some go to escape consequences, some go to please family members, and a few go looking for recovery. What I have seen many times over the years is that when an addict or alcoholic is released, they sometimes are too sober. They are under the illusion that as long as they don’t drink or use, life will be OK, and they tend to take back the second part of the first step, many times with disaster as the outcome. They need to be reminded ( in meetings) that we are only one drink away from a drunk, and to have a sounding board for their screwy ideas (sponsor).,

  • Johni Allen

    9 years ago

    The big question to me is, does this mean that after their treatment you could drink socially? Could a opiate addict take pain medication without worry of relapse?

    • Kelley B.

      7 years ago

      No, once an addict or alcoholic always one. There is no going back to the social aspect. Believe me I have tried. We don’t get to start over at the beginning. We continue on into the disease at an alarming rate.

  • i am a recovering alcoholic and a friend of mine ordered Malibu’s book. My opinion? I didn’t even make it to the end. It is absolutely ridiculous. I agree with Johni Allen. If they could “cure” addiction, people would then be ‘ normal drinkers’, wouldn’t they? Well no. They do not claim that. Therefore, it is in fact, NOT a cure. Exercising, eating right, etc. We have all tried it. Without the 3 fold treatment, you will not be treating what is a 3 fold illness. It is mental, physical, AND spiritual. I have seen many alcoholics/addicts ignore the spiritual aspect and they may stay dry for a while, but miserably so. And the vast majority do end up going back out. I do not believe in a cure but I do believe in a solution which is the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. “Rarely have we seen a person fail who has THOUROUGHLY followed our path.” AA, How it Works.

  • I’ve always told people in disbelief that “Yes addiction is disease”.
    My whole entire family including myself has and always will be an addict!! I’m clean and have been for many years but its an ongoing battle with depression medication, anxiety, smoking cigarettes. I’m addicted to smoking cigarettes. I have a chemical imbalance in my brain all the drugs I did in my teenage years caused me to mess up my happy cells in my Baron all my dopamine is GONE and has to be controlled with meditation and its horrible because I don’t like relying on a pill to make me happy but I have to otherwise I get thoughts of suicide and my head will be recapping everything I said, did touched, ate at the ens of the day to where i can’t ecen sleep so theres another pill for bed time. If that makes sense. I believe I have a disease because every single day of my life I think like an addict I do addict things. Every day of my life is a struggle especially when I think about all the deaths in my family, how can I prevent this from happening again, when will I ever move on, will my disease ever go away no because I am an addict and always will be it will never go away!! I mean the first thing I do when I wake up is, I go and smoke a cigarette then make sure I take all my HAPPY pills then go about my day but throughout my day I have to make sure I take my pills. I wish it would go away and I pray to god every single day.
    I hope all us diseased people live happy healthy lifestyles 🙂
    Passages Malibu what a joke you are and shame on you!!
    I’d like to see exactly what your treatment center has to offer considering I have a disease and I’d like you guys to cure.

  • I don’t know if the Passages program works and I don’t really care. What I take offense to is their strong implication that A.A. and other 12 Step Programs don’t work. I’m happy to join with the scores of my sober sisters and brothers to prove them wrong on that preposterous claim.

  • I have to agree with many of the other comments. As a health professional when I hear “cure” I am thinking that you no longer have the disease. SO that being said it would imply to me that the person could drink socially which would be impossible. Maybe once they get you to their facility and charge you the thousands of dollars they THEN break the news to you that you aren’t “cured”….

  • Passages Malibu is very anti-12 step and its owners (The Prentiss’) view the 12 step program as its business competition. They like to get $100,000/month, while 12 step fellowships as you know are free. So while they cannot compete in price they must resort to competing through counter-claims critiquing effectiveness. Several years ago that ill conceived tactic blew up in Passages Malibu owners faces.

    The currently running ad you see is not the original. When the “Passages” ad campaign first broke the original ad script for the now infamous TV ad originally said, “This is not a Twelve Step program. This WORKS!” with a clear implication that 12 step does not work and their method does. The line has since been edited out of ads current TV ads.

    Although not advertised, the facility is actually is a highly religious organization focusing on ancient Chinese mysticism such as Zen, the occult and divination practices of I Ching as well as Native American pagan tribal rituals.

    They sell a very particular brand of theism saturating an underlying message of their counseling and practice — while admitting the silliness of the disease model, their brand also proposes that alcoholism can be treated by prescription medications.

    Bizarre people with bizarre backgrounds out there in Malibu. (If you care to look them up) The book, “A CURE FOR ALCOHOLISM AND ADDICTION” is essentially a ‘brochure’ disguised as a book, promoting Malibu’s in-patient recovery program and has been a huge disappoint to almost anyone I have spoken with regarding it. It proposes that the underlying causes that trigger addiction are classic expressions of low self esteem, depression, anxiety, and traumas such as molestation, family difficulties ect.

    The philosophy is, like most other rehab philosophies, that underlying problems drive people to use drugs and alcohol. Combine that with results that are 99.9% outright FAILS. No one gets well at Passages and only get sicker. ~ dan

  • John Besancon

    9 years ago

    If addiction is something from the brain, like they say homosexuality is some genetic thing, then so is everything else, like stealing, adultery,etc. The problem with science is they leave God out of the equation. Addiction is not a disease like cancer, can one wake up one day and say, ‘I’m done with cancer, going to work steps and go to meetings and bam, no cancer! No. There is a cure for addiction/alcoholism; see, science addresses the symptoms, we have to go to the root, sin. If you accept Christ, seek God’s will, you can overcome addiction. It is not my will power, but the power of the Holy Spirit living in me. If you need more than God, you will never have enough. I overcame 21 years of alcoholism, addiction, depression, & anxiety by accepting Jesus Christ as my Savior, following Him, staying in the Word of God, & in prayer. Jesus is the healer.

