From Wanting to Willing: Controlled Drug Use as a Treatment Goal

TY - JOUR

T1 - From Wanting to Willing

T2 - Controlled Drug Use as a Treatment Goal

AU - Järvinen, Margaretha

PY - 2017/3/1

Y1 - 2017/3/1

N2 - This paper uses rational choice theory to analyse a new – and controversial – treatment approach to drug problems: services aimed at making clients capable of controlled use of illegal drugs. The paper highlights three mechanisms used in control-focused treatment: attempts to move drug use from the sphere of “wanting” to the sphere of “willing”; temporal framing of illegal drug use; and a therapeutic focus on clients' resources rather than their problems. Furthermore, the paper identifies some of the main challenges associated with this kind of treatment. The paper is based on 30 qualitative interviews with young people (aged 18–25) enrolled in drug treatment in Copenhagen, Denmark.

AB - This paper uses rational choice theory to analyse a new – and controversial – treatment approach to drug problems: services aimed at making clients capable of controlled use of illegal drugs. The paper highlights three mechanisms used in control-focused treatment: attempts to move drug use from the sphere of “wanting” to the sphere of “willing”; temporal framing of illegal drug use; and a therapeutic focus on clients' resources rather than their problems. Furthermore, the paper identifies some of the main challenges associated with this kind of treatment. The paper is based on 30 qualitative interviews with young people (aged 18–25) enrolled in drug treatment in Copenhagen, Denmark.

KW - Faculty of Social Sciences

KW - Denmark

KW - controlled drug use

KW - drug use as rational behaviour

KW - qualitative interviews

KW - young people

UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.01.030

M3 - Journal article

SN - 0277-9536

VL - 176

SP - 69

EP - 76

JO - Social Science & Medicine

JF - Social Science & Medicine

ER -