This electronic thesis or dissertation has been downloaded from the King’s Research Portal at https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/ Psycholigical and Theological Theories of Addiction Towards an Integrated Study Roberts, Nicholas John Awarding institution: King's College London The copyright of this thesis rests with the author and no quotation from it or information derived from it may be published without proper acknowledgement. END USER LICENCE AGREEMENT Unless another licence is stated on the immediately following page this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ You are free to copy, distribute and transmit the work Under the following conditions: Attribution: You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work). Non Commercial: You may not use this work for commercial purposes. No Derivative Works - You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work. Any of these conditions can be waived if you receive permission from the author. Your fair dealings and other rights are in no way affected by the above. Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact [email protected] providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 28. Sep. 2021 PSYCHOLOGICAL AND THEOLOGICAL THEORIES OF ADDICTION: TOWARDS AN INTEGRATED STUDY Thesis presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at King’s College London 2015. By Nicholas Roberts 1 Acknowledgments. I wish to acknowledge with thanks the invaluable contributions made to the preparation of this work by a number of people. I have been supervised by: Doctor David Ball – King’s College, London and the Institute of Psychiatry Professor Luke Bretherton – King’s College London and Duke University USA Professor Alister McGrath – King’s College London and the University of Oxford Doctor Philip Barnes – King’s College London Thanks are also due to the Research Institute for Systematic Theology at King’s College, London, and the Arts and Humanities Research Seminar at St. Mary’s University, London. In addition, Doctor. David Bunch kindly made available some material relevant to my discussion of the work of Father Kenneth Leech. Father Leech also invited me to meet him in Manchester to discuss his work in the addictions’ field. His death was reported in the press in September 2015. The thesis is dedicated to Leo and Tim, and all who have, and continue to, struggle with substance dependency. 2 ABSTRACT OF THESIS This thesis undertakes a study of human addictions, particularly drug and alcohol dependency, from the disciplines of psychology and theology, working towards an integrated study. In the first instance it sets out to understand the aetiology of addictive behaviour, as an important stage in the process of helping addicted people to overcome their substance dependency. Secondly, it aims to provide a well-researched and robust framework for the pastoral care of people who are addicted as part of the Christian Churches’ response to serious social problems both for individuals and families. It is argued that confusion about the aetiology of addiction, and how best to treat addicted people, contributes to the failure of many treatment modalities to provide effective long term relief. A new model for understanding addiction is proposed. This model begins in a different place: it argues that we would have a better understanding of addiction and how to treat it if we began by investigating human desires and aspirations, before attempting to understand why for some people desire for drugs becomes excessive or distorted. It is suggested in the final section of the thesis that, in line with Augustinian thought, all human longing has its roots in desire for God, even though people may not be aware that the ultimate goal of their quest is an experience of the divine. In the concluding discussion and conclusion, we suggest that this model has important contributions to make as a discrete element in the clinical care of addicts and in the area of pastoral and spiritual care whether in parishes or other institutions where pastoral care is provided. The new model is then related to existing models of pastoral care, and examples are given of how the model is currently being presented in training programmes for pastoral ministry. 