Michael Lohan interview-opens up about his daughter Lindsay and their battle with addiction

Lindsay and Michael Lohan

When you hear the name Lohan, you think celebrity and celebrity rehab in the same instant.  Michael Lohan’s long struggle with substance abuse has been public and painful for himself as well as his family.  It contributed to his stint in prison and helped lead to the dissolution of his marriage.

As if to magnify the  havoc addiction can wreak on a family, his daughter Lindsay has followed in her father’s footsteps of addiction to drugs and alcohol. 

The talented actress has damaged her promising movie career and her reputation, with many public and embarrassing moments over the years.  Some of this behavior has lead to legal troubles and jail time…..she is presently in court ordered rehab at Cliffside Malibu.

Following his 2011 stint on TV as a patient in Dr. Drew Pinsky’s Celebrity Rehab, Michael says he’s done a lot of reflecting.  He realized in his explosive last episode, that a switch of anger had been turned on by the dysfunction of his relationship with his girlfriend Kim.  This lead to an emotional shouting match and confrontation on television…Michael was ultimately jailed for domestic abuse following another argument with Kim after release from Celebrity Rehab. At the time Dr. Drew called his relationship with Kim, “toxic.” See Dr. Drew calls it quits in "Hollywoodite"

Michael and girlfriend Kim

Michael says he’s now clean and sober, working with others to promote a way, for not only celebrities to seek treatment for their addictions, but for those in all walks of life.  He is actively working with the Lukens Institute, expanding their services through A.I.R., Aid in Recovery. 

Recently Michael met and befriended the “Tan Mom,” Patricia Krentcil and helped her into rehab.  Known for her leathery skin due to her addiction to the tanning booth, Krentcil gained national infamy for supposedly dragging her 5 year old daughter into the booth as well, trying to tint daughter like mother.  She was subsequently arrested for child endangerment and was just recently reported to be in rehab for alcohol addiction. See catching up with Tan Mom

As I talked with Michael, the conversation easily flowed,  he was especially animated about how the Lukens Institute focuses on treating the trauma in an addict’s life. “People need to get to the root of their problems before they can address their other problems.” “They treat the trauma first, not just putting a band aid on the wound.” People have a switch that can be triggered by their trauma and it can lead them back to their addictions. 

Michaels divorce from his wife Dina inflicted a great trauma on his children, including Lindsay and that can be hard to heal. He feels that has played a role in Lindsay’s struggles with drugs and alcohol and the divorce was particularly hard on Lindsay, impacting her as the eldest child.

Lindsay Lohan

But those hurts can be healed, as Michael shared:

“People don’t realize I now have a great loving relationship with my kids including Lindsay” and “I’m the only one Lindsay wanted to have visit while she was staying at the Betty Ford Rehab Center.” She stayed at Betty Ford prior to being moved to her present facility, Cliffside Malibu.  Michael said he is happy she is as Cliffside because they treat the trauma that is at the root of addiction.

Michael is hoping his daughter will get the treatment she needs at her present facility….But grim statistics show that many thousands of people die from the epidemic of addiction in our country 

I asked Dr. William Hanna, Clinical Director at the highly rated west coast addiction treatment facility called Reflections, to offer an opinion, regarding trauma being at the root of addiction:

“It has become apparent that this increasingly undeniable recognition, on the part of myself as therapist, clinician, and clinical director; has propelled me to assist hundreds of individuals through "trauma-work".

“Once the traumatic genesis of symptoms has been established, then the meaningful psychotherapy begins.  In trauma-work, the therapist's presence is ideally that of an authentically-interested and involved and utterly reliable witness who is able to willingly hear, absorb, and accept profoundly-impactful, emotion-laden, and frequently disturbing information about the life of the resident.  Therapy for the trauma client must take place in a context of safety and trust in which the resident feels free to engage in unrestricted memory and affective experiences.  Under these conditions the trauma client is much more likely to be revealing and willing to participate in the process of disclosing, healing, and recovery.  Louise McCallion, Executive Director and myself  have carefully and strategically chosen Reflections' "clinical team", in order for us to be professionally-competent and significantly-empathic to do the deep work that we are known for.” For more from Dr. Hanna at Reflections, click here

Celebrities like the Lohans can be ridiculed for their public meltdowns and failures, but more than likely if they weren’t under the influence of their addictions to drugs and alcohol, none of that behavior would have occurred. 

