American university adopts Scottish couple's alcoholism book as set
text

Ayrshire, Scotland, 11 February 2008--A BOOK by a married couple from
Ayrshire in Scotland has been selected as a set text by a top American
university.

"Phoenix in a Bottle" by Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald will now be
required reading for all doctoral students in a psychology programme
at Alliant International University in San Diego, California.

The book tells the story of Lilian and Murdoch's desperate fight
against and recovery from alcoholism.

Alliant International University, headquartered in San Diego and San
Francisco, California, was formed in 2001 by the merger of the
California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP) and the United
States International University. Alliant has 6 campuses throughout
California and also runs programmes in Mexico City, Hong Kong and
Tokyo. The California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant is
one of the premier psychology schools in the US, and it counts roughly
half the licensed clinical psychologists in California as its alumni.

Dr. Gary W. Lawson is Professor of Psychology at CSPP. He says: "I
adopted "Phoenix in a Bottle" because the dilemma this couple
struggled with and the questions they ask themselves are like so many
others I have encountered in 35 years of clinical experience treating
addictions.

"However, nowhere in addiction literature have I seen these issues
examined and explained as well as Lilian and Murdoch do in "Phoenix in
a Bottle".

"I also recommend 'Phoenix in a Bottle' to many of my patients as
well."

Since it was published in 2005, "Phoenix in a Bottle" has been listed
on Amazon UK, but this month it was also listed for the first time on
Amazon.com, hopefully giving an extra boost to future international
sales of the book.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Phoenix-Bott.../dp/1905226144

http://www.amazon.com/Phoenix-Bottle.../dp/1905226144

"Phoenix in a Bottle" is published by Melrose Books price £16.99.

http://www.melrosebooks.com/bookDetails.php?id=15

Melrose Books marketing and promotions co-ordinator Judith Stephens
commented: "This is a fantastic opportunity for the authors to use
their writing to help those studying addictions and behaviour, who
will of course go onto to help addicts."

ABOUT LILIAN AND MURDOCH MACDONALD

In 1994 as a result of their alcoholism, Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald
were down and out, sleeping rough in the streets and parks of
Cambridge, the English university town where, a quarter of a century
before, Murdoch had attained an honours degree.

Rejecting the conventional concepts of alcoholism, Lilian and Murdoch
set about searching for the underlying causes of their self-harming
behaviour problem, which they discovered lay in childhood.

They argue that no alcoholic is addicted to alcohol, but rather to the
escape that alcohol affords - escape from life, or certain aspects of
life with which they are unable to cope.

Having identified and addressed their issues from the past, the couple
are today back home in Ayrshire, Scotland, leading normal lives again,
with their problems of alcoholism and Lilian's associated eating
disorder well and truly behind them.

Controversially, they are also now able to drink alcohol responsibly
again, if and when they so wish.

Described as a modern day "Days of Wine and Roses", Lilian and
Murdoch's book "Phoenix in a Bottle" is the inspiring story of their
journey.

ABOUT PROFESSOR GARY W. LAWSON

Dr. Lawson, a Professor of Psychology at the California School of
Professional Psychology at Alliant International University in San
Diego, teaches in the PsyD doctoral programme in clinical psychology.
He has been teaching, conducting research and publishing articles and
books in the addictions field since 1971. He has conducted training in
addictions all across the United States and worldwide. He and his wife
Dr Ann W Lawson, a Professor and Director of Clinical Training in the
Marriage and Family Therapy programme at Alliant, were co-founding
editors of the journal "Family Dynamics of Addictions Quarterly" and
between them they have written 10 books on addictions and related
topics. They are currently working on a fourth edition of their book
"Essentials of Chemical Dependency Counselling" and a third edition of
their book "Alcoholism and the Family: A Guide to Treatment and
Prevention". They just completed work on a 2nd edition of their edited
book "Alcoholism and Substance Abuse in Diverse Populations", which
should be available this summer through ProEd publishers in Austin,
Texas.

ABOUT ALLIANT INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY

Alliant International University offers a unique curriculum that
combines academics and apprenticeship in all courses of study. With
accredited programs at San Francisco, Sacramento, Fresno, Los Angeles,
Irvine and San Diego, California, Alliant also hosts accredited
programs in Mexico City, Mexico and Tokyo, Japan.

http://www.alliant.edu

http://www.AlcoholicsCanDrinkSafelyAgain.com
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