Marc Kern
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Dr. Marc Kern | |
|---|---|
| File:Drkern wikiheadshot.jpg | |
| Born | Marc F. Kern January 16, 1948 |
| Other names | Dr. Marc |
| Citizenship | American |
| Education | Psychologist |
| Alma mater | Ohio State University, B.S. Wayne State University, M.A. California School of Professional Psychology, Ph.D. |
| Occupation(s) | Addiction treatment psychologist, self-help author |
| Known for | Alternative addiction treatment specialist |
| Awards | SHARE Foundation Award, for Outstanding Contribution to Self-Help in Los Angeles, 2001-2002 |
| Website | Addiction Alternatives Habit Doc |
Dr. Marc Kern is a Los Angeles based psychologist whose practice is focused on substance abuse and addiction treatment. Founder of [1]Addiction Alternatives™, Dr. Marc has over 30 years of experience as a clinical psychologist and addictions specialist, helping people overcome self-defeating, problem habits with alcohol, street drugs, prescription drugs and other excessive behaviors involving gambling, pornography, shopping, overeating, sexual addiction and Internet addiction. He has shown clients how to use a wide variety life management skills and tools to manage their negative behaviors and live happier lives.
[2]Dr. Kern draws on his own personal and painful experiences with addictions and the life problems that arose from those addictions. When he realized that the Alcoholics Anonymous approach did not work for him, he knew he was not alone. Although A.A. obviously helped many people, others, like Dr. Kern, were turned off by A.A.'s central philosophy of personal powerlessness, a required belief in a higher power, and the need to attend meetings for the rest of your life.
Although he was a professional architect when his alcohol and drug problems began to affect his life and his marriage, Dr. Kern returned to college to pursue his new passion to find alternative psychological approaches for the treatment of addictions. He earned his degree as a licensed clinical psychologist in California. He further honed his skills and became a Certified Addiction Specialist, a Certified Rational Addictions Therapist, and earned certification in the Treatment of Alcohol and Other Psychoactive Substance Use Disorders, as recognized by the American Psychological Association.
Celebrity Addiction Alternatives
Dr. Marc Kern has been outspoken regarding the substance abuse problems that are inherent in many celebrities. In his blog on [3] The Wrap, Dr. Kern explains in a piece about Mel Gibson "In the entertainment industry with its inherent extremes -- extreme highs, extreme lows, and the enormous levels of stress -- controlling one's rage can be as daunting as controlling a substance addiction. We must recognize that there is a big difference between suppressing our angry feelings versus merely coping with them. Coping with them is defeatist. Prisoners learn how to cope with the habits of their jailers. Terminal cancer patients learn how to cope with their fate. We must do more than cope with our anger, especially when that anger has the potential to wreak havoc with our lives and the lives of others". Additionally, Dr. Kern advocates a broader view of addiction treatments for serial offenders. [4]As In Lindsay Lohan's case, and in the case of many addicts, there are assumptions and scientifically unsupported concepts that are being drawn upon as if they were truths. Unfortunately, the success stories in treating addiction are few and far between.
Moderation Management
[5] In Robert Zemekis Addiction Documentary "On Smoking, Drinking and Drugging in the 21st Century", Dr. Kern's sponsorship of Moderation Management is discussed as a sensible approach to addiction. "People are pleasure seekers. We don't get addicted to celery. People are turned off by the traditional 12-step program because they ask so much of the individual". [6] On ABC's 20/20 Dr. Kern is profiled and his own history that included early bouts of alcoholism drove him to finding that a 'one size fits all solution' that included a lifetime of abstinence wasn't the only solution. Dr. Kern's addiction to alcohol was so bad that he suffered Grand Mal Seizures. The problems of an alcoholic can go from mild, to moderate, to severe. The blanket solution that AA proscribes do not necessarily benefit everyone.
References
- ^ http://www.addictionalternatives.com
- ^ http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=28884&cn=14
- ^ http://www.thewrap.com/movies/blog-post/mel-gibson-and-addiction-rage-19876
- ^ http://www.thewrap.com/movies/blog-post/why-hollywood-forcing-lindsay-lohan-hit-bottom-19367
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/user/Habitdoc?feature=mhum#p/u/128/OGv6vbw1sFU
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/user/Habitdoc?feature=mhum#p/u/129/mt_2qZZYZsY