Alcohol Recovery and Spirituality: Strangers, Friends, or Partners?

@article{Brown2006AlcoholRA,
  title={Alcohol Recovery and Spirituality: Strangers, Friends, or Partners?},
  author={Anthony E. Brown and Simon Newcomb Whitney and Max A. Schneider and Charles P. Vega},
  journal={Southern Medical Journal},
  year={2006},
  volume={99},
  pages={654-657}
}
Abstract: Alcoholics Anonymous, with its steady but nonspecific promotion of belief in a higher power and its emphasis on the group process, long held a near-monopoly in the outpatient alcohol recovery field, but its hegemony has now been challenged by two very different perspectives. The first is a nonspiritual approach that emphasizes the individual’s capability to find a personal pathway to sobriety, exemplified by Rational Recovery. The second is a faith-based method, built on a religious… 
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The use of spirituality in alcohol recovery.
TLDR
Brown et al present a concise review of AAs reliance on a higher power followed by an exploration of developing treatment options that are both more and less religious in their orientation, and how knowledge of an individual’s spiritual orientation can have a direct impact on a providers’ ability to suggest an effective treatment modality.
Christian faith and recovery from substance abuse, guilt, and shame
ABSTRACT Although guilt and shame, on one hand, and spirituality, on the other, are known to relate to recovery from substance abuse, the connectedness of these emotions, spirituality, and recovery…
Integrating spirituality into alcohol treatment.
TLDR
It is suggested that the therapist's ability to skillfully engage clients in a discussion of spirituality is largely determined by how the therapist balances the dual roles of authoritative expert and evocative facilitator.
Spirituality and treatment of addictive disorders.
TLDR
The purpose of this paper is to provide a summary of the role of spirituality in the development and recovery from addictive disorders for health care professionals.
An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis of Secular, Spiritual, and Religious Pathways of Long-Term Addiction Recovery
The emergence of recovery as an organizing construct has sparked interest in mapping the varieties of addiction recovery experience. This study uses interpretive (qualitative) phenomenological…
Spirituality and Confidence to Resist Substance Use Among Celebrate Recovery Participants
TLDR
It is concluded that spirituality may be an important explanatory variable in outcomes of a faith-based 12-step recovery program.
Association of Spirituality and Sobriety During a Behavioral Spirituality Intervention for Twelve Step (TS) Recovery
TLDR
A seven-week behavioral spirituality intervention titled “Knowing Your Higher Power” for implementation along with usual TS care showed significant increase in spiritual involvement and beliefs over the 12-week measurement period and a significantly greater spirituality score in those maintaining total sobriety compared to those that relapsed.
Christianity in Narratives of Recovery from Substance Abuse
This article focuses on the different roles and expressions the Christian faith has been given in narratives of recovery from substance abuse. The article is intended to advance discussion about the…
“What Do You Mean by Spirituality? Please Draw Me a Picture!” Complementary Faith-Based Addiction Treatment in Switzerland From the Client's Perspective
TLDR
The relative importance of spirituality and religion in Switzerland and the United States is reviewed, and the rationale for faith-based addiction intervention programs and the drawbacks of measurement approaches are reviewed.
“Reversing the trend”: The role of mentoring in offender reentry
ABSTRACT Faith-based programs are becoming more common in corrections, with most research examining offenders. Little attention has been paid to volunteers who work with offenders within these…
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