Treating Addiction With Psychodynamic Therapy

Addiction is a complex and often misunderstood mental health issue that affects millions of people worldwide. In recent years, awareness around addiction and related issues has grown, leading to an increased focus on providing specialised counselling services to support individuals in their recovery journey.

Understanding addiction is key to effectively addressing and treating it. Addiction is a chronic brain disorder characterized by compulsive engagement in rewarding stimuli despite adverse consequences. It can manifest in various forms, such as substance abuse, gambling, or even technology addiction. The root causes of addiction are diverse and can range from genetic predispositions to environmental factors and traumatic experiences.

Carl Jung understood addiction in a different way from others, not only as calming or

stimulating, but actually changing what happens to a person’s inner self including the

unconscious, the ego and it defences. Not only does a substance satisfy the instant

gratification required by the Id, but it also masks the pains of the past and removes

them completely from that person. Jung suggests that substances “work at a deep

level of psychic functioning, blurring the boundaries in the inner world. Splits are

abolished, the fragmented worlds of the unconscious and the conscious become

merged” (thesap.or.uk Accessed 20th November 2021).

Once someone has experienced a sense of wholeness through drugs or alcohol,

they may well want to experience it again and again. When the substance is gone

the search to repeat the experience begins, and it is not easy to give this up.

Addiction, he believed, involves a spiritual thirst for a sense of wholeness.

He understood intuitively that only a radical conversion to something equally satisfying to the individual at a deep level can promote recovery. Furthermore, he sensed the intense loneliness forced upon addicts by the shame and secrecy of their addiction, not unlike the sense of isolation he himself had experienced as a child and adolescent.  He likened the growing sense of alienation of an addicted person to being “outside the protective wall of human community.”

The value of his thinking in healing the human spirit has been proved by the world-wide success of treatment programs, therapy and self help groups in helping millions of people get well from addiction and related problems.

Taking the first step towards seeking help is often the most difficult but also the most empowering. Remember, you are not alone in your journey towards recovery.