THE CLINIC OF ADDICTIO: FROM PSYCHIATRY TO PSICHOANALYSIS

Abstract

There is no indication that a society without any kind of drugs has ever existed. In these days, however, these substances have become an important issue that has grown into a social symptom. In this context, what is the role of medical practice, and more specifically of psychiatry and psychoanalysis? On one hand, the psychiatrist has the knowledge about the illness and the way to cure it; he listens to everything the patient has to say; he prescribes and guides the treatment, acting in the position of the master. On the other hand, the psychoanalyst must produce elaborations and subjective corrections in a neutral way, which is the bedrock of his function. An interface between psychiatry and psychoanalysis could be a way to make the subject renounce to his position as a drug addict, and not necessarily to give up using drugs. It could allow the subject to get to others functional supports and alternative ways and means to face reality.