Oldal 41 [41]
2. THE THERAPEUTIC JOURNEYS OF RECOVERING HELPERS ® 39
2.4. DISCUSSION
In this study, we assessed the process of how addicts become recovering help¬
ers by utilizing IPA. Four turning points were identified during the interviews:
starting using drugs or gambling, becoming an addict, hitting bottom, and
becoming a helper. In addition, four themes related to being a helper were
identified: the recovering self and the helping self, the wounded helper, the
skilled helper and the experience of helping.
Recovery is a lifelong process, which requires constant work (Laudet, 2007;
Madiacsy, 2013). Shinebourne and Smith (2011b) described this activity as “self¬
care’, which Foucault characterized with the term “technologies of the self”. This
so-called practicing takes a lifetime: testing, observing, and monitoring our¬
selves in terms of who we are, what we do, and what we can do (Foucault, 2001).
The constant recall of the past as an addict serves the needs of the present;
therefore, it is not actually recall, but it is a constant reconstruction (Shine¬
bourne & Smith, 2011a, 2011b). The institutional background serves an im¬
portant role here, where helpers constantly meet users, so they are always
exposed to factors triggering drug use (Curtis & Eby, 2010; Doukas & Cullen,
2010).
Turning points that delineate a descending, hitting bottom and then as¬
cending pattern are well known from international AA literature (Aaltonen
& Makela, 1994; Cain, 1991; Hanninen & Koski-Jannes, 1999; Jensen, 2000;
Steffen, 1997). While the work is done on the drug user or gambler, the addict,
and then the recovering self is in the centre, our participants also reported
on other changes as well, which accompany these stages: changes in a lifestyle,
values, and social connections. In their studies utilizing IPA, Dima and Bucuta
(2012) emphasize the role of the “therapeutic journey” in the professional
development of psychotherapists. However, when someone wants to become
a psychotherapist, they deliberately and consciously start this journey, while
recovering helpers recover not with the aim of becoming helpers. However,
understanding and experiencing the meaning and essence of helping is im¬
portant for both professional and recovering helpers (Dima & Bucuta, 2012;
Oteiza, 2010; Rizq & Target, 2008). However, one of the main differences
between becoming a professional and a recovering helper is the relationship
to intrapsychological contents (Dima & Bucuta, 2012; Oteiza, 2010).
There seems to be a contradiction between the active work that recovering
helpers do on themselves and the passive role that they play as helpers. In this
sense, the one being helped goes on his or her own path towards recovery,
while the helper helps only by being there. However, an important prerequisite
of being there is self-awareness: the constant work that helpers do on them¬
selves. At the same time, when recovering helpers talk about their drug use
or their addiction, they often mention an “outsider” (not real) and an “insider”