Moyers on Addiction DVD Professional Series: a five-part series discloses the shattering realities of active addiction and reveals the redemptive power of life in recovery. Investigates various approaches to successfully changing addictive behavior.

Includes these titles:
Portrait of Addiction, 60 min.
Nine men and women, all in recovery, tell their stories in Portrait of Addiction. They include a former narcotics agent who is recovering from a cocaine habit; a mother of three and a marketing specialist; a former addict and founder of Stand Up Harlem, a community of addicts who are HIV positive and recovering; and a journalist and former addict who served as as a researcher to Bill Moyers on the series. Candid testimony affirms the idea that addiction can happen to anyone- as can recovery.

The Hijacked Brain, 60 min.
Aided by powerful new diagnostic tools, scientists are discovering how addiction affects the brain. In The Hijacked Brain, Bill Moyers follows researchers who are engaged in charting an "image of desire in the brain." We see images of a cocaine user's brain as the drug takes effect, and a doctor explains how addiction is a chronic brain disease. Moyers observes a genetic researcher as he monitors factors that may determine likelihood of developing alcoholism. Note: contains scenes of individuals using alcohol and other drugs that may not be appropriate for clients in treatment or recovery.

Changing Lives, 90 min.
While addiction may cause similar changes to the brain among addicts, recovery is a very individual solution. No single treatment program will work for all addicts. In Changing Lives, Bill Moyers visits the Ridgeview Institute near Atlanta to interview recovering addicts and sit in on a group therapy session. The program also visits Project Safe, an innovative treatment program that reaches out to disadvantaged addicted mothers and their children.

The Next Generation, 60 min.
In The Next Generation, Bill Moyers looks at community-based and family-based prevention efforts. One program helps parents who are addicted to heroin repair family damage and raise resilient children. A school program in Dade County, Florida, watches for kids at risk of becoming addicted and offers immediate counseling for those who are already involved. Another program offers preventive and treatment measures for nicotine addiction. School officials, counselors, and students are interviewed.

The Politics of Addiction, 60 min.
The story of how knowledge of addiction becomes public policy is a complex and often contradictory one. In The Politics of Addiction, Bill Moyers looks at Arizona's recent struggle over Proposition 200, which advocated treatment over incarceration for nonviolent drug addicts. The movement was supported by an alliance that transcended political party lines. In Washington, members of Congress, doctors, and policy activists have joined with others in recovery in a movement for new public policy. Note: contains scenes of individuals using alcohol and other drugs that may not be appropriate for clients in treatment or recovery.

* Individuals interested in ordering this series, see items 7904 or click onto the related items button.