Marc F. Kern

The dilemma for most ex-hippy parents is that Phelps is no slacker, and they were no angel at his age. So you can't just fall back on the messages of the 1936 anti-marijuana film Reefer Madness. So what are these baby boomer parents going to say to their teenage kids?

A PowerPoint presentation by Marc Kern, PhD at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, in collaboration with the Addiction Psychiatry group of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, for Perspectives on Addiction: A Round Table for Addiction Professionals.

I just found when I was diagnosed with an addiction, actually several simultaneously, and was sent to a psychologist one of their recommendations was to go to a twelve step meeting. And you know I tried it. I went two or three times. I just didn't feel that it clicked with me. I didn't understand it. Being trained as an architect in undergraduate school, things made sense. They were logical, one thing, you know, was built upon another. The twelve step program did not fit that mindset; that prototype. And so I started on a journey to find out if there were ways to recover other than the twelve step program.

Wise Counsel Podcast - Dr. Van Nuys speaks with Psychologist Marc Kern, Ph.D. on the topic of addiction treatment with an emphasis on alternatives to Alcoholics Anonymous and twelve step programs. Dr. Kern became interested in treating addictions as a result of his own experience dealing with addictions that he had developed while in college.

It's natural to want to strive for the moderation of our habits rather than total abstinence. I can't imagine anyone indulging in their unhealthy habit of choice and not deriving some compelling benefits. But the fact is, abstinence is substantially easier to achieve.

While A.A. with its 12-step approach has helped millions of  people over the last 60-plus years, there is no evidence that A.A. is better than other approaches for everyone.

We didn't consciously choose to become addicted to a substance or a behavior. No one plans to become a prisoner of their own device in a cell of unhealthy behavior, but it happens every day. It is a subtle and seductive process, which occurs over the course of time.

Brief interventions -- either in person or by telephone -- are a very powerful and effective way to help people reduce their intake of alcohol or drugs to a more responsible level, and even quit completely.

No one I have ever met really wants to stop drinking completely. Most people stop because they have to, not because they want to. If you want to experiment with moderation, there are "harm reduction" methodologies and resources that can help some people.