Guilt is Soluble in Alcohol: An Ego Analytic View

Ego analysis, a version of Freudian theory, maintains that guilt is a sufficient cause of substance abuse. A cultural analysis reveals that self-negation is powerfully reinforced in technologically advanced societies by an unexamined moralistic belief system. In the field of alcoholism, the psychoanalytic perspective is opposed primarily by two arguments. First, researchers argue that psychodynamic factors cannot account for abuse because longitudinal studies demonstrate that symptoms of mental illness are not evident either before or after the abuse careers of many sufferers. Second, cognitive behaviorists maintain that the concept “maladaptive expectancies” explains addictions more adequately than psychodynamic theories. Freud's discovery that unconscious guilt can drive even normal people to antisocial behavior is the basis for disputing both arguments. The ego analyst's therapeutic alternative is contrasted with the conventional, abstinence-only approach and cognitive-behavioral treatment.