Unlocking the complexities of addiction:

Critchfield, L. (2002). Unlocking the complexities of addiction: A critical hermeneutic participatory approach to adolescent addiction and treatment. (Doctoral dissertation, Pacifica Graduate Institute, 2002).
UMI No. 3067637.

Every culture has a Story, a cosmic world view, within which all things are understood and evaluated. The old Story or dominator paradigm, depicted in Western culture and its psychology, represents adolescent addiction and treatment as a collection of facts, causal theories, and methods. This linear view of the world, in search of causality, no longer fits our current knowledge. The intention of this dissertation is to show that complexity or chaos theory, a new Story, provides an opportunity to consider alternative ways for understanding and treating adolescent substance use and addiction.

A new Story, in search of understanding, places adolescent addiction within a nonlinear perspective that integrates communication and reflection through a participatory community grounded in critical hermeneutics, the conceptual framework for this study. Participatory research utilizes the participants' ability to communicate in dialogue, to reflect on their histories, and to build working relationships between themselves and their community. Dialogue becomes the vehicle for critical consciousness and intervention.

The work is linked intentionally and soul-fully to phronesis and praxis. Phronesis, a way of knowing, and praxis, practical application, dependent upon phronesis, seek for some form of improvement to the issue at hand. The purpose is to make a positive difference in those involved in the research project or who may be affected by similar issues.