The death drive exemplified in a case of alcohol dependence.

When Freud first advanced the death drive it was considered a highly controversial theoretical idea. However, with the passage of time it has been slowly gaining support in certain psychoanalytical quarters. This paper aims to demonstrate the clinical usefulness of this theory in accordance with the Freudian and Kleinian model. Although the case history to be discussed is a severe case of alcohol dependence which had, previously, been unresponsive to treatment, many other maladies, both mental and physical, can be better understood in the context of the death drive being the principal motivating factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]