Journal for Process oriented Psychology 2004, Vol 9, 1, pp. 36 – 50. Lao Tse Press, Portland, OR, USA
Processwork understands addiction as goal-oriented behavior, which seeks states of consciousness that are missing from the addict’s everyday life. This pilot study investigates the effectiveness of a process-oriented intervention, in terms of its ability to help opiate-dependent people establish and maintain longed-for states of consciousness.
Two sessions with 13 opiate-dependent persons are compared: a verbal-exploratory session and an intervention session. The effects are assessed on the Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC-13, Antonovsky 1979, 1987), in addition to the Experiencing Scale (EXP, Klein et al 1969). The results demonstrate highly significant improvements toward the health end of the health/illness continuum, as well as greater involvement in the therapeutic process and increased levels of self-awareness. In literature, these measures correlate with better health and more successful therapeutic outcomes.