The Life Narrative of a Mixed-Race Man in Recovery from Addiction: A Case-Based Psychosocial Approach to Researching Drugs, ‘Race’ and Ethnicity

Posted in Articles, Identity Development/Psychology, Media Archive, Social Science, Social Work, United Kingdom on 2012-12-16 04:23Z by Steven

The Life Narrative of a Mixed-Race Man in Recovery from Addiction: A Case-Based Psychosocial Approach to Researching Drugs, ‘Race’ and Ethnicity

Journal of Social Work Practice: Psychotherapeutic Approaches in Health, Welfare and the Community
Published online: 2012-12-06
DOI: 10.1080/02650533.2012.745841

Alastair Roy, Senior Lecturer
Psychosocial Research Unit, School of Social Work
University of Central Lancashire

This paper explores the use of a psychosocial approach to researching drugs, race and ethnicity. It produces an analysis of interviews with Bobby, a mixed-race man in recovery from addiction. Sociological and psychoanalytic perspectives are brought to bear on the data in order to consider the character of Bobby’s opportunities, identifications, crises and resolutions. Despite the affective components of the wider discourse on drugs and race, the majority of previous research on the subject has focused on the production of rational explanations produced within objectivist epistemological frames. In contrast, the methods used in this project seek an explicit engagement with the irrational and unconscious aspects of researching these subjects. The paper concludes by reflecting on the value of psychosocially oriented narrative methods in this field.

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