CONNECTICUT COLLEGE OFFICE OF COLLEGE RELATIONS
New London, CT 06355
Phone: (860) 439-2508/Fax (860) 439-5405
April 9, 1998 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Trish Brink [email protected]
The disease-based concept for treatment of alcohol and drug addiction, as embodied in recovery programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous, ignores the root causes of addiction and, when used alone, will most often not achieve sustained recovery in chronic addicts, according to a new book, Message in a Bottle: Stories of Men and Addiction, (Free Press, 1997) by Jefferson A. Singer, Associate Professor of Psychology at Connecticut College.
Citing several studies which reveal that most people with biologically-linked alcoholic parents do NOT go on to become alcoholics, Singer says that the widely-accepted theory that alcohol and drug addiction is a disease or genetically-rooted masks the underlying problem -- an identity trapped in drinking and drugging. Instead, he offers alternative treatment strategies that he says addresses what the addict truly needs: help dealing with the psychological and social factors that fuel the mental cravings to escape.
Glimpse of Sobriety May Be Hitting Bottom
≥There are a lot of ironies behind the AA philosophy. For one, traditionally, hitting bottom means losing everything that mattered -- work, loving relationships, self-respect...Yet, for the chronic addict whose life is organized around the consumption of alcohol and the world of rehabs and fellow alcoholics, hitting bottom may actually occur when he glimpses the terrifying prospect of sobriety. At such moments, the chronic addict must envision a life devoid of all of the central activities that now shape his daily life. At such sober moments, he is forced to give up his lifeπs purpose (obtaining a drink), his primary relationships (with other active chronic users), his weekly activities and routines, and his core identity as a hard-drinking man who is beating the odds for still another day,≤ says Singer.
One Day at a Time -- Drinking
≥In another ironic inversion of the AA mottoes, the chronic addict has learned to see no further than one day at a time. He allows the central activity of his drinking to take him through the day, structuring his daily goals, activities and associations. When he wakes in the morning, he need only say to himself, åI will drink todayπ and the rest of the dayπs rituals will carry him through -- one day at a time -- drinking.≤
Disease-based Theories are Misguided
Drawing on his work since 1989 as a researcher and staff psychologist at the Southeastern (CT) Council on Alcohol and Drug Dependence (SCADD), and interviews with over 30 residents at Lebanon Pines, SCADDπs residential, long-term treatment facility, Singer concludes that seeing addiction in disease-like terms is misguided. ≥The alcoholic has reason to feel he must drink; the therapist can rely on drugs as the main avenue to recovery; and society can turn away and absolve itself from the responsibility to support one of its own.≤
Based on his interviews, Singer chronicles the life stories of addicts representing a full spectrum of American life -- from a millionaire businessman to a Vietnam veteran -- and illustrates how our society makes the task of forging a meaningful identity a daunting challenge for all men.
≥In a world where love and work are the prized pillars of sober identity, a man who feels he has failed at one or both may feel he ≥belongs≤ in the self-destructive world of addiction,≤ Singer noted.
(A COPY OF THE BOOK IS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST)
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