RESOURCES FOR ADDICTION TREATMENT, PREVENTION< namespace="" prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xml="true">

 Recovery Ministries of the Episcopal Church, Inc.

      http://www.episcopalrecovery.org/index.htm

      an independent, nationwide network of Episcopal laity and clergy, dioceses and parishes, schools, agencies, and other institutions—all with a common commitment to address the use and misuse of alcohol and other drugs in relation to the church's mission.

      Lots of publications and pamphlets for use in a congregation, including:

            Prayers in Recovery

            12-Step Eucharist CD (we have a copy at CDSP)

            Resource Guide: The Promise of Recovery and Recovery Sunday Celebration

            How to Start a New Diocesan Recovery Ministry

      Links and resources on Information on Drugs and Alcohol, 12-Step Programs, other links of interest, and a list of some classic books to read.

 Treatment Locator

      http://findtreatment.samhsa.gov

      Outpatient treatment, residential treatment, hospital inpatient and partial hospitalization / day treatment programs

 12 Step Support Groups

      Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)

            http://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org

      Narcotics Anonymous

            http://www.na.org/

 Family Support Groups

      Al-Anon – for spouses, families, and friends of alcoholics

            http://www.al-anon.alateen.org/

      Alateen – Al-Anon group for under-19 family members and friends

            http://www.al-anon.alateen.org/

      Nar-Anon – for spouses, families, and friends of addicted to drugs other than alcohol

            http://nar-anon.org/

      Adult Children of Alcoholics

            http://www.adultchildren.org/

 Other Groups

      Women for Sobriety (not a 12-step program)

            http://www.womenforsobriety.org/

National Association for Children of Alcoholics

      www.nacoa.org

      Spiritual Caregiving to Help Addicted Persons and Families – Handbook for Use in Clergy Education

      Clergy Certificate Program – Certificate in Spiritual Caregiving to Help Addicted Person and Families

            http://www.nacoa.org/clergy.htm

      Spiritual Caregiving to Help Addicted Persons and Families: Handbook for Use in Clergy Education - Rev. C. Roy Woodruff, PhD

            http://www.nacoa.org/pdfs/clergy%20handbookfrom%20toolkit.pdf

      Role of the Clergy:  The Effects of Alcohol and Drugs on the Person and the Family – Rev. C. Roy Woodruff, PhD

            http://www.nacoa.org/pdfs/Woodruff%20%20Sem%20Dept%209-5-06.pdf

      Preventing and Addressing Alcohol and Drug Problems: A Handbook for Clergy           

         http://www.nacoa.org/pdfs/Clergy%20Hand%20Book.pdf

      Links to many organizations and websites

Annotated Bibliography

Allem, Johnny, and Trish Merrill. Healing Places: How People and Institutions of Faith Can Effectively Address Alchol and Other Drug Concerns. < namespace="" prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" xml="true">Washington, DC: The Johnson Institute, 2004.

This book discusses the formation of Faith Partners Teams.  Faith Partners is a team ministry model that engages lay congregational members in awareness, referral and support for individuals and families afflicted and affected by alcoholism and drug addiction. 

Website:  http://rushcenter.org/faithapproach/

Keller, John E. Ministering to Alcoholics, revised edition. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1991.

Looks at the spiritual aspects of alcoholism, in particular recovery under Alcoholics Anonymous and the 12 Steps. Some focus on religion and theology, with occasional passages from scripture to illuminate relational dynamics between humankind and God. Ideas often presented too abstractly, relying on the theories of therapists and psychologists to illustrate points rather than on case studies. However, chapter on Alcoholics Anonymous informative, and chapters on counseling the alcoholic and the spouse well-written and helpful, offering verbatims to illuminate important ideas. Author spent 35 years working in alcoholic treatment programs, some of which offered a religious focus to recovery.

Marlatt, G. Alan, ed. Harm Reduction: Pragmatic Strategies for Managing High-Risk Behaviors. New York: The Guilford Press, 1998.

Chapter four, “Harm Reduction for Alcohol Problems,” suggests a controversial alternative to total abstinence programs like AA. States that non-abstinence programs have met with some success. Believes such programs can help people caught between AA’s focus on alcoholism as disease and the desire to drink occasionally. Compelling arguments offered, with the understanding that severity of the drinking and other factors may prohibit a softer approach. Proposes “brief interventions” that may include drugs to curb the impulse to drink. Harm reduction as replacement for abstinence hard to believe regarding alcoholism, but the hope that those turned off by AA may find help rings true.

