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This article presents a concept for a specialized psychotherapeutic method for treating addictive disorders—transfigurative psychotherapy—which is positioned as an independent and distinct psychotherapeutic method, self-sufficient in both theoretical and practical terms. The principle of this method is transfiguration—the reformatting of destructive narcissistic regulation of the personality in addictions into constructive narcissistic regulation of an autonomous personality. Addiction is viewed as a degenerative disorder of the mental ecosystem, underpinned by the activity of a fixed imagination (the expectation of addictive gratification) and associated with excessive stability in the affected part of the system, as well as a challenge to the entire system to find resources for the repair (recovery) of the affected element. The strategy of transfigurative psychotherapy for addiction consists in the transition from the self-destructive and stigmatized identity of the “forever dependent, albeit sober individual” to a mature identity of an “autonomous individual with a history of substance abuse,” transformed into a constructive life stance. The article posits the existence of an innate narcissistic drive as a human need to leave a mark on their evolutionary environment—Culture. The primary symbolic vehicle of culture is language; therefore, the fundamental “tool” of the transfigurative approach is the replacement of dominant addictive linguistic symbols—through which addictive self-esteem and social self-realization are constructed—with socially and culturally acceptable narratives. The second important component of transfigurative psychotherapy is the gradual “evolution” of addictive behavioral rituals into generally accepted, normative forms of constructive social adaptation. The process of reformatting addictive culture and forming constructive narcissistic regulation is evolutionary and requires time for the necessary “cultural mutations” to emerge, as well as a group space that we have defined as a “safely protected transitional space.” The ultimate goal of transfigurative psychotherapy is the formation of autonomy — the ability to take responsibility for one’s “self-legitimate” actions, as well as for the means of self-realization and the attainment of independence (freedom from the unyielding dictates of “chemistry” and biological processes) in choosing ways to fulfill a wide range of needs based on constructive narcissistic self-regulation.
