My journey to Passages began with a giant leap of faith taken, quite honestly, with my eyes squeezed tightly shut out of fear and apprehension. I came searching for a solution to a problem a longstanding, daily addiction to alcohol. What I found at Passages goes well beyond a mere solution. What I discovered and came to embrace was an intense understanding, an awakening, gained through the knowledge found in the very basic fundamentals of the uni...
Here are the reasons why Passages has the highest cure rate
in the country. We invite you to read over them to see if
Passages is the right choice for you or your loved one, and
then to call us if you have any questions or to make a reservation.
Reason number 1: One-On-One Therapy
At Passages, eighty percent of our program is one-on-one with
staff that is among the finest professionals in the world
of substance abuse treatment.
Why reason number 1 is important
Other residential substance abuse treatment center programs
rely almost exclusively on group meetings for client therapy.
Some of the past events of our lives may be too shameful,
hurtful or embarrassing to discuss in a group setting; it
may even be impossible to recall certain traumatic events
sitting in the confines of a group meeting. Only in the privacy
of an individual session, with a professional therapist whose
code of ethics insures confidentiality, can one feel safe
enough to talk about their innermost fears and painful memories.
Reason number 2: Individualized Treatment Programs
Every person who comes to Passages has a treatment program designed
specifically for him or her.
Why reason number 2 is important
There are extraordinary differences in those who suffer from
addiction and/or alcoholism. Each of us has a unique family
and environmental history, unique living conditions, unique
social backgrounds and unique personal experiences. Of additional
importance is our understanding that the medical ailments
that contribute to addiction and/or alcoholism are diverse
and require specific assessment and treatment to address the
uniqueness of each individual's disorder. At Passages, members
of our treatment team meet individually with each client,
and then the entire treatment team meets to design a specific
program for each client. Each client receives more than 15
individual sessions per week for a combined total of over
60 individual sessions per month. Passages offers more individual
sessions than any other treatment facility in the country.
Reason number 3: Psychotherapy
Clinical treatment for mental disorders.
Why reason number 3 is important
A person's psychological condition is at least partially
responsible for their addiction and/or alcoholism. There may
be traumatic memories that remain overwhelming which contribute
to chronic self-medication. Because of the severity of the painful
memories, we may have covered them over with layers of forgetfulness.
These memories can then disturb us on a conscious and/or subconscious
level causing us to abuse drugs and/or alcohol to manage the
pain. We may be unable to cope with marriage, work, relationships,
death of a loved one, financial burdens, illness, insecurity
or physical impairment. Until someone can assist us with discovering
our hidden pain or trauma and formulate a treatment program
to heal those areas, it is most likely that we will continue
abusing substances to self-medicate the underlying condition.
Having private, one-on-one sessions with a Passages' psychologist
allows our clients to identify these areas and to heal them.
We provide twice weekly, one-on-one, hour long sessions with
one of our psychologists.
Reason number 4: Hypnotherapy
A psychically induced mentally relaxed state in which the
client is able to recall traumatic events and is more open
to suggestion for positive rehabilitation.
Why reason number 4 is important
Hypnotherapy helps achieve a state of mental relaxation, so
that the client's mind is more open to positive suggestion
and imagery. From this process, one can experience more refreshing
sleep, reduced tension and improved memory. This can help
a client retrace the steps that led to his or her addiction
and/or alcoholism and lead to a change in mental responses.
Benefits of this procedure can be changing craving to aversion,
improved self control, and improved self esteem. Psychiatric
and physchological sessions become more productive, improving
the client's overall self-image. They will then become more
reliable, respectful and loving of themselves and others.
Clients can then develop a vision of their future that is
both promising and substance free. We provide twice-weekly,
one-on-one, hour-long sessions with our certified hypnotherapist.
Reason number 5: Blood Chemistry Analysis
Examining the vitamin and mineral content of our client to determine
if there is any deficiency which may be causing him or her to
self-medicate.
Why reason number 5 is important
Virtually all health issues have a biochemical and physiological
root cause and origin. Depression can be due to endocrine
gland hypofunction, nutritional deficiencies, blood sugar
problems, food allergies, or systemic yeast infection. Anxiety
can be due to a deficiency of vitamin B1 and magnesium. Insomnia
is often caused by a need for calcium, magnesium, potassium,
or from hypoglycemia, thyroid or adrenal problems. Fatigue
and low energy can be due to chronic viruses, anemia, endocrine
hypofunction, yeast infection, low blood sugar, chemical sensitivity,
weak digestion or poor diet. Headaches and dizziness are often
linked to liver toxicity, dehydration, blood sugar problems,
low thyroid function, hypertension, or food allergies. Any
of the above conditions can be the direct cause of our using
drugs or alcohol to cope with the feelings that arise within
us from those conditions. Failure to correct those deficiencies
will almost always lead to failure of treatment and later
relapse.
