Psychological vs. Conversion

The Psychological View of recovery reacts strongly against the Conversionist idea that selfishness is the root of the addicts problems.  The emphasis on selfishness is seen as bordering on abusive.  According to the Psychological View, recovering people need to be affirmed and nurtured, not scolded or told that they are bad.  In this View, addicts already have negative self-images, and focusing on selfishness can only serve to increase that negative self-image.  For some in the Psychological View, the Conversion Experience View of recovery is seen as taking advantage of vulnerable people.  People new to recovery are in an impressionable frame of mind, and Conversionists seem to be attempting to force newcomers into a religious point of view.

Conversionists see the Psychological View of recovery as causing more harm than good.  In the Conversionist View, telling addicts to care for and think about themselves only increases their already high level of self-concern and selfishness.  Furthermore, the Psychological emphasis on “feeling feelings” and “expressing pain” leads to a recovery environment dominated by narcissism and diseased thinking.  In this View, an addict can never express his/herself enough to rid their psyches of the mental obsession to use.  The Psychological View of tortures recovering people by forcing them to obsess over their symptoms without offering a real solution to the basic problem of addiction.

(back to Three Views of Recovery)