Can we hold addicts responsible without blame?
Pickard argues that clinic-style responsibility without blame treats people as capable of change without the stigma of condemnation.
Source
Responsibility without Blame for Addiction
Inspect source passages
Can we hold addicts responsible without blame?
These passages occur verbatim in the stored paper text. They support the points listed below; they do not verify every statement in the explanation.
What is stigma here?
Stigma is a mark of social disgrace. It carries condemnation and ostracization by society and, typically, creates corresponding shame and isolation on the
Moral model of addiction?
choice, even for addicts. Second, it adopts a critical moral stance against this choice. Addicts are considered people of bad character with antisocial val
What they did
Drawing on work in a therapeutic community, Pickard distinguishes the moral model (addicts as bad characters) from a clinical stance that still treats people as having choice and control. She uses a reasons-responsive idea of responsibility and separates it from blame.
What they found
Stigma marks social disgrace and blocks treatment. In the clinic, holding people to account can motivate change because capacity for choice remains. Responsibility without blame is the stance she found in that setting. She also notes that alcohol is a drug, and that safer supply plus education could reduce overdose risk among inexperienced users.
The limits
What it doesn't show
This is not a new RCT of therapeutic communities. Cross-cultural stigma citations are from others. The clinical stance may not transfer easily to criminal courts.
Key terms
- Responsibility without blame
- Holding someone to account for choice and change without condemnation or stigma.
- Moral model
- The view that addicts are people of bad character who simply choose badly and deserve criticism.
- Stigma
- A mark of social disgrace that ostracises and often blocks housing, work and care.
- Reasons-responsiveness
- A theory of responsibility: one is responsible if one can respond to reasons.
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Quiz yourself
Pickard’s slogan?
Common questions
Does Pickard deny responsibility?
No. She keeps responsibility (choice, control, accountability) and drops blame as condemnation.
Why does stigma matter?
It shames people, deters treatment, and can legally bar healthcare, housing and work.
Where did the stance come from?
From clinical work, especially a therapeutic community.
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