Reason number 6: Spiritual Counseling
Spiritual counseling is not religious counseling but has to
do with our hearts and spirits.
Why reason number 6 is important
Most of us spend our lives tuning and untuning our
instrument without ever singing the song we came to sing.
We are not here by accident. We are spiritual creatures, and
for each of us there is a plan and a purpose. Discovering
our purpose and plan can be the most delightful and important
discovery we will ever make. We provide twice-weekly, one-on-one,
hour-long sessions with our spiritual counselor.
Reason number 7: Body Work
Passages offers acupressure, acupuncture, Swedish massage,
deep tissue and Reiki (energy cleansing). The purpose of these
types of bodywork is to relieve our bodies from physical pain,
and to clear our fatty tissues and muscle tissues from toxins
that have been left behind from our alcoholism or drug use.
Why reason number 7 is important
Drugs and alcohol flow through our blood stream leaving behind
unhealthy substances that are stored in our muscle and fatty
tissues. In addition to this, our muscles have memory that can
hold onto trauma that can later cause us physical pain and even
relapse. It is essential for successful treatment that we obtain
release from past trauma and from the toxins that we have stored
in our bodies. At Passages we use ancient and modern techniques
to stimulate the three hundred sixty-one tsubos (pressure points)
along the body's fourteen meridians (nerve pathways or channels
through which the body's energy flows) to bring relief to our
clients, improve circulation to the organs, balance energy,
relieve tension, release stored toxin from the cells, and improve
all bodily functions. If the toxins are not released and old
trauma addressed, relapse is far more likely. We provide four
one-hour body work sessions each week. Passages is the only
residential treatment center that includes all those essential
treatment components as part of our program.
Reason number 8: Passages Physical Fitness Program
Our physical fitness program includes Pilates training, yoga,
weight training, cardiovascular training, hiking, core exercises,
stationary biking, and stretching.
Why reason number 8 is important
Good physical condition is essential to good health. Most
of us who suffer from drug and/or alcohol abuse have let ourselves
become physically deteriorated. It is a welcome change to
begin to feel strong again, and it is a great self-esteem
booster. We provide twice-weekly, one-on-one, hour-long sessions
with our Certified Fitness Instructors in our own fully equipped
gym, and three times a week hour-long yoga sessions. For the
more adventurous, we offer tennis and kayaking activities.
Reason number 9: Limited Enrollment
We accept only a limited number of people into our
program at any one time.
Why reason number 9 is important
It's easy to get lost in a crowd. In programs where there
are sixty, seventy, eighty, or sometimes even a hundred other
clients, individual treatment is not possible. At Passages,
you are always important, always the focus of our attention.
You will not slip through the cracks, you will not go unnoticed,
you will get our full attention, and you will get what you
came for: individual treatment. Passages provides the finest
treatment, the most comprehensive treatment, the most sophisticated
treatment available anywhere in the world. We offer more services
than any other residential substance abuse treatment facility,
by far.
Reason number 10: The Treatment Facilities
The main Passages facility is 16,500 square feet of luxury
with four fireplaces we usually keep burning, a library, gourmet
kitchen, every bedroom with its own bath, a gym, and plenty
of extra space to find a quiet spot. The grounds are superbly
landscaped on a beautiful bluff overlooking the serene Pacific
Ocean. The north/south tennis court is first class. Our clients
attest to the healing quality they feel at Passages. Additionally,
due to the tremendous success of the Passages Model, we have
expanded the facilities across several acres of picturesque
Malibu land that overlooks the entire bay. Passages Vista
House now accomodates clients who wish to stay at Passages
in an extended "Sober Living" environment.
Why reason number 10 is important
Being in a serene, beautiful, peaceful environment, where
your dignity is maintained, and where you feel peaceful and
content is very important in the healing process.
Reason number 11: The Treatment Team Approach
Each week, ten different therapists work with each client,
one-on-one. Each week, all of the therapists meet to discuss
each client's progress and to plan each client's program for
the following week. That level of intensive care is only available
at the Passages alcohol rehab and drug treatment center.
Why reason number 11 is important
There is a tremendous benefit in having ten different therapists,
each of whom have worked with you once or twice that week,
one-on-one, pool their experiences and discuss how they can
best help you achieve permanent sobriety.
Reason number 12: Gourmet Cooking
Healthful, nutritious, exquisitely prepared meals by our chefs
are a delight at Passages.
Why reason number 12 is important
Getting over addiction and/or alcoholism is, at best, a tough
road. Three times a day there's a wonderful break when we
sit down to superb meals lovingly prepared and delightfully
served. Each client is always asked if they have any favorite
foods that can be prepared for them, or if they have any special
dietary considerations of which we should be aware. The meals
are hearty, diverse, and plentiful. Food and its preparation
does make a difference.
Reason number 13: The Founders, Chris and Pax Prentiss
A father and son team. One or both of them are always available.
