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Over the past four videos in this series on Addiction According to Meaning Therapists, Geoff Thompson has been reviewing the work of meaning-oriented therapists Jonathan Diamond, Jefferson Singer, Kirk Schneider and James Crumbaugh. Their work is by no means identical, but all of these therapists share four core principles:

1. We must treat the whole human being. Human beings are complex and unique. We are not going to separate out their addiction and forget the person with the addiction. Therefore, we don’t treat the addict, we treat the person.
2. You must connect with others. In this era of neuroscience, we are finding that humans are ‘hardwired’ to be in relationship with other people. Evolution has created us this way.
3. You must live life. We need to do something in our recovery. We need to put it into practice. We need to experience life fully. Taking risks is part of recovery. All of these therapists we highlighted in this five-part series pointed out that dangers of isolating and being a couch potato.
4. Start looking at positive things in life. Stop dwelling on negativity. This point reminds us of the importance of attitude. Build your resilience, or what Dr. Frankl calls the defiant human spirit.

In this 4th instalment of Addiction According to Meaning Therapists, Geoff introduces us to Dr. James Crumbaugh who created a model of alcoholism treatment based on the philosophy of Dr. Viktor Frankl. His treatment model can be summarized as five stages:

Stage 1 – make a decision on how you are going to view life. For example, are you a machine? Are you more than a machine? Your choice will determine what options you have available to you.
Stage 2 – develop self-confidence. You must have a belief that you are capable of overcoming your addiction. Remember! Millions of people have
Stage 3 – persevere, think creatively. You are going to have some difficult days and you need to work through these times in order to achieve your objective of sobriety.
Stage 4 – encounter. You need to have a relationship with people. We are relational beings. Our job is to connect with other people. We need other people to give us feedback and validate our existence.
Stage 5 – dereflection (borrowed from Dr. Frankl). You need to stop looking at your life as a failure and start focusing on your strengths, your successes, the times in life when you were courageous.

These five stages, according to Dr. Crumbaugh, are key to overcoming alcoholism and, Geoff believes, can be extended to drug addiction as well. For more information on Dr. Crumbaugh’s program see Logotherapy: New Help for Problem Drinkers.

In part 3 of Addiction According to Meaning Therapists, Geoff Thompson highlights the work of addiction researchers Barbara Ballinger, Robert Matano and Adrianne Amantea whose work is based on the teachings of Dr. Kirk J. Schneider. Dr. Schneider’s form of therapy is called Existential Integrative Therapy. This form of therapy emphasizes that therapists working with clients need to create an experience of deep emotional connection. Therapy sessions are framed to allow the client to experience negative emotion in order to expand their world and participate more fully in their world. After all, negative emotions are part of life, as much as positive emotions.

In part 2 of addiction according to meaning therapists, Geoff Thompson discusses the work of addiction expert Dr. Jefferson Singer, author of Message in a Bottle: Stories of Men and Addiction . Dr. Singer believes that stories that we formulate about ourselves form our identity. Dr. Singer worked with relapsing clients at a facility called Lebanon Pines. In Dr. Singer’s research on men with addiction, a common thread that the stories shared by the clients he worked with reflected (a) a feeling of not fitting in with society and (b) an apparent lack of a cohesive sense of identity.

In part 1 of this new 5-part series, Geoff Thompson introduces us to therapist and author of Narrative Means to Sober Ends, Jonathan Diamond. Jonathan Diamond believes that ‘we are the stories we tell ourselves’. According to Dr. Diamond, our stories are how we make meaning out of our lives. Dr. Diamond believes that individuals struggling with addiction need a new, more empowering story. Our new stories need not be fabrications or falsehoods but can be empowering just by having a different perspective.

In this bonus segment on Emotional Wreckage, Cathy talks about the why of recovery, why we want to change. To use a metaphor, are you looking through the front windshield or in the rear view mirror? Family members affected by a loved one’s addiction needs to ask themselves about what do they want to accomplish in life. What are their dreams and aspiritions? Change needs to be anchored in why we want to change. If you are in an intimate relationship, are you focused on the past or looking forward to what life can bring with your partner or, if necessary, as a single person?

In the sixth and final instalment of Emotional Wreckage, Cathy talks about family members being emotionally stuck even though they are trying to rebuild after a loved one returns from treatment. Resentment is often at the heart of being stuck emotionally, where family members find themselves stuck in the past.

In part 5 of Emotional Wreckage, Cathy talks about how family members can move forward after their addicted loved one returns from treatment. More importantly, family members ask how they can trust again. Cathy emphasizes the importance of recovering addicts to take ownership and accountability for their behaviour and commitments.

In the 4th instalment of Emotional Wreckage, Cathy Patterson-Sterling explains what family members and spouses can do after a loved one returns from treatment. Untangling the issues involves family members figuring out how their relationship to the addicted individual has changed now that he/she has returned from treatment and is beginning his/her recovery journey. Family members need to ask themselves if they are adjusting to life after treatment. For example, am I still trying to fix everything? Am I allowing him/her to take responsibility for the choices he/she makes in life? For family members, recovery is an opportunity to put their loved one in recovery back in the driver seat of life.

In part 3 of her series on Emotional Wreckage, Cathy Patterson-Sterling discusses the ‘breaking point’ – a time where there is a potential for growth that arises out of a crisis. When families are collapsing under the burden of addiction, an opportunity to rebuild co-arises with the collapse. Cathy alludes to the metaphor of the phoenix bird that appears out of the flames of destruction.