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Pulitzer prize winner details alcoholism study by Weslynn Chubb Public Relations Eric Newhouse may not be a medical professional but he can still teach the pros a lesson—how people outside the field of psychiatry look at alcoholism.   The Institute of Psychiatry welcomed Newhouse, winner of the 2000 Pulitzer for Explanatory Journalism, to the university last week as part of its 14th Annual Update in Psychiatry conference.   Newhouse gave a lecture at the Institute of Psychiatry Auditorium on Thursday, May 31 at 7 p.m. The lecture, entitled, Life in the Fast Lane: From an Alcohol Detox Unit to the Prison Psych Ward, detailed his study of alcoholism in Great Falls, Mont., that lead to his winning 10-part series, Alcohol: Cradle to Grave, for the Great Falls Tribune.   Raymond F. Anton, M.D., professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, introduced Newhouse and the lecture, stating that the decision to invite the esteemed journalist was an attempt to provide a cultural standpoint on the field of alcohol studies in addition to the scientific lectures that would be held during the weekend.    Newhouse later commented on the complementary fields of journalism and psychiatry.   “You guys are the scientists,” Newhouse said. “I’m just the outsider looking in.”   This capacity to look in, however, has given him the opportunity to report scientific findings on alcoholism to the general population through his writing.   “I have the ability to communicate these advances to the people who actually need the help,” Newhouse said.   Added to the information he learned from researchers in the field of alcohol studies, Newhouse also acquired information for his series from one-on-one interviews and experiences with alcoholics and their families in Great Falls. He also visited public school D.A.R.E. programs, courtrooms, Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and rode with the police at night as part of his research of the subject.   “After I finished the alcohol series, it changed the way I looked at the world,” he said.   Newhouse is now working on a series on prison psychiatric wards and plans on starting a series on troubled teens, as well.   His Pulitzer-winning series on alcohol, “Alcohol: Cradle to Grave,” will be available as a book by Hazledon Publishers in September and can also be viewed at <http://www.pulitzer.com> and at <http://www.greatfallstribune.com>.