Very few addicts get the national exposure the Lohans attract and perhaps through their public ordeals, there can be some triumphs that can help lead others to a new way of living.

Addicted nation - the price tag to our society and a way out for those suffering

America an addicted nation

America launched a war on illegal drugs in 1979, spending an estimated 1 trillion on law enforcement efforts since then…..How’s that working out so far?  See CNN's War on drugs, a trillion dollar failure

Mexican drug cartels are profiting hugely from our war and have now grown so powerful they are moving into the United States.

Americas insatiable desire to get high, has kept our prisons full.  Many of those incarcerated, abused drugs or alcohol; which may have accounted for the criminal behavior that landed them in prison…Perhaps they were involved in the sale and marketing of drugs, or were themselves the end users.

The cost of addiction to our society can’t even be measured in dollars alone. What bad decisions do addictions cause when judgment is impaired? How many families are shattered? Careers and reputations ruined? Accidental deaths and overdose?

In a world view, President Clinton commented on an incident in his book.  He said he was briefed by the Secret Service after they found Russian President Boris Yeltsin standing outside the White House guest quarters, totally inebriated.   Dressed only in his underwear, he was trying to hail a taxi in order to get a pizza…this was a world leader with his finger on the button of nuclear weapons. Yeltsin was well known for his chronic drinking problems.

Libertarians like Fox News correspondent John Stossel, have been calling to legalize current “illegal drugs,” saying it’s no business of the government to tell adults what they can, or cannot ingest. See his opinion here

Many experts in the field of addiction say it’s time to take the focus away from criminalization and the stigma that goes with it and focus instead on education/treatment. 

There are many great organizations ready to help those suffering from addictions.

Alcoholics Anonymous has successfully helped millions of alcoholics to become productive members of society. Many other organizations adopted AA's basic premise of 12 step groups and have successfully helped millions of others in their struggle with addictions to drugs, gambling and other harmful behaviors.  AA and organizations such as Narcotics Anonymous,  are available to help those suffering and are free of charge. See addiction recovery groups

Addiction treatment facilities have developed their own unique and successful ways of helping people break their addictions.  Some are free or relatively inexpensive such as what the faith based Salavation Army offers. There are also many state supported facilities which offer drug and alcohol treatment for a nominal fee or free of charge. See recovery resources

There are private rehabilitation facilities offering state of the art treatment using their unique brand of intensive psychotherapy and holistic treatments, such as those developed by Richard Taite at Cliffside Malibu. Richard outlined his roadmap for an addiction free life in his book: Ending Addiction for Good

Louise McCallion's facility in Northern California,  Reflections, has devoted itself to providing treatment for not only the addictions to drugs/alcohol...But also has expertise in dual-diagnosis and co-occurring disorders, all under the care of her well qualified and professional staff.

But private treatment facilities can be expensive; from several thousand dollars for a 30 day stay, to tens of thousands and more for high end facilities.  

Other unique forms of help are available such as what Declinol offers in natural cures for alcohol cravings.  It is an eight-week at home alcohol program that is completely anonymous. There are no group meetings and clients can go about their regular daily routine. Declinol claims its unique blend of herbs assists the body by restoring the balance and helps to reduce alcohol cravings. While on their program, they offer phone support to answer questions and an online forum where you can communicate with current and past clients of the program. 

Declinol isn’t a long term treatment program and doesn’t purport to be, but like many of the other programs, it can be a tool to take that first step towards a long term sober lifestyle…. for a fraction of the price that rehab facilities charge.

Millions of people suffer from their addictions, they should know there is a helping hand ready to lift them up.  All they have to do is ask for help

Cliffside Malibu: Sharing the Secrets to Real Addiction Treatment

Richard Taite didn’t know if he would ever experience a normal life. Ten years ago, it was unclear whether or not he’d even survive his addiction. Addicted to cocaine, briefly homeless, living on an occasional Big Mac and not sleeping, he was constantly at war with his inner demons. 

