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LACAN AND ADDICTION
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In 2006, Lacanians from North America, South America, and Europe, gathered in Georgia, at the University of West Georgia and at Emory University for the seventh annual conference of the Affiliated Psycho- analytic Workgroups (APW) which was devoted to the topic of addictions as approached from a Lacanian psychoanalytic orientation. The conference participants explored the complexity of the problem of addictions for the individual, for society, for clinicians, and for treat- ment, particularly as theorized and practiced by those who adhere to the teachings of Jacques Lacan. Discussions were heavily, although not exclusively, focused on clinical implications and work. The following chapters draw their inspiration from this intense yet convivial com- munity of dialogue about addiction that marked the discussions and presentations of the participants whose orientations spanned Lacanian schools (and included some non-Lacanians).
Yet our text is more than a tribute to a particularly vibrant confer- ence. It represents a collection of views on the question of addiction as it plays out in a certain cultural context and as it represents a subjective choice. In the current social climate where addiction is mostly treated by variations of 12-step approaches and pharmaceutical “countermeas- ures”, it is all too easy to lose sight of the dimensions of addiction that render it not just a disease to be managed but rather a significant form of human suffering and a subjective responsibility, both of which are critical components of addiction treatment. Despite high dropout rates for 12-step programmes and respectable but less than stellar results for “conventional therapies” (psycho-educational, group, person-centred, cognitive-behavioural), there remains little new theoretical blood or clinical innovation in the North American addiction paradigm. More and more, addiction treatment is turning away from psychological theorization and towards psychopharmacological measures—for example, towards drugs that may help addicts stay off drugs. Without substantive empirical validation, at this time, spirituality, behavioural treatments, and pharmacological approaches remain the sometimes strange bedfellows of choice to respond to the suffering of addicts (see Flor, Chapter Three).
Yael Goldman Baldwin, Kareen Malone, and Thomas Svolos - Personal Name
1st Edtion
13: 978-1-85575-851-
NONE
LACAN AND ADDICTION
Management
English
Karnac Books Ltd
2011
1-257
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