Narcotics research, rehabilitation, and treatment. Hearings, Ninety ...

312Why is this happening? What need are these organizations fulfilling that traditionaltherapies (medical, paramedical, or religious) failed to fulfill? Who arethe people helping and being helped that found no help by professional workers?How are the incurable and unhelpable being helped by each other? Who are theyable to help, and why are they able to help each other? What is the new "magic"ingredient? What can trained professionals learn from all this?Simply stated, we must examine the process involved with words such as peerrelationship, responsibility, concern, involvement, absence of magic, confrontation.^First and foremost is the concept of equality—peer relationship. Both inAREBA and at the Casriel Institute the member entering in the groups or intoAREBA is treated as a potential equal, a peer by the group, the group leaderand the AREBA staff. By inference, it is assumed by all the members of thegroup and the staff that the new member's potential for healthy functioning isbasically equal to any other in the group, including the group leader or AREBAstaff who make no secret of once having been in the new member spot). Theentering member is quickly told there is no magic, only hard work. We canteach, but the member must learn ; no one can do the work for him or learn thelesson of feeling, thinking, and behaving for him. Each must learn for himself.Each learns that the more he attempts to involve himself in teaching his peers,the more he learns for himself. To paraphrase Dr. Cressey, if criminal A attemptsto help rehabilitate criminal B. criminal B may not be rehabilitated byA's activity, but A will almost certainly benefit.The new member soon learns that others around him have no magical gifts.Some have inherent special attributes that make them better in some areas thanin others—but all have the potential for happiness. He learns that he can beas mature, secure, adequate, lovable, and affective as all those around him.Not only is there no "we—they" situation such as we the patients, they thetherapists, but neither is false therapeutic contract able to be established. Thenonverbal, unconscious transfer of magical curative powers cannot be consummated.The patient-member soon learns that he is not only responsible for. butcapable of his own growth and development. The whole concept of who is responsiblefor "getting well" or growing up, is clearly defined.If a patient delegates magic to the therapist or the therapist accepts theresponsibilit.v of getting the individual well, reconstructive treatment of allbut the adult personality (where little if any magic is delegated or accepted)is doomed to failure. A therapist has no real magic power. All he has. and thisis in no way an underestimation of his role, is empathy, a desire to help anotherhumnn being, and knowledge which, if learned and applied by the patient, can becurative. The leader's knowledge to some degree was gained from his ownacademic work, but mostly, and most importantly, from his own experienceworking first on himself, and then on others.The peer group process as practiced in both AREBA and the Casriel Instituteby the author, is so constituted that it does not allow the patient to delegatemagic powers to the therapist (s) and prevents anyone, out of concern, fromassuming responsibilities that in realty, he cannot fulfill. One can be responsibleonly to the degree one has control of one's thinking, feeling and behavior.Therapy is frequently misused because of the conflict and confusion of the relationshipbetween patient and therapist described by the words "responsibility"and "concern." However, human relationships in general are frequently mangledby the same confusion. Healthy parents are not only fully concerned for theirnewborn child but are also fully responsible for his well-being. As the child growsolder, he must accept a greater and greater share in the responsibility for his ownlife. By the time he is adult, he has total responsibility. His parents no longerhave any responsibility though their loving concern may be just as great or evengreater than the day he was born.A good therapeutic process, whether in AREBA or in the Casriel Institute. Isto assume only the responsibility of teaching the member what he is doing, thinking,and feeling; and what he has to do and feel to be mature. Learning is up tothe member's doing, thinking, and feeling.3 Df'flnitions (a) Troatment—Any nipnsiiro desitriiod to ariK^liorate or euro an aluiorninl orundesirable condition: (&) Rational authority is based on g-eniiine ability and comi"'tpnfyand is exemplified by tb.e teacher imparting: knowledge to a pupil ; (c) Peer—It is sittniflcantto note that this word Is not defined in the psychiatric dictionary ; {cD Therapy—Treatmentof disease: therapeutic; (c) Therapeutic— PertainlnK to or consisting of medical treatment; healing, curative.