Alcool et nid vide. Récit d’un travail thérapeutique avec un couple en crise de transition.

in Cahiers Critiques de Thérapie Familiale et de Pratique des Réseaux (2009), 49(1), 231-254

ecent theoretical and clinical contributions on old age couples with one alcohol-dependent member underline the need for a pragmatic-interactive and semantic-symbolic approach of the issue. In particular ... [more ▼]

ecent theoretical and clinical contributions on old age couples with one alcohol-dependent member underline the need for a pragmatic-interactive and semantic-symbolic approach of the issue. In particular, alcohol dependence should be read in the light of specific developmental tasks, resources and constraints corresponding to old age couples’ lifecycle. This paper proposes the example of a psychotherapeutic work of a couple with one alcohol-dependent member, through the following stages : control of the alcoholic symptom, account of personal and family history, renegotiation/reformulation of the couple’s spaces/times. Thanks to the progressive dissolution of the symptom, the individual, couple and family’s project has been re-launched : an essential point to better the old-aged couple’s quality of life. [less ▲]