May, Gerald G., M.D. Addiction and Grace. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1988.

Provides a feelings-based analysis of addiction, using scripture to equate recovery from substance abuse to coming back into right relationship with God. The story of Adam and Eve’s fall is prominent, as are Paul’s epistle to the Romans and the parable of the Prodigal Son and his return to a forgiving father. More a meditation on mind, body, and spirit’s place in the process of addiction and recovery, and less a practical guide to overcoming addictive behaviors. Grace, empowerment, and homecoming become means by which addicts may find their way back to God and their true selves. A spiritual exploration that does not offer helpful goals for its readers, but somewhat interesting nonetheless. Author has written five other books on the intersection between psychology and spirituality

Merrill, Trish.  Committed, Caring Communities: A Congregational Resource Guide for Addiction Ministries. 1994.  

Is a one stop collection of ideas for pastoral leaders dealing with any addiction situation or considering responding more fully to this problem in our society. All of the resources collected here are in depth enough to be immediately useful and also lead to other resources or ideas for greater depth. Included are ideas for the pastoral role with addicted people in the parish, signs of addictive behavior by leaders and how a pastoral leader can be involved in any 12 step program. Chapters from 3 to 20 pages in length cover the materials in the 8 sections of the book, which concludes with two Appendixes for Training and other articles.

Morgan, Oliver J. and Merle Jordan eds.  Addiction and Spirituality: A Multidisciplinary

Approach. St Louis: Chalice Press, 1999.

            This collection of essays addresses the contention that addiction is a reaction to an essentially spiritual problem and that because factors like gender, race, religion and culture all contribute to one’s sense of self and of God, they also affect one’s spirituality so they must be taken into account when dealing with addiction.  Because the AA 12-step model has been the primary model for addressing the spirituality of addiction, this model’s appropriateness and effectiveness are discussed in its application for marginalized and oppressed groups.  Several alternatives to the 12-step model are offered.

Washton, Arnold M., Ph.D., and Nannette Stone-Washton, M.S. Step Zero: Getting to Recovery. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1991.

Focuses on people not yet ready for the 12 Step process but who are awakening to the possibility of addiction in their lives. Well written, very readable, and filled with real-life examples whose stories ring true. Takes the reader from tentative realization of possible addiction, through finding clarity about their situation and creating an image of the person they would like to be someday, and helps them find ways to start taking action to improve their lives. Ten questions and answers about recovery are addressed in the final chapter, with a practical and balanced delivery. Between them, writers have 30 years’ experience treating addicts, and their accessible language and common-sense approach inspire trust in the reader.

Woodruff, C. Roy. Spiritual Caregiving to Help Addicted Persons and Families: Handbook for Use in Clergy Education. Washington, DC: SAMHSA

Addresses recognizing addiction, appropriate pastoral interaction with addicted person and family members, shaping and educating a caring congregation, early intervention benefits, and resources for addiction, intervention, and prevention.

Addiction Teaching Moment

The challenge

·         the medical model is insufficient but is what tends to be used by human services and medical professionals the most.

·         the personality or the ego is more invested in the continued use of their drug than in recovery because it is that which blocks the pain that they feel

·         chemicals of the body gradually get confused as to what it wants and what it needs so that the individual sees the chemical as what is needed to survive (where medical can help)

·         there is a difference between sobriety (recovery) and healing

o        recovery requires a challenging of the defense mechanisms that block the individual’s access to their own ability to withstand pain in their lives

o        healing requires a loving connection of oneself to a greater experience of God

Addiction therapy is not a one-size-fits-all

·         but most use the 12-step AA model despite that it was developed as a white, male, middle-class, (primarily) Christian recovery program

·         the language and process of the 12-step program can actually get in the way of recovery

o        Black Extended Family Project in SF, pg 106

o        16 Steps for Discovery and Empowerment, pgs 130-134

·         addiction in oppressed groups springs from an alienation from self that includes cultural and genetic factors so that the path to recovery is one of embracing or empowering the self rather than conquering it

·         challenges the definition of humility:  pg 44

·         for some, the path of abstinence is not the correct path… it may keep the addict sober but it doesn’t necessarily heal them.  Ex: Changing Lanes (movie)

·         the AA system itself can become oppressive if it’s seen as the only way and if the system itself is placed before love

o        happiness, passion, and joy can come to be viewed with suspicion rather than greeted with gratitude and welcome

o        can become a belief system rooted in fear rather than love with the insistence of its members to follow the steps as the only way to “salvation”.