  • Sgt Billy

    9 years ago

    When they ads first hit the airways they said “this is not a 12 step program, this works” I thought it funny that they quickly dropped the “this works” part. For me Unity-Service-Recovery works. AA saved my life!

  • In the field

    9 years ago

    Thank you for sharing this. I have had clients insist on going to Passages. Truth be told in 6 years I have yet to see some complete their program and obtain long term recovery. They spend thousands to be pampered at a spa with no practical application for the extent of the struggle or coping skills to avoid relapse. If anything it enables entitlement and the selfish nature of the addiction itself.

  • Tim O'Connor

    9 years ago

    True recovery does not come from the other end of a 70k check…… whether it’s Dr. Silkworth’s explanation of what happens to me when I take a drink or some guy out in Malibu, it ends the same. It wasn’t until I ” conceded to myself FULLY ” that I was helpless and I could not manage my life that things began to change. Enter A.A. and more importantly a relationship with God. To me, the Passages thing is just a money grab and there isn’t enough of that in the world to re-pay what A.A. has done for me……….

  • “it is often fatal if untreated” It is ALWAYS fatal if left untreated. Sometimes the progression is slow, sometimes it is fast, but it always gets worse. As someone who struggled with pills for over 10 years, I live this disease every day. I burned bridges, lost my job, house, marriage, and almost my life. I didn’t care, all I wanted was that next pill, and wold do anything to get it. I was selfish, dishonest, and used everyone to get what I wanted. Pretty much he characteristics of every addict.

    I have 2 years sober, and I still need to constantly manage the choices I make as I know I am always one high or one drunk away from being exactly where I left off. I go to AA meetings to stay connected with others who have gone through the same struggles and try to be open, honest, and selfless.

    When I was in rehab, we often saw this commercial and always got a good laugh at the entire concept of a “cure”. For a long time I wished I could do something to make it go away. But I now accept that it is a part of me. H

    Just like diabetes, and other diseases, addiction can be managed Lifelong sobriety is possible, but it will never go away.

    Thanks for the article, great read!

  • My favorite rebuttal to Passages’ “cure” comes from the LA Weekly article that came out a few years ago.

    Upon reading the Prentiss book, one will notice that he very explicitly states the need for permanent abstainance. As I recall, the rationale has to do with the extent to which one’s brain becomes permanently “wired for addiction”; any substance use re-activates the wiring and one is right back in the throes of addiction.

    Does this sound like a cure?

    When I think of curing addiction, I think of the possibility of “having just one”. You know, drinking like a non-alcoholic. Social drinking. If Passages can cure addiction, why is permanent abstainance still an absolute necessity? What they call a cure is in practice markedly similar to the goal of 12 step programs: continued abstainance. But the 12 steps don’t call this a cure because it requires daily maintenance. Passages can play all the semantic games they wish, but daily abstainance is daily maintenance; if this is a cure, the twelve step programs are offering as well.

    Certain diseases can go into remission. Maybe they’ll stay in remission for the rest of one’s life. This is not considered a cure, however, because it can always come back.

    I think passages is a great program for certain addicts and alcoholics, but such rhetoric is dangerous and disingenuous. I wish they would just be honest and upfront about exactly what they offer and not resort to a needlessly-reductive “us vs them” binarization with the 12 step programs. What’s the point?

  • This commercial still humors me. Being an addict for about 15 years and now only weeks away from 11 years clean & sober, I know for me there is NO cure.

    Like the COPD I deal with every day, the addiction is simply something I treat with contact with my Higher Power. With the help of my God, sponsor and support group; in addition to following suggestions (step work, meetings, service work) I can ‘treat myself.’ Same as when I use my inhaler, I’m treating myself.

    I really enjoyed this article and the authors take on it. I also respect the fact that the author never blasted passages or their spokes person.

    Thank you.

  • You don’t have to go any farther than the title page of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous to find the term recovered: The Story of How Many Thousands of Men and Women Have Recovered from Alcoholism. [Big Book, title page]
    The word recover is a synonym for the word cure according to ThesaurusOnline.com.
    Unless you’d like to throw AA out the window, the answer is YES…we do recover.
    I am a recovered alcoholic and addict.

  • Their commercial is laughed at by anyone and everyone who knows anything about the DISEASE of addiction. No different than saying, “I had diabetes, now I’m cured” LOLOL. How about they post their stats for public view? Guaranteed they will reflect the truth of addiction, that it’s an incurable, lifelong disease that includes relapsing as a part of the process towards sustained abstinence. I’m not only an addict, I was also an addiction therapist for a decade. This commercial is the most ridiculous, irresponsible commentary on addiction WE have ever heard. Yes, WE. Those of us who have a shred of knowledge about addiction, which these people clearly don’t. Should be sued for false advertisement-Half of the people treated there will relapse within the first year of recovery, proven statistic.

  • Scott Adkins

    7 years ago

    I am an Addict/alcoholic who has failed for over 17 years to stop using from pure self will. I have had countless therapy and treatment episodes along with 12 step practice only to find myself back into active addiction again. I have concluded that a traumatic lifestyle combined with divine intervention and coincidental or “synchronistic” events can create the ambition and desire to COMPLETELY remain abstinent from all addictive substances. My route so far (and I have had over 24 inpatient treatment episodes) has led to has reduction and slowly better lifestyle choices. I don’t understand how one can shed an addictive diagnoses. Even if they are “treating” their addiction without using….they are still addicts with a treatment plan….just like diabetics who change their diet. Wound they die or suffee if they went back to their old sugar diet routine? Of course. And so would addicts.

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