Re: Treating Addiction

You are quite correct that the key to the Adlerian treatment of all disorders is found in an understanding of the "style of life" of the individual (his way of dealing with the challenges of life) that was originally formed in early childhood.

In this respect, the psychotherapeutic treatment of addiction is similar to the treatment of trauma and most symptoms. However, in order to evaluate the severity of an addiction and provide for a reliable strategy for control of a substance, I generally refer clients first to a physician (if needed) for a check of metabolic or digestive disorders, and then to an Adlerian chemical abuse specialist for an initial consultation and review of resources. Then I discuss the options with the client, explaining that psychotherapy can only be effective if he is willing to take steps to stop the use of the substance. Frequently, regular participation in AA can provide the structure and support that some clients need to stop the substance abuse. Sometimes, an in-patient hospital program is the first step in recovery.

Many people suffering from addiction feel a vague sense of emptiness that can be traced back to an absence of the feeling of belonging in early childhood. Instead of facing and conquering this painful feeling of having been neglected, rejected, or abused, they have found relief in intoxication and illusion. Others have been pampered so outrageously as children, that they cannot tolerate struggling with normal difficulties, or the frustration of their self-indulgent demands. Although, mistakes may have been made by their parents, they too may have responded with a mistaken attitude toward life that has never been corrected.

Insight into a client's hidden, personal ideal (fictional final goal) is essential for a permanent solution. Unless an overblown ideal is discovered and dissolved, there will always be a temptation to intoxicate oneself with fantasy, an activity that is easily facilitated by substance abuse. The deep inferiority that many addicts feel or fear is caused by the great distance they experience from a impossible high goal of personal superiority. Other people are often seen as obstacles or enemies, and the real, normal challenges of life are viewed as threatening tests, interruptions of personal fun and pleasure, or distractions from personal glory. Within this perspective of life, withdrawing and "getting high" can be very seductive, and the addiction can be used as a persuasive excuse for avoiding reponsibility.

For some clients, a series of "missing developmental experiences" must be offered to fill the emotional emptiness that they feel (see http://www.themall.net/~adler/stages2.htm ). Eventually, in treatment, the client's neglected responsibilities, as well as the impact of the addiction on others, have to be faced. The most effective therapeutic solution for any client's disorder is the development of "the feeling of community"-- recognizing and accepting the encouragement of those who are currently willing and able to help, and then becoming a person who helps others.

Replies:

Re: Treating Addiction, by SJJ, 5/15/97 Re: Problem of Obesity, by Henry Stein, 5/15/97

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