What do we do as leaders of a spiritual community?

·         We remember that all we can continue to do is to provide the atmosphere for an addict’s surrender to God.  We cannot make it happen.  We too, have to surrender to God’s grace.

·         We listen and pay attention to the issues that are truly at the bottom of the addiction so that we can point these people in a direction that will best assist not only in sobriety, but in healing.

·         We continue to offer unrelenting, unconditional love, not just to those labeled as addicts but to everyone so that we create a community in which we are truly living out the commandments.

·         We remember compassion not pity because the Addictive Thought System is one that is easy to buy into: Addictive Thought System, pgs 62, 64, 66, 71-73

·         We employ a Spirituality of Recovery, pgs 170-171

Healing the Addictive Mind

By Lee Jampolsky

Beliefs of the Addictive Thought System

1.       I am alone in a cruel, harsh and unforgiving world.  I am separate from everybody else.

2.       If I want safety and peace of mind, I must judge others and be quick to defend myself.

3.       My way is the right way.  My perceptions are always factually correct.  In order to feel good about myself, I need to be perfect all of the time.

4.       Attack and defense are my only safety.

5.       The past and the future are real and need to be constantly evaluated and worried about.

6.       Guilt is inescapable because the past is real.

7.       Mistakes call for judgment and punishment, not correction and learning.

8.       Fear is real.  Do not question it.

9.       Other people are responsible for how I feel.  The situation is the determiner of my experience.

10.   If I am going to make it in this world, I must pit myself against others.  Another’s loss is my gain.

11.   I need something or someone outside of myself to make me complete.

12.   My self-esteem is based on pleasing you.

13.   I can control other people’s behavior.

Beliefs of the Love-Based Thought System

1.       What I see in others is a reflection of my own state of mind.  There is an underlying unity to all life.  I lack nothing to be happy and whole right now.

2.       My safety lies in my defenselessness, because love needs no defense.  Acceptance is what brings me peace of mind.

3.       My self-worth is not based upon my performance.  Love is unconditional.

4.       Forgiveness, with no exceptions, ensures peace.

5.       Only the present is real.  The past is over and the future is no yet here.

6.       In other for me to change my experience, I must first change my thoughts.

7.       Mistakes call for correction and learning, not judgment and punishment.

8.       Only love is real, and what is real cannot be threatened.

9.       I am responsible for the world I see, and I choose the feelings that I experience.  I decide upon the goal I would achieve.

10.   I give is to receive.  For me to gain, nobody can lose.

11.   I am complete right now.

12.   My self-esteem comes from loving and accepting myself as I am today, and then sharing love and acceptance with others.

13.   I can’t change others, but I can change how I perceive others.

Irrational Beliefs of the Addictive Mind

1.       My self-esteem is dependent upon my being approved of by everybody on this planet.

2.       If I am to consider myself worthwhile, I must excel, achieve, win and display glowing competence at all times, in all places, and at all costs.

3.       All things that go wrong in my life are caused by other people.  These people need to be blamed and punished.

4.       If external situations in my life are not exactly how I want them to be, I must feel tense, worry endlessly and expect a disaster to occur within seconds.

5.       If something negative happened in the past, I should be very concerned about it repeating itself in the future.  It will help if I keep dwelling on the possibility of it occurring.

6.       If I avoid painful issues and stuff down my emotions, I will be safe and happy.

7.       I am weak and need to be dependent on somebody or something else.

8.       I should be very involved in and upset about other people’s problems.

9.       There is one right way to view the world.

10.   I am limited in what I can do and the happiness that I can experience.

Cognitive Differences between Fear-Based and Love-Based Thinking

·         The ego sees problems and obstacles in every situation.

·         Love-based thinking sees opportunities to learn in every situation.

·      Addictive thinking hold on to fear, irrationally believing that fear serves some use.