3 CONTENTS Introduction and Methodology 6 The reasons for undertaking this study 8 The methodology 23 1. Chapter one: Psychological theories of addiction, introduction 28 1.1 J.B. Davies, The Myth of Addiction 29 1.2 Jim Orford, Excessive Appetites 50 1.3 Robert West, Theory of Addiction 66 1.4 Conclusion to the chapter 85 2. Chapter 2: Theological writing on addiction, introduction 87 2.1 Gerald May, Addiction and Grace 88 2.2 Kenneth Leech, Drugs and Pastoral Care 113 2.3 James B. Nelson, Thirst: God and the Alcoholic Experience 135 2.4 Christopher Cook, Alcohol, Addiction, and Christian Ethics 156 2.5 Conclusion to chapter 179 3 Chapter 3: Towards a New Model of Addiction study, introduction 180 3.1 Léon Turner, Theology, Psychology and the Plural Self 184 3.2 Raymond Martin and John Barresi, The Rise and Fall of Soul and Self 198 3.3 Charles Taylor, Sources of the Self 203 3.4 The nature of human desire: introduction 210 3.5.1 The psychological viewpoint, Freudian view 213 3.5.2 Jungian view 215 3.5.3 Behaviourism approach 216 3.6 The theological viewpoint – St. Paul and St. Augustine of Hippo 219 3.6.1 St. Paul 220 3.6.2 St. Augustine: introduction: 245 3.6.3 St. Augustine: main section 253 4 3.7 Modern theological views 274 3.7.1 David Ford, Christian Wisdom and the Future of Christian Theology 275 3.7.2 T.F. Gorringe, The Education of Desire 282 3.7.3 Christopher Cook, The Philokalia 294 3.7.4 Conclusion to the chapter 298 4. Chapter 4: Discussion and reflections on what has been presented, and suggestions for implementing ‘new model’ thinking 301 4.1 The five research questions reviewed 302 4.2 The new model and its practical applications 305 4.3 Three models of pastoral care. 310 4.3.1 Richard Osmer, Practical Theology 311 4.3.2 Deborah van Deusen Hunsinger, Theology and Pastoral Counseling 318 4.3.3 Kenneth Leech, Drugs and Pastoral Care 320 4.4 The three models of pastoral care linked to the New Model for understanding addiction: 326 4.4.1 Osmer 326 4.4.2 Hunsinger 329 4.4.3 Leech 331 4.5 Conclusion to this chapter, summing up of the thesis and concluding remarks 335 4.6 Summary of thesis 336 Select Bibliography 341 Appendices 1 and 2. 363 5 INTRODUCTION AND METHODOLOGY The Meaning Of ‘Addiction’, and Explanation of The Reasons For This Choice of Subject This thesis investigates the phenomenon of addiction from psychological and theological perspectives. To clarify the meaning of ‘addiction’, we will give some recent examples from the literature of health care psychology1. We argue that there is confusion in the world of health care psychology about addiction. Similar confusions appear in the religious and theological literature on this subject. Some authors suggest that we are all addicted to something; others deny this. Some view alcoholism as a lifelong condition, which will always need careful attention; others believe that spontaneous remission can occur, not least when problematic life situations change for the better. Can this confusion be satisfactorily resolved? This thesis proposes a new model: instead of beginning with the ‘problem’ of addiction, we suggest that it is more advantageous to individuals who are using drugs or alcohol in a harmful way to begin by asking what they see as their aims and desires in life, and how those goals might be realised. The ‘problem’ of their drinking or drug taking can then be situated within this nexus of personal goals. When that process has been initiated first, it is argued, the desire for artificial stimulation through drugs may recede. And from a theological point of view, we might be justified in looking at human desire, longing, appetite, in terms of longing for God, in line with Saint Augustine of Hippo’s statement that: ‘You stir man to take pleasure in praising you, because you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you’2. Is addiction then in some sense a frustrated external attempt to satisfy desire which, if Augustine is right, can only be found in an internal search that is ultimately God-focussed rather than by the pursuit of external 1 Two important classifications of addiction symptomatology are included as an appendix to this thesis, one from the World Health Organisation (WHO), 1992, and one from the American Psychiatric Association (DSM-IV), 1995. This information can be found in: Robert West, Theory of Addiction, p.15. 2 Saint Augustine, Confessions, p.3. 6 objects? This thesis will argue that that approach might well help people who seem unable to abandon the misuse of drugs or alcohol without assistance. What is emerging from the description of the research project is that we are looking at two related concepts: the nature and aetiology of addiction and the ways in which it can be satisfactorily treated in a clinical environment. But beside the more clinical aspects of this investigation we are placing a quest for appropriate pastoral intervention in the care of people with addiction problems, in the belief that a spiritual approach to their care may well have an important role to play in this process.