ABSTRACT
The treatment of the recovering person is a long-term proposition. Recovery includes separation and individuation, and treatment includes rupture and repair of the therapeutic relationship. Negotiation of confidentiality boundaries may respect anonymity. Negotiation of authority may be reflected through payment and attendance at group sessions. Negotiation of roles may be reflected in the capacity of group members to identify and counteridentify with each other. Negotiation of the primary task may include the dual function of the therapist of attending to the task of boundary management and the task of interpretation. This primary task involves the confrontation of denial, which appears as rationalization, projection, intellectualization and minimization.