·      Love-based thinking recognizes that healing is releasing fear.

·         Addictive thinking holds onto the negative past, thinking that grudges and guilt serve a purpose.

·         Love-based thinking sees that healing is a letting go of the past.

·         The ego tells us that seeing lack, fault or unworthiness in someone else makes us feel all the more powerful.

·         Love-based thinking states that healing is recognizing the worth in everything and everybody.

·         The ego equates judging yourself with healing yourself.

·         Love-based thinking equates loving yourself with healing yourself.

·         The addictive mind tells us that we are separate and that our thoughts don’t make a difference.

·         Love-based thinking tells us that the most powerful healing force is a loving and forgiving thought that joins everyone.

From:

Morgan, Oliver J. and Merle Jordan eds.  Addiction and Spirituality: A Multidisciplinary

Approach. St Louis: Chalice Press, 1999, pgs 71-73.

The Black Extended Family Project

A collaborative effort between Haight Ashbury Free Clinics and Glide

United Methodist Church of San Francisco’s Tenderloin District. 

In this model, African American mores and traditions have been taken

into consideration and made primary to recovery.  The support system

involves knowledge of, and pride in, the African American heritage and

makes use of the spirituality known in that heritage to redefine its goals

and activities.

“To a black person who has felt invisible and unheard all of his or her life, being anonymous is already a familiar way of life…  Many of those who come to Glide have no everyday lives.  They don’t have homes, jobs or reputations to protect.”  And the First Step admission of powerlessness in the AA 12-Step program is often interpreted by a black person as “one more command to lie down and take it.”  -Rev. Cecil Williams, Glide United Methodist Church.

Ten Terms of Resistance The Rev. Cecil Williams

1.   I will gain control over my life.

2.       I will stop lying.

3.       I will be honest with myself.

4.       I will accept who I am.

5.       I will feel my real feelings.

6.       I will feel my pain.

7.       I will forgive myself and forgive others

8.       I will rebirth a new life.

9.       I will live my spirituality.

10.   I will support and love my brothers and sisters.

 From:

Morgan, Oliver J. and Merle Jordan eds.  Addiction and Spirituality: A Multidisciplinary

Approach. St Louis: Chalice Press, 1999, pgs 104-107.

Many Roads, One Journey

In reaction to what she saw as the oppression in AA 12-step groups,

Charlotte Kasl developed Fundamentals of Empowerment to speak to

those populations who had become addicts within an already oppressive

\system.  In her research with people of numerous classes and ethnic backgrounds, she learned that the “causes of addiction are many, and

the path to healing varies dramatically based on culture, physical needs

of the body, temperament, family background and genetics.  There is no

one way.”  (Morgan, pg 127)

Fundamentals of Empowerment

1.       Empowerment is based on love not fear.

2.       Empowerment involves a holistic approach to a problem – body, mind, spirit and community.

3.       Empowerment encourages differentiation.

4.       Empowerment encourages questions and choices.

5.       Empowerment takes people beyond labels and models.

6.       Empowerment teaches us to trust our wisdom.

7.       Empowerment supports creativity, passion and joy.

Sixteen Steps for Discover and Empowerment

1.       We affirm that we have the power to take charge of our lives and stop being dependant on substances or other people for our self-esteem and security.

Or

We admit that we were out of control with/powerless

over ___________ yet have the power to take charge of our lives

and stop being dependant on substances or other people for our

self-esteem and security.

2.       We come to believe that (choose one) God/Higher Power/Universe/Goddess/Great Spirit awakens the healing wisdom within us when we open ourselves to that power.

3.       We make decisions to find our authentic selves and trust in the healing power of truth.

4.       We examine our beliefs, addictions and dependant behavior in the context of living in a hierarchical, patriarchal culture.

5.       We share with another person and the universe all the things for which we feel shame and guilt.

6.       We affirm and enjoy our strengths, talents and creativity, remembering not to hide these qualities from ourselves or others.

7.       We become willing to let go of guilt, shame and any other behavior that keeps us from loving ourselves and others.

8.       We make a list of people we have harmed and people who have harmed us, and take steps to clear our negative feelings by making amends and sharing our grievances in a respectful way.

9.       We express love and gratitude to others and increasingly appreciate the wonder of life and the blessings we do have.

