Obituary

Citation

Yates, R. (2013), "Obituary", Therapeutic Communities: The International Journal of Therapeutic Communities, Vol. 34 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/tc.2013.62034aaa.002

Obituary

Article Type: Obituary From: Therapeutic Communities: The International Journal of Therapeutic Communities, Volume 34, Issue 1

James Griffith EdwardsPsychiatrist and Addiction SpecialistBorn 3 October 1928;Died 13 September 2012

In 2012, when news of the death of Griffith “Griff” Edwards was announced, many of us in the addictions field felt bereft. A gigantic, influential and most of all, humanising influence was gone forever. Obituaries characteristically overblow the importance of their subjects and Griff would have been the first to wince at such terms being used to describe him. But there can really be no doubt that Griff’s influence on the addiction field and our understanding of alcohol and drug misuse was enormous and is unparalleled in its insight, passion and compassion.

Griff was the first professor of addiction in the UK which was one of many, many firsts in a dazzling career. He and Milton Gross, in 1976, were the first to catalogue the nature and extent of alcohol addiction; a definition which was controversial then and commonplace now. He was the first to recognise the value of therapeutic community (TC) approaches to addiction: first in establishing Giles House as a Maxwell Jones-style hostel for alcoholics, first to be inspired by the work of the American TC pioneers and first to systematically import the concept and establish Featherstone Lodge (later Phoenix House) as a concept-based TC in London.

As editor of Addiction (formerly British Journal of Addiction) he worked tirelessly to progress our understanding of the disorder and to champion the field in a political climate which was, at best, disinterested. In 1982, when the UK Government announced a funding initiative to dramatically expand the network of drug treatment services, it was typical of Griff that he should seek first the opinions of drug users themselves and the rough-and-ready street agencies which were generally their first port of call. This was the first time I met Griff directly. Over the years that followed, I met him on numerous occasions. He was always kind and courteous; always interested in other ideas and opinions – even when they were uninformed and misguided. He always had a way of gently prodding you towards a more considered position and a knack for correcting your worst mis-notions.

And all this he did with great warmth and extraordinary kindness. He had always a humorous and self-deprecating air about him. At one conference we attended, Griff got up to present and, tripping over a loose cable, managed to bring the projection equipment crashing to the floor. Without hesitation, he turned to the audience and remarked wryly: “I have always seemed to be a natural enemy of modern technology!” And it was true that Griff was a meticulous pen-and-paper researcher with a passion for uncovering the truth; however perplexing or inconvenient. One of the great benefits of being a pioneer is that the interventions you establish are generally based directly on your own research and thus, are an unrivalled opportunity to test your evidence in the real world. Griff was a superbly talented researcher with an acute and enquiring mind but he was always very clear that his interest was solely in research that had a potential to make things better for the individual. He was never afraid to admit when he had got it wrong. In an interview we conducted with him on early TC experiments, he said of Giles House: “It was a humane experiment. Naive, I suppose. But I think I learned from it. It was in some ways I think, quite deeply moving. These people, rejected, wasted and incapable of recovery, were finding their humanity restored… They mattered, they were not objects… They were people, and they found their own recovery”.

In 2011, when Griff was our guest of honour at the European Federation of Therapeutic Communities (EFTC) Conference in Oxford, and was the recipient of the EFTC Award, he held the audience enthralled with a witty, erudite and insightful acceptance speech, delivered with such humility and self-deprecating humour. And that was the last time I met Griff. I know from correspondence afterwards that he enjoyed his evening with us and was touched by his award. We will all miss him and miss his contribution to our work dreadfully. He was without any doubt the most influential figure in the UK addiction field and his influence was felt much farther afield. We will all be that much smaller without him.

In the end, it was his kindness and humility I will remember most of all. In the Summer of 2008, Griff graciously accepted an invitation to contribute to a seminar series on recovery, which we had organised in Stirling. Despite his advancing years and his obvious frailty by then, he made the long journey north with his beloved wife, Sue. With the insight that can come from 50 years in the field (but very often does not), Griff presented a compelling and acute analysis of how little he – or any of us – really knew about addiction. Such humility comes only with great compassion and wisdom.

Rowdy YatesActing President, EFTCSenior Research Fellow, Scottish Addiction Studies, School of Applied Social Science, University of Stirling, Stirling, UK.