"From the World of Falsehood to the World of Truth": Recovery and reflexivity in Clubs of Families with Alcohol-related Problems in Crete

Andreas Vavvos; Manolis Tzanakis; Sofia Triliva

doi:10.1002/jcop.22796

"From the World of Falsehood to the World of Truth": Recovery and reflexivity in Clubs of Families with Alcohol-related Problems in Crete

J Community Psychol. 2022 Jan 15. doi: 10.1002/jcop.22796. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Andreas Vavvos¹, Manolis Tzanakis¹, Sofia Triliva²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Sociology, University of Crete, Rethymnon, Crete, Greece.
² Department of Psychology, Addiction Psychology Laboratory, University of Crete, Rethymnon, Crete, Greece.

PMID: 35032395
DOI: 10.1002/jcop.22796

Abstract

The potential for a critical realist community psychology in the Greek context is not yet apparent. In this article, we present the results of a qualitative study that adheres to critical realism and community psychology principles. The study's focus is the lives of members of the 12 Clubs of Families with Alcohol-related Problems (CFAP) that operate on Crete. The empirical material was derived from fieldwork notes, minutes from CFAP weekly meetings, and interviews provided by 13 CFAP members. Participants conceptualized the path from alcohol addiction to sobriety as a transition from a world of falsehood and deceit ("fractured reflexivity") to a world of truth and communalism ("communicative reflexivity"). The article argues that CFAP's "regime of truth" prioritizes communicative reflexivity as the desirable mode of reflexivity, while at the same time contributing to an ambivalent political stance towards the oppressive structural arrangements that promote addiction.

Keywords: Clubs of Families with Alcohol-related Problems; addiction; community psychology; critical realism; morphogenetic approach; recovery; reflexivity.