Addictions From an Attachment Perspective: Do Broken Bonds and Early Trauma Lead to Addictive Behaviours?

by Richard Gill

This outstanding book is an important collection of papers from the 2013 John Bowlby Memorial Conference by accomplished clinicians from different modalities who share their experience of working with people with different kinds of addiction. The papers bring together an in-depth understanding that addictions are a response to, and hold the pain of, broken attachments and are best treated within healthy interpersonal relationships. For a long time the person with an addiction has been seen as the problem with society being able to live in denial of the causes. These papers open up innovative and effective ways of working with people troubled by addiction from an attachment-informed Cara Crossan, Richard Gill, Lynn Greenwood, Bob Johnson, Liz Karter, Edward Khantzian, Arlene Vetere, Kate White, Jason Wright

Genres: Psychology, Addiction

156 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 3, 2014

Reviews

[Amaroq de Quebrazas · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a joy to have all this very valuable information all together from such a distinguished collection of sources in the field. Big congratulations, this is ground breaking work for the whole planet!!

[Dovilė Stonė · Rating 5 out of 5]

Knyga nėra skirta savipagalbai - ji skirta su priklausomybėmis dirbantiems specialistams, linkusiems mąstyti psichodinamiškai. Iš profesinės pusės, tai vertingi skaitiniai, atšviežinantys prieraišumo teorijos žinias ir integruojantys jas į priklausomybių lauką.

Užgriebiama priklausomybė nuo alkoholio ir kitų medžiagų, taip pat priklausomybė nuo sekso ir lošimų. Įdomu, kad čia logišką vietą randa ir valgymo sutrikimai bei savižala. Straipsnius pagal savo konferencijoje skaitytus pranešimus rašė ir klinikiniais pavyzdžiais iliustravo keli su priklausomybėmis daugybę metų dirbę psichoterapeutai. Jie ir atkartoja, ir vysto savą priklausomybės kaip prieraišumo traumos padarinio sampratą.

Mane labiausiai užkabino Edward. J. Khantzian, pristatęs savo self-medication teoriją.

I am generally dogged with my patients in pursuing the issue of what their drug of choice does for them, that is, what are they self-medicating? It is an avenue to therapeutically access the distress that governs their use and overuse of substances, but it also plays an important part in establishing an empathic alliance. Namely, the approach shifts from a typical one in which the patient can feel scolded about what the drugs are doing to (italicised for emphasis) them, to one where an understanding is offered as to what the drug is doing for them. This is especially so given the harsh judgements that are placed on patients with an addiction for their drug use, not the least of which is the harsh judgements and shame patients place on themselves.

Arlene Vetere:

When problem drinking has endured for years, families can become problem determined systems (Anderson, Goolishian & Winderman, 1986). This is the idea that family life becomes organised around the drinker and the problem of drinking, rather than being organised around the needs of all family members. This is seen as an ironic consequence of trying to manage and adapt to drinking problems and the impact on family life.

Richard Gill:

The person with an addiction is lost in the terror of what he thinks reality is.

The person is beginning to realise how they operate in life just doesn’t work anymore but is however reluctant to admit that any of their failures are down to them, it is more often than not the other who is at fault. Shame and guilt prevent exploration and denial is their main defense. Dismissive or preoccupied attachment patterns are easy to recognise whilst many could be seen to have a more disorganised and unresolved pattern of behaviour and thinking. What helps at this stage is to separate out the person from the substance whilst the therapist holds, or is at least aware of, the other dynamics. [klinikiniai pavyzdžiai] This separation of the person from the substance is received with relief and is the start of dissolving the shame that binds all the other defenses together.

Liz Karter:

To work with people who have a gambling addiction it is vital to understand that gambling addiction is not about the money, winning lots of money, getting rich quick, or born out of greed, or naivety about the odds of winning. The money does not matter. All that matters is to buy complete absorption in the gambling activity and so play yourself away from a world that feels too scary, too painful, too risky to inhabit.

[Elijah Sprague, Ph.D · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was good, but I had to dig a little to find the good stuff in the text. Definitely Worth the time to read.