ABSTRACT

This chapter discusses addiction in high functioning analytic patients, and offers a definition of what constitutes high functioning individuals. It describes psychoanalytic treatment of the addictions. The chapter also describes addiction as a serious mental disorder, which is appropriately included as a topic in the conference. It also discusses the reasons why psychoanalysis has made so small a contribution to its understanding. Addiction represents a major challenge to psychoanalysis, psychiatry, psychology, social work, and other mental health disciplines because of the enormity of the health problem it represents. Drug use is not an isolated psychological phenomenon, but occurs imbedded within personal and broader societal phenomena, including family discord, poor health, poverty, child abuse, and various forms of psychopathology, such as mood disorders. The Austrian analyst who Stuart had identified was a member of the International Psychoanalytical Association, but was also something of a maverick.