TURNING BREAD INTO STONES - OUR MODERN ANTI-MIRACLE

Whereas turning stones into bread would have been an ancient miracle, turning bread into stones (i.e., hustling enough money or whatever else is needed to maintain an addiction) is seen as the modern antimiracle. A psychological model for treating addiction-related problems, developed by the author over a 16-yr period, is presented. The model employs exclusion therapy and combines therapeutic contracts, reality therapy, operant conditioning, insight therapy, brief psychotherapy, communication theory employing the double bind and paradoxical intention, and group therapy. Individual sessions are used to establish a transference and to motivate the client toward health, but group therapy is essential for these persons who, as teenage or adult addicts, are fixated at the adolescent level of rebelliousness and acting out. The peer pressure toward health of the group is important in strengthening the client's determination to change. (7 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1979 American Psychological Association.