by Evan Pritchard

A long time mental health and addiction recovery advocate, Dr. Michael Picucci, left, received the prestigious "Outstanding Leadership in Research" award for the year 2000, presented jointly by the National Institutes on Health (NIH), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), and the National Association of Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Counselors (NAADAC). The award was presented by Dr. Timothy Condon, deputy director of NIH/NIDA at a ceremony which took place at the NAADAC annual conference in Denver, CO.

On May 6th, 2001 Dr. Picucci received an honor in New York State as well. As a highlight of their annual conference in New York City, John Pietropaolo, President of The Association for Addiction Professionals of New York State (AAPNY) presented Dr. Picucci the association's first-ever "President's Award" for outstanding commitment, dedication and contribution to the field of addiction education and treatment.

The founder of Authentic Process Therapy (APT) and developer of the Staged Model of Recovery, Dr. Picucci was honored for the direct application of his fieldwork observations. The Institute for Staged Recovery and The Institute for Authentic Process Healing (and their respective websites: "stagedrecovery.com" and "theinstitute.org") have been co-founded to help share his findings. They demonstrate the importance of honoring and respecting an individual's unique experiences through the full recovery process without pathologizing or labeling it. This approach blends community healing methods (used successfully by both12-step programs and indigenous cultures with contemporary adepts) with psychotherapeutic wisdoms, thus melting the barriers which prevent the individual from becoming whole and complete.

A core schism addressed in this approach is that between sexuality and spirituality. In this way, the individual finds it easier to overcome the personal and cultural obstacles surrounding the fusing of sexual and loving (spiritual) energies in longer term relationships.

A nationally credentialed Master Addiction Counselor with a doctorate in The Psychology of Addictions Psychotherapy, Michael discovered a process and framework which combines the widsom of psychotherapy, the maturing recovery movement, physiology, and that gained from his own personal healing journey. The result is a bold combination of "old" and new healing strategies for all people, called Authentic Process Therapy (APT) or Authentic Process Healing (APH). Both allow deep feelings, longings for intimacy, and spiritual yearnings to emerge and become integrated, creating the experience of Complete Recovery or holism. Rather than speaking in terms of "recovery from" addictions and life's trials and traumas, the APH community addresses "recovery of" fulfillment, wisdom, serenity, and a sense of completeness. This provides individuals with a flexible map and language to better understand and co-create their own journey of healing and personal development. Michael is the first in his field to receive such prestigious awards for heuristic research (Moustakas, 1990).

In heuristics, the researcher is part of the research and reports from the center of it. This is important because heuristic research is one of the newer, more interactive community-based research modalities that interfaces with complexity theories. When integrated with the hard sciences, it will help shape the new century. These honors were for both the research and research application he has completed to date, the two books he wrote recording that research (Complete Recovery: An Expanded Model of Community Healing in 1996 and The Journey Toward Complete Recovery: Reclaiming Your Emotional, Spiritual & Sexual Wholeness in 1998), and the demonstration of his research in community building at the grass roots level. He also trains in professional arenas and is the originator of the Authentic Process Therapy (APT) practitioner certification program.

Dr. Picucci is very grateful for the honors received and wants to express heartfelt thanks to the awarding organizations, to his clients and to the healing communities that have made this research possible. He continues to maintain a private practice in New York City and conducts and shares research at both Institutes.