The Deep Influence Of Christianity On Drug Rehabilitation

The 12-step program used by Alcoholics Anonymous is a well-known treatment method that’s used for many types of addiction, not just alcohol. Alcoholics are encouraged to “work” the 12-steps. The first step involves admitting the powerlessness over alcohol. The second step has the alcoholic believe that there is some type of a greater power working that will help aide the alcoholic to reach sobriety, as well as maintain is once reached. This step is an example of the religious influence on the 12-step recovery process.

Thankfully, I've seen most, if not all, of those people fight back from the clutches of addiction and regain a life of sobriety. And they did it by filling their basic human needs. As humans, we all have the same basic wants and desires and understanding how to fill them is crucial to recovery success.

Alcoholics anonymous was founded in 1935 by a stock broker, Bill Wilson, and a surgeon, Robert Smith. Wilson being a recovering alcoholic had originally attended the Oxford Group, which was a Christian fellowship that based their teachings that all people are sinners and all sinners can be changed. While Wilson later credited the Oxford Group for saving his life, he separated from them, and in his desperation to recover from his own alcoholism he decided to form a group where alcoholics could get together and share their stories and help achieve and maintain sobriety with each other. (Branscum & Sharma, 2010) This group became Alcoholics Anonymous. “The book, Alcoholics Anonymous, was written by Bill Wilson, Dr. Robert Smith, and the founders of AA, with contributions from over 100 recovering alcoholics.” (Inaba & Cohen, 2014, p.9.28) Today, there are over 97,000 AA groups with over 1.7 million members that attend yearly. (Knack, 2009, p.86)

Substance abuse providers that believe spirituality and religion is one in the same, may hold the belief that an individual that is an atheist or agnostic will not have the opportunity to acquire spiritual opportunities when participating in alcohol and addiction programs (Sussman et al., 2013). In addition, these substance abuse providers may believe that when an individual that eliminates alcohol and drug abuse without the intervention of spiritual assistance, such as a Higher Power, they may believe that the individual will not have the capability to achieve and maintain balance within their sobriety and recovery. Sussman et al. (2013) suggests that these substance abuse providers unknowingly engage in a thought process that includes stereotypes. Suggesting that individuals, who engage in spiritual behaviors that do include a Higher Power, are more deserving of achieving sobriety and recovery because they are practicing by being involved with working the 12-step program, thus, making them more righteous in obtaining a blessing from their Higher Power. Noteworthy, the term spirituality is often linked with religion with no specific boundaries out of lack of knowledge. Engaging in a spiritual practice that allows an individual to have a spiritual solution that is higher than them and gives them hope has a significant influence on alcohol and drug abuse. Gedge and Querney (2014) describe discussing spirituality with

Scalise, E. (2009). The addictive cycle. Addiction and recovery. American Association of Christian Counselors. Retrieved from http://learn.liberty.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=/webapps/blackboard/execute/courseMain?course_id=_98206_1

In the United States, many Americans can argue that we are facing a drug epidemic whether it is alcohol or illicit drugs other than medicinal marijuana. In response to this drug epidemic, organizations were created that are supported by the government and law enforcement in an effort to give addicts a chance to get clean. For example, Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotic Anonymous are two organizations that focus on helping people who struggle from alcoholism or any addiction cope with the symptoms of withdrawal in efforts to stay clean with the support of their organization’s community. Although these two organization’s goals are similar, they attack these problems differently beginning with step one out of their twelve step program to help addicts get clean.

As being a family support attendee for my stepfather, the Narcotics Anonymous (NA) support group, this group main focus is to stay clean from drugs. The members of NA learn and expressed ways on coping, to staying away from drugs, and live a drug-free life with the help of their 12 Step Program. When present at the meeting, the support group was on Step Seven, reading about asking God to remove their shortcomings. Even though the support group is near the end of reading and using the 12 Step Program as part of their lives, an individual wanting to go into recovery is an attempt in making a change. However, the goal is to stay clean and away from drug to keep from having a relapse to alcohol and substance use. An onset to alcohol and substance

Addiction is a medical condition. It is a primary, chronic disease of brain reward, motivation, memory, and related circuitry (Halter, 2014). There is no real difference between alcoholism and drug addiction, other than the substance of choice being different. In both cases, use of alcohol or drugs continues despite the presence of related problems and a tendency to relapse. This paper includes a student nurse’s experience of two twelve-step meetings: Alcoholic Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA). Tracy Fellowship AA Group had meeting at 2531 North Holly Drive, Tracy, CA-95376 on September 24, 2014. The NA meeting was at 219 East Poplar Street in Stockton at 12 pm on September 25, 2014.

