to accept that their distress can be relieved by a change in attitude, as denial and rationalization are confronted in a supportive way. Over time, engagement in the network allows an addict to restructure the perspective in which the addiction has been couched.For addicts, both healthy and faulted attitudes have long coexisted in conflict with each other and the cognitive dissonance produced by these contradictions has driven them into a defensive stance. In a proper, supportive context, a constructive view premised on abstinence and on acknowledgment of the harmful nature of drug use can emerge. Addicts can experience a "conversion" of sorts, perhaps gradual, but real nonetheless.(Johnson, 1980)There is hardly any disorder more complicated and difficult to treat than alcohol/drug dependence. Perhaps because alcohol dependence is so complex, it has attracted various professions and approaches, each having its own notion of etiology and treatment. The point is that treatment needs to be conceptualized for the patient as a long term process of years with the principle task for recovery being to provide the most effective treatment for a given person with a given problem. But until and unless researchers find a specific biological cause and cure for alcoholism, treatments will continue to vary, depending upon the alcoholic and the therapist. ...
