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Alcoholism: The quest for transcendence and meaning

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Abstract

A vigorous and long standing argument continues in an effort to define the etiology of alcoholism and prescribe its treatment. Each sideaadvances its cause by challenging the other's efficacy. However, none of the prevalling responses to alcoholism is very effective. Fighting on the ideological battlefield of western science results in a sterile understanding of alcoholism and provides social workers little information to help them understand the experience of alcoholism and the complexities of recovery. The experience of alcoholism is profound. More than a bad habit or a disease, alcoholism is an attempt to give life meaning, to assuage existential dilemmas. Effective recovery from alcoholism occurs when clients learn to disengage from their relationship with alcohol and give their lives a new sense of meaning. Sources of knowledge outside empirical science offer important principles to help workers facilitate recovery.

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  1. School of Social Welfare, University of Kansas, 66045, Lawrence, Kansas

    Thomas K. Gregoire Ph.D.

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Gregoire, T.K. Alcoholism: The quest for transcendence and meaning. Clin Soc Work J 23, 339–359 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02191755

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