Tiger's Plan for Recovery Applauded by Minister Who Counsels Sex Addicts

Tiger Woods is on the right path to recovery says Craig Gross, a minister with a special focus. He helps many in the porn industry and athletes who suffer from addictions to porn and other forms of sex addiction.

Gross made it plain in a interview on Friday afternoon that he wouldn't have thought Woods was serious if he announced a time table for a return to golf.

Speaking from his base in Las Vegas, Gross said that phase one of Woods' treatment consisted of breaking down the barriers to admitting he had a problem and taking full responsibility for the collateral damage. That had to be done all by himself.

Phase two will take Woods and his wife Elin through the grueling work of discovering if their marriage will survive and must be done with the couple spending time together but not necessarily living in one place.

"If he is really serious he'll ignore golf for as long as it takes", Gross told me. "If we hear about a quick return to the Tour it will coincide with the announcement that his marriage is over."

This seems to parallel what the world heard from Tiger during his first public appearance. It also flies in the face of all the public relations pros and crisis managers who have droned on about why Woods was taking the wrong approach.

Even if the golfer is as diligent as he can be, he and his wife may be unable to stay together.

"There is no more than a 50-50 chance of success for couples despite their good intentions", Gross said.

The odds aren't helped by the fact that Woods' decision to seek treatment only came after he was publicly humiliated.

"Forced recovery after being caught", said Gross,"is not the best way to begin the process."

Perhaps those who are judging Tiger Woods by standards best left for Toyota and ball players who used performance enhancers should learn about how someone reconstructs a shattered life when he wants to fix himself, not just his image.

Gross explained that part of Woods' recovery is to focus on the most important task at hand and live with the consequences of being judged on facts that might not be accurate. For a controlling personality that can be the most difficult part.

Craig Gross' website that offers help to those who want it can be found, here

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Comments

[SameBoat]

05:38 PM on 02/24/2010

Come on, people. My parents taught me never to kick someone while they're down. I cannot think of anyone who has fallen farther than Tiger Woods. I am not a fan of his, but I do admire his ability to win his way through seemingly impossible odds, both in golf and hopefully, at home. Let's cut him and his family some slack. I would only hope they can survive.

[Alexander333]

04:50 PM on 02/20/2010

This apology was nothing more than a malignent narcissist's attempt to manipulate everyone all over again. The robotic, insincere delivery of this ghost written nonsense was insulting to Buddhism, marriage, fatherhood and yes, even to golf because in the end, if all we really care about is watching this creep play golf again, then we will have no one to blame but ourselves when our kids grow up to be morally bankrupt egomaniacs. Where was his inner strength when he repeatedly chose to endanger the life of his wife with his reckless conquests? Hopefully the personality disorder of extreme narcissism will be appropriately addressed soon because the permanent destruction and pain it causes the innocent victims is criminal and growing.

[thinkingwomanmillstone]

02:22 PM on 02/24/2010

Itr is an insult to people struggling with physical addiction everywhere to equate the behavior of this man with an illness. He's in shock because he's gotten away with rudeness and self indulgence for so long. He is entitled to be as big a jerk as he wants to be, just don't keep selling the world this bill of goods about the righteous family man. The only vibe I get from Tiger is why is everybody picking on me...I'm Tiger Woods!

[CLOB]

04:18 PM on 02/20/2010

I am glad that Tiger Woods broke his silence. After listening to Tiger I feel positive that he is going in the right direction to get his derailed life back on the right track. I think that in each one of us there is a divine power that can be used to help us overcome any obstacle and adversity. I am encouraged that Tiger mentioned he is using his inner strength to regain balance in his life to save the two things that are most important to him, his wife and his children. Tiger said that Elin deserves praise and I wholeheartedly agreed. I hope and pray that one day Elin find room in her heart to believe in him again. God Bless!