10.   We continue to trust our reality and daily affirm that we see what we see, we know what we know and we feel what we feel.

11.   We promptly acknowledge mistakes and make amends when appropriate, but we do not say we are sorry for things we have not done, and we do not cover up, analyze or take responsibility for the shortcomings of others.

12.   We seek out solutions, jobs and people who affirm our intelligence, perceptions and self-worth and avoid situations or people who are hurtful, harmful or demeaning to us.

13.   We take steps to heal our physical bodies, organize our lives, reduce stress and have fun.

14.   We seek to find our inward calling and develop the will and wisdom to follow it.

15.   We accept the ups and downs of life as natural events that can be used as lessons for our growth.

16.   We grow in awareness that we are interrelated with all living things, and we contribute to restoring peace and balance on the planet.

From:

Morgan, Oliver J. and Merle Jordan eds.  Addiction and Spirituality: A Multidisciplinary

Approach. St Louis: Chalice Press, 1999, pgs 125-134.

_____________________________________________________________________

What is Alcoholics Anonymous?

Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength, and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism. The only requirement for membership is an honest desire to stop drinking. A.A. has no dues fees. It is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization, or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy, neither endorses nor opposes any cause. Their primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety.

A.A. members share their experience with anyone seeking help with a drinking problem; they give person-to-person service or “sponsorship” to the alcoholic coming to A.A.

The Alcoholics Anonymous program, set forth in Twelve Steps, offers the alcoholic a way to develop a satisfying life without alcohol.  This program is discussed at A.A. group meetings.

Let’s look at the twelve Steps, not to discuss them and what they mean, but solely to see what they give us over and above sobriety.

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.

In the First Step we admitted that alcohol had made our lives unmanageable. With that admission comes the first peace we have known for years. Why?  Because for years a battle had been raging inside us—our mind and our conscience on one side, this strange and savage appetite on the other. Now the battle is over.

Admitting powerlessness is absolutely essential to breaking the addiction cycle, which is made up of five points: 1) pain, 2) reaching out to an addictive agent, such as work, food, sex, alcohol, or dependent relationships to salve our pain, 3) temporary anesthesia, 4) negative consequences, and 5) shame and guilt, which result in more pain or low self-esteem. 

For example, the workaholic who has low self-esteem (pain) begins to overwork (addictive agent), which results in praise, success, and achievement (relief). However, as a rule, family relationships and his personal relationship with God suffer terribly because of preoccupation with work (negative consequences). The result is an even greater sense of shame and guilt because of inadequacies, both real and imagined, which brings him back to point 1 in the addiction cycle. Now the workaholic feels compelled to work even harder to overcome his guilt.

Understanding the addiction cycle is important because it helps explain why for both the Oxford Group and for Bill Wilson, the admission of powerlessness is the first step to recovery. Otherwise, we remain caught. If we rely on willpower alone, then the only thing we know to do is to escalate our addiction to get out of the pain. Step 1 call us to do less-to yield, to surrender, to let go.

-Serenity, A Companion for Twelve Step Recovery, p.22-23

2. Came to believe that a power grater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

In the Second and Third Step we came to believe that a Higher Power could help us and we placed our will and our lives in his hands. And what do we get? A resurgence of faith and hope. A great gift, indeed, to us who have lived in despair.

Step 2 is a step of hope, faith and realization. It is a big step toward God. In spite of all of the failures in my own life- all of the broken promises, hard feelings, disappointments, failures, destructive behavior, hatred, anxiety, depression or guilt in my life- there is still hope. There is hope because there is a power greater than myself. And this power has the ability to restore my life to a life where there is freedom from the insanity of addictive behaviors. I begin to realize that such a power exists and this power is able to set me on the road to recovery and freedom.

-From 12Step.org

Step 3 But other people say “making a decision” to do something is only the first part of doing it. For example, if I make a decision to buy a house, I haven’t bought the house yet, and I certainly can’t move in this afternoon. There are a series of things I must do after making a decision to buy a house before I have actually bought it. I have to find a house, get a realtor, a lawyer, a banker, check taxes, check a certificate of title, and do all kinds of other things. Then finally, at the end of the process, I’ve bought the house, and I am living in it. In taking Step three, if you make a decision to turn your will and life over God, you’re deciding. You’re committing to “buy the house.