How much do you like being a victim? That may sound like a dumb question – who wants to be a victim? But, unhappily, the answer is, most of us, too much of the time. That’s easier to understand when you realize that the alternative to being a victim is being responsible. And again, most [...]

It’s Magic in Malibu!!!!! “The Magical Part: There is a quality about ****** that words simply cannot convey. After you have been at ****** a few days, you will most likely say what many of our clients say: “This is the best thing I ever did for myself.” Magic and magical, words you hear around [...]

How to quit drinking on your own… This is a very common search phrase that has people coming to our website. The important points here are understanding exactly what you want and what you need. First, we assume you don’t want to join AA, go “off to treatment” for 30, 60, or 90 days, or [...]

Change is Hard. Here’s How to Make it Easier! From personal experience and working with hundreds of clients, we know that change is hard and all too often old habits come back. Fortunately, there is a way to be successful – if you know how successful people actually change and follow their example! First:  Acknowledge [...]

How to be happier! Over the years we have said that what we do best is give our clients permission to lead happier lives. That might not sound like much, but consider this fact: happy people don’t have alcohol problems. It turns out that leading a happy life is a very big deal after all. [...]

It would be impossible to write a September 11 Newsletter without acknowledging the events of that day. Our lives and our country have been affected by that day more than most of us realize and virtually all of the change has been negative. We’ve lost privacy, security, and freedom among other things. But do the [...]

Can someone who’s “in recovery” help you recover? Among the common myths around alcohol treatment is the one that someone who identifies themselves as being “in recovery” has some special ability to help you fix your alcohol problems. The reality? Nothing could be further from the truth. To understand this misconception, and frequent misrepresentation, it’s [...]

Giving up alcohol is fairly easy – it’s the associated behavior patterns that are tough to eradicate. For most of us, our lives are an established number of routine behaviors. Most of these are necessary and benign, some improve our lives and others detract. At some point, your alcohol use moved from enhancing to destroying. [...]

99 out of every 100 treatment programs only tell you what a great facility they have. The rooms, beaches, personal assistants, the view, even the helicopter that will “fly you up to the sacred site to meet your higher power” and other come-ons that have nothing to do with ending your alcohol problems.

We’re taking this week off – but still answering the phone – and we thought we’d take this opportunity to explain our views on AA and the 12 Steps. We’re doing so because every month or two we get an e-mail or a call from someone who’s distressed about our comments. First, we’re fine with [...]