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(1958). Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 6:309-325

The Role of the Counterphobic Mechanism in Addiction

Thomas S. Szasz, M.D.

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Submitted June 6, 1956

1 Based on a paper presented at the 112th Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association, Chicago, April, 1956.

2 Professor, Department of Psychiatry, State University of New York, Upstate Medical Center, Syracuse, New York.

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Things won are done; joy's soul lies in the doing.
—SHAKESPEARE (26)

INTRODUCTION

The Scope of This Contribution

A comprehensive approach to the problem of addiction would require the careful evaluation of personal constitution, genetic-and ego-psychological factors, sociological considerations and knowledge of the pharmacological effects of the drug. This breadth and complexity of the phenomenon suggests that no single "etiological factor" can reasonably be expected to "explain" addiction.

The scope of this paper is restricted to an examination of the role and signifi

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