In the book, Addiction & Grace: Love and Spirituality in the Healing of Addictions, May explores how addiction develops and can be treated from a psychological, physiological, and spiritual standpoint. This theme is clearly shown through out the text as it shows addiction from a whole person view. The book covers the development of addiction from desire through the experience of addiction. The key focus on looking at the matter of addiction from multiple stand points in then broken down by explaining how addiction is an issue psychologically, physiologically, and spiritually. By focusing on these three areas the author is able to present the reader with a clear understanding of addiction from all sides of the problem. This is then

The 12 step program Alcoholics Anonymous (AA )was born in 1934. Prohibition had been repealed and a man named Bill Watson drunkenly found his way to Manhattan Hospital. Bill was known to knock back quite a bit of whiskey every day and couldn 't seem to be able to quit. While he was at Manhattan Hospital he was given a new and considered experimental treatment for addiction of belladonna, which is a hallucinogen. Bill in his induced state yelled to God to help free him of alcohol. He reported seeing a bright light and feeling such serenity that Bill quit drinking alcohol. He went on to co-found Alcoholics Anonymous and based the principles off the evangelical Oxford Group which believed people were sinners, but with the help of God and confessing, a person could get on the proper path. AA was an answer to a huge void the medical world felt at the time in regard to people who drank heavily. Once alcoholism was named a disease in 1956 by the American Medical Association (AMA) AA grew and more hospitals sprung up wards for alcoholics for patients to detox with no other treatment offered. What someone in a ward for alcholhoics did receive was members showing up to support their fellow drinker and offering support and invitations to meetings. Thus began the road to calling alcoholism a disease and the first 12 step program AA. (14)

Moralistic "Christians" normally point to the physical "works" that can be done to fix the problem. Some examples of solutions: "Join an AA program." "Just stop!" "Get an accountability partner." "Avoid places that invite temptation." The moralistic approach brings to light some helpful steps; however, they are not the solution to one's "recovery" (e.g. Jonathan's final

Faith became a big part in the Prohibition movement because the Temperance Movement started to have preachers get behind the movement and vowed not to drink. One of the most prominent preachers would be Billy Sunday who once proclaimed “whiskey and beer are all right in their place, but their place is in hell.” Many who had campaigned for the movement felt it was their duty and God-given right. Other preachers had regarded drinkers as a group of individuals who had lost their relationship with God and were not able to comprehend the teachings of

According to the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment and the transtheoretical model of change, “for most people with substance abuse problems, recurrence of substance use is the rule not the exception” (Enhancing Motivation for Change, 1999, p. xvii). Relapse can and most likely will occur in recovery, and should be recognized as well as anticipated by substance abuse recovery counselors. The significant challenges to counselors are bringing a client successfully and securely through a relapse and eventually preventing relapse from occurring at all. For many, helping a client find faith in a higher power is an essential piece of the puzzle for overcoming addiction.

Addiction is regarded as having a multitude of causations and contributing factors. No single specific component or model can accurately predict a person’s substance use behavior (Clinton & Scalise, 2013). Substance use disorders are a reflection of the impact of person-specific biological, psychological, and social influences. Understanding an individual’s spiritual beliefs and the role spirituality plays in a person’s susceptibility to addiction is also necessary. If a spirituality component is absent in a person's life, addiction could fill that void (Doweiko, 2015). Substance

Numerous treatment methods are constantly being discovered and developed to help start alcohol and drug abusers down the path of sobriety. There are many different methods available to help addicts who need help or to help addicts who want help. Our system is diverting from a punishing approach to a treatment approach. This paper will examine the most popular inpatient and outpatient options available throughout the nation. The types of addicts who normally file into these types of settings will be exam e, and The Way of Life. May I do your will always” (Alcoholics). These prayers are recited by the addict and must be experienced as well as nurtured to successfully break your addiction and never go back once you have completed the twelve