Like many addicts, Taite tried everything he knew to overcome his addiction but every effort failed. Each failure decimated the little self-esteem he still had.

                 

In desperation, Taite surrendered himself to a sober living facility, where he was exposed to a new world of possibilities. He began seeing a therapist who introduced him to ideas about change that literally saved his life. This was the “Stages of Change” model, developed by Dr. James Prochaska and his colleagues. Taite learned, through intensive therapy, about the core issues that triggered his drug addiction. Taite took to this new life with a zeal that only a rescued man knows.  He married an amazing woman who consistently inspires him to be a better man and together they created a family.

Taite decided to pay his good fortune forward. He created one of the leading and arguably one of the most effective treatment centers in the world, Cliffside Malibu Treatment Center.  There, on a sprawling property overlooking the Pacific Ocean, Taite and his team of professionals help addicts attain the kind of life they only dreamed of, but didn’t think was possible for them.

Building the treatment center and helping the addicts who come through its doors wasn’t enough for Taite. “I operate a boutique facility. We can only help eighteen or twenty people at a time; yet there are millions of addicts who are suffering in this country alone. There are few treatment facilities that have the resources we do or the success rate we have. I wanted to get the word out that people really can recover from hopeless cases of addiction like I did. That’s when I decided to write, Ending Addiction for Good.”

To get the word out about his cutting edge treatment protocol, Taite teamed with friend and colleague, Constance Scharff, PhD. Scharff has a PhD in Transformative Studies in which she specialized in addiction recovery. “I became interested in addiction research because I wanted to help those with severe trauma successfully overcome their addictions,” Scharff said. She should know. Before earning her PhD, she was a hopeless alcoholic with a two liter a day habit. She drank, she reports in her story in Ending Addiction for Good, to ease the pain of horrific childhood abuse and neglect. However, she too became sober using the same principles Taite used.

Taite and Scharff write that the core issues with addiction for most people come from being unable to deal with pain. This pain could stem from long held, erroneous beliefs that began in childhood or could come from traumatic events in one’s adult life. Abusing alcohol or drugs is an attempt to cope with the pain these experiences cause when no other solutions seem available.

Cliffside Malibu’s methods, which are detailed extensively in the book, center on helping addicts uncover and face the core issues that started their addictive process, based on the addict’s level of readiness to change. Treatment is based on intensive one-on-one psychotherapy. In addition to psychotherapy, Cliffside Malibu also offers a range of holistic treatments given on a highly individualized basis. These include but are not limited to: acupuncture, massage, yoga, meditation, orthomolecular medicine, personal training, and equine therapy. Each type of treatment is given by the most highly skilled staff available. Most importantly, each member of the Cliffside Malibu staff is dedicated to the client’s recovery. As Taite states, “They’re here because they love what they do and never lost that.”

Cliffside Malibu treats all forms of addiction and welcomes clients with co-occurring disorders. The treatment center has a successful history with treating alcoholics and also specializes in pharmaceutical addiction. As individuals are increasingly over-prescribed potent medications by doctors, Taite has been asked to provide treatment for a whole new group of addicts who might never have needed treatment in the past.  Special protocols are in place to assist those recovering from prescription medication abuse and addiction.

Taite says that at the end of the day, his goal is to create a shift in his clients’ hearts and heads, in which their lives are no longer driven by the anxiety and trauma of their past, but a desire to live a hopeful, contented life.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.  It’s that all important first step in changing your life forever that Cliffside Malibu offers.  Recognizing the roots of your addiction, receiving holistic treatment and intensive psychotherapy opens the gateway to a full and addiction-free life.  You just need to make a simple phone call.

To learn more about Cliffside Malibu, go to www.CliffsideMalibu.com. Links to purchase the Amazon.com bestseller Ending Addiction for Good are on the website, as are phone numbers to speak to an intake specialist 24 hours a day.