¶ … Addiction and Recovery: The case for subjective accounts -- Larkin & Griffiths The Wounded Healer: A phenomenological investigation of the recovering substance abuse counselor -- Ham

This article sought to provide an understanding of the interconnections between self, identity and addiction through the use of qualitative methods. The authors argue that in order to truly understand the process and experience of addiction, it is necessary to incorporate subjective experiences into the research process that allow for a greater inquiry into the lived experiences, feelings, and concepts of self and identity as displayed by individuals coping with addiction. The authors employed Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to analyze observational data that was collected in a residential treatment facility. Traditionally IPA has been used with interview data, and the authors sought to extend the usefulness of this methodology to observational data. The observational data was collected by the first author of the paper, who sat in on group therapy sessions, staff consultations, and other day-to-day activities and proceedings at a residential addiction treatment facility. IPA allowed the authors to create a thematic analysis of the...

The focus was on how the patients viewed themselves and their own sense of self and identity in relation to their experiences addiction and the process of recovery.
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This article sought to develop a deeper understanding of the lived experiences of substance abuse counselors who are themselves recovery addicts. To do so, the author explored specific constructs that were relevant to the lives of recovery counselors, such as self-disclosure to clients, countertransference, the role of spirituality and the meaning behind being an addict and a counselor. The authors argued that a qualitative method was appropriate given their aim of creating a deeper understanding of the meaning in being a recovery addict that is also an addictions counselor, and how the counselors perceive this issue and their own personal experiences within the context of helping others. The key focus on a search for meaning and understanding led the author to choose a phenomenological approach to the study. The study gathered data by using interviews with addictions counselors who were also recovering addicts. The phenomenological approach was deemed the best qualitative…