PROVIDENCE, R.I., June 5 (UPI) -- U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy, D-R.I., made his first public appearance Monday after leaving an alcohol and drug abuse treatment center.
The congressman spoke at Brown University during a conference on behavioral health, the Providence Journal reported.
Kennedy, who spoke for roughly 35 minutes, sought to make the point that his own struggle with mental illness and alcohol and drug abuse had much in common with the struggle of millions of Americans, the newspaper said.
Kennedy was discharged late Friday from the addiction center at the Mayo Clinic. A self-described pain pill abuser and binge drinker for most of his adult life, Kennedy completed a four-week course of rehabilitation at the Minnesota clinic.
The newspaper said Kennedy stressed that he has embraced the "one day at a time" philosophy of Alcoholics Anonymous and said he has attended self-help group meetings.
