{"id":23481,"date":"2019-04-10T09:49:22","date_gmt":"2019-04-10T15:49:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=23481"},"modified":"2023-06-08T12:41:29","modified_gmt":"2023-06-08T18:41:29","slug":"mackenzie-phillips-trauma-drug-addiction-and-the-remarkable-joy-of-recovery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/mackenzie-phillips-trauma-drug-addiction-and-the-remarkable-joy-of-recovery\/","title":{"rendered":"Mackenzie Phillips: trauma, drug addiction and the remarkable joy of recovery"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Mackenzie Phillips was a teen star in Hollywood and fought addiction for years. Now she helps others heal. “There’s a way out,” says Phillips. Photo courtesy of Mackenzie Phillips<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mackenzie Phillips\u2019 rock star dad taught her how to roll joints when she was 10.<\/p>\n

Soon after mastering that, the fifth-grader brought some of her dad\u2019s cocaine and a little spoon to school. The white powder spilled before she and a friend could attempt to snort it in a closet in the back of the classroom.<\/p>\n

Phillips zoomed to fame at 15 as rebellious teen, Julie, in the hit sitcom, One Day at a Time<\/em> that ran from 1975 to 1984.<\/p>\n

Her childhood was both a fairy tale, full of adventures in mansions with serpentine swimming pools, and a nightmare of parental neglect, that launched her on a years-long struggle with addiction.
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CeDAR Presents Critical Conversations: A Discussion and Book Signing With Mackenzie Phillips<\/strong><\/p>\n

When:<\/strong> Wednesday, May 8, 7 p.m.<\/p>\n

Where:<\/strong> Tattered Cover Book Store Colfax<\/a>, 2526 E. Colfax Ave., Denver<\/p>\n

Sponsor:<\/strong> CeDAR, the Center for Dependency, Addiction and Rehabilitation<\/a>, a division of UCHealth<\/a><\/p>\n

More information:<\/strong> Click here<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Phillips recounts it all in her mesmerizing memoir, High on Arrival<\/em>. Yes, it\u2019s shocking. And, your heart will break for the 5-year-old girl who searches for breakfast on her own during an island vacation while the adults are partying and making music.<\/p>\n

At age 12, Phillips inexplicably arrived alone in San Francisco for the filming of American Graffiti<\/em>. The director had to make quick arrangements to become her temporary guardian.<\/p>\n

Later, as an adult, Phillips was horrified and ashamed to be shooting up in her bathroom while her toddler son called for her on the other side of the door. It was a terrible repeat of her childhood and motivated Phillips to get clean in 1992.<\/p>\n

Then, 10 years later, she slipped back into drug use after coping with pain from surgeries and hit bottom again in an embarrassing public drug bust in 2008 at Los Angeles International Airport. Phillips was supposed to be flying across the country for a One Day at a Time<\/em> reunion on the Rachael Ray Show<\/em>. Instead, she found herself in jail. The shame propelled her to get clean again.<\/p>\n

\u201cHandcuffs and two felony counts. That\u2019s what wakes a person up,\u201d Phillips said.<\/p>\n

Phillips knows she\u2019s lucky to have survived her years of drug use. Since recovering, she has discovered that her passion is helping others cope with trauma and overcome their addictions. She is also the author of a book called Hopeful Healing<\/em>. Since 2013, Phillips has worked as a substance use counselor. She is now a manager and counselor at Breathe Life Healing Centers<\/a> in West Hollywood, California.<\/p>\n

Phillips will come to Colorado next month to speak about her life and her recovery at the Tattered Cover Bookstore, Colfax. CeDAR, the Center for Dependency, Addiction and Rehabilitation<\/a>, UCHealth\u2019s renowned treatment center, is sponsoring Phillips\u2019 talk. The discussion and book signing on May 8 at 7 p.m. is free and open to the public. For more information, click here.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s incredibly powerful for celebrities like Phillips to share their stories because they can reduce stigma tied to addiction and help more people get treatment for substance use disorders and depression, said Susan Dearing-Bond, CeDAR\u2019s Interim Executive Director.<\/p>\n

\u201cTypically, when you say someone is fighting cancer, we say, \u2018OK.\u2019 We want to do the same for people fighting addictions and those who are in recovery,\u201d Dearing-Bond said. \u201cThis is not a disease people ask for. Their recovery is just as important as someone battling diabetes or cancer.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s OK to talk about addiction and recovery. That\u2019s why it\u2019s a critical conversation,\u201d Dearing Bond said.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018The world is a beautiful place\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n

What\u2019s especially remarkable about Phillips is that she hasn\u2019t lost her sense of joy and wonder.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a very cheerful person. I\u2019ll be 60 this year. I perceive the world as a beautiful place,\u201d Phillips told UCHealth Today<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s a homebody who loves waking up with her four rescue dogs, two pugs, Rudy and Franklin, and two Chihuahuas: Louie and One Eye (named of course for his one eye). She also has five cats.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m that woman,\u201d Phillips says with perfect comic timing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never would have chose to have five cats, but my mom passed away and I took hers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Phillips loves simple pleasures at home.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you are a person who has had complex trauma \u2013 traumatic events over time, not a single event like a shipwreck or being in the World Trade Center \u2013 you have to really look at what makes you feel safe. I love what I do. I live a very full life. And 98 percent of my time is spent at work, out speaking or on TV.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, I have this part of me that really needs to be alone and recharge. I need some quiet time. I like it. I thrive on it. Weekends are easy going. I\u2019m not out at parties. I\u2019ve done that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Phillips shares her home with her adult son, Shane Barakan, a musician, who does other jobs.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a renaissance man,\u201d Phillips said.<\/p>\n

The two enjoy game nights together and with friends.<\/p>\n

Phillips likes strategy games like Azul<\/a> and Viticulture<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe try to play at least once a week after work. We have some laughs. We order in food,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Actor, strategist and drug counselor: all in a day\u2019s work<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Phillips also enjoys solving strategy questions at work, like what types of therapy work best for which patients.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very task oriented. I\u2019m very good at system improvement,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She also leads groups about twice a week, where her experience as an actor comes in quite handy. She has an outstanding bullsh*t detector.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m an actor. All addicts are actors to a point. When we\u2019re actively using or in the disease, we\u2019re trying to make a lot of people think we\u2019re OK. We\u2019re using all our skills to dodge people,\u201d Phillips said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do understand the stress that that causes,\u201d she said. \u201cI can see the game because I\u2019ve played it on counselors and therapists so they\u2019d think I was doing great and they\u2019d leave me alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some of Phillips\u2019 clients are clueless about her fame. And that\u2019s just fine with her. Others are stunned when they recognize her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was doing a biopsychosocial assessment on a client close to my age. We\u2019re sitting in the office and I\u2019m asking her a series of tremendously personal questions so we can create a master treatment plan, then she says, \u2018Can we stop for a moment? I\u2019m just out of detox, but I\u2019m pretty sure you\u2019re Mackenzie Phillips and this is so strange.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Phillips confirms that she is indeed Mackenzie Phillips. When patients are curious, she indulges them for a few minutes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know. Out of the 8 billion people on this planet, we ended up in these roles. Then we laugh and we put it aside and we can get on with the treatment,\u201d Phillips said.
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CeDAR: Helping conquer Addiction<\/strong><\/p>\n