Chris and Pax are dedicated to maintaining the finest residential
treatment program in the world with the finest therapists
to be found anywhere. Pax was a heroin/cocaine/alcohol addict
for ten years, during which time they searched for help, but
all they found were group meeting facilities, which did not
work for Pax. After all those years of fruitless searching
throughout the nation for a program to cure Pax's addiction,
Chris and Pax created their own program, The Passages Drug
Treatment Program. Pax is now Co-Director of Passages, and
it was his idea to create Passages so others could benefit
from this most wonderful treatment. Pax is proof to all addicts
and alcoholics that a nasty, selfish, degenerative habit can
be turned into a wonderful, healing, renewal of the spirit
that creates magical transformations of life.
Reason number 14: Our Belief About Addiction and Alcoholism Treatment
Throughout the entire addiction industry, there is a belief
that addiction and alcoholism are diseases, that they themselves
are causes of themselves. That belief results in the treatment
of the effects of addiction and alcoholism rather than in
the treatment of their causes. We believe that addiction and/or
alcoholism are not diseases in themselves but are caused by
diverse ailments of the mind and body. Therefore we look for,
discover, and heal those ailments. We see the basis for our
belief proved every week at Passages where clients are freed
from their addiction and alcoholism by the healing of their
ailments.
Reason number 15: On-Site Detox
We provide on-site detox with medical supervision and twenty-four
hour one-on-one nursing care. The psychiatrist who oversees
our detox procedure is our Medical Director who is a medical
doctor, a psychiatrist, and a neuropharmacologist, meaning
he specializes in medications.
Why reason number 15 is important
Addiction and alcoholism disappear as a result of their causes
being healed. If the causes remain undiscovered and untreated,
substance abuse will almost certainly continue. That is the
heart of it.
Reason number 16: On-Site Nurse
Nursing staff on premises twenty-four hours a day, every day.
Why reason number 16 is important
The clients who come to Passages seeking help for
addiction and/or alcoholism are suffering from a great many
diverse maladies. To insure the safety of every client, we
provide continual nursing care with nurses who are trained
in our field of work. At Passages you and your loved one(s)
are in good hands, expert hands.
Reason number 17: No scrubbing floors or washing toilets
Why reason number 17 is important
We believe that it is demeaning to a person who is ill and
seeking treatment to be asked to wash our floors and scrub
our toilets as one is asked to do at most treatment centers.
At Passages you will be treated with the utmost respect and
dignity. We would no more ask you to scrub a floor than would
a hospital where you went for a medical problem. A substance
abuser's self image is already tarnished. One of our tasks
is to rebuild a healthy self image in the person who comes
to us for help. Requiring a client to scrub a floor or wash
a toilet is attempting to force the client into the belief
they he or she has done something "bad" and for
which punishment is required. All addicts and alcoholics are
medicating an underlying malady with drugs or alcohol. They
are helping themselves in the only way they know how. Unfortunately,
it is a poor way. At Passages, our goal is to discover the
malady, heal it, and return the client to a life of productive
sobriety.
Reason number 18: The magical part
There is a quality about Passages that words cannot convey.
Nearly everyone who comes to Passages has commented that the
actual experience of being here far surpassed anything they
imagined from looking at our web site or from their initial
conversations with us. Words like, "magical," and
"unbelievable," are heard. After you have been at
Passages a few days, you will most likely say what most everyone
says, "This is the best thing I ever did for myself.
I love it here." Even people who are forced to come to
Passages by parents or loved ones almost always call the ones
who did the forcing to say, "Thanks." When the new
client walks in the door of Passages, the other clients who
are already there welcome them and tell them they made the
right choice. No one wants to be an alcoholic or an
addict, they just can't help it. When they are healed, they
are always grateful.
In Conclusion
A program such as the one described above can only exist where
one-on-one treatment is the backbone and mainstay of the facility's
program.
Our basic program is thirty days, but we will also arrange
shorter or longer stays depending on your needs, or we can
arrange for breaks within your treatment schedule if your
situation dictates that. We also offer an extended care program
if you are not yet ready to return home after you have finished
with your main treatment program.
We invite you to bring your cell phone or use our telephones.
You may also bring your computer, your favorite music, books
and other things you normally use when at home. We have discovered
that restricting telephone use or visits from family or friends
only causes stress and anxiety. As much as possible, your
normal life should continue when you come into treatment.
We will weave our treatment program into your life so you
will not experience any stress from being out of contact with
loved ones or business needs while you are here. That permits
you to achieve maximum effectiveness from the program. The
added benefit is that when you leave Passages you will not
experience any return shock.
We have many other therapists and program components that
can be viewed on our web site such as a program overview,
or client testimonials. I invite you to call us, toll free,
to talk about how we can help you or feel free to email us.
From the entire treatment team and staff of Passages, we
wish you good fortune in pursuing the goal of returning to
radiant health.
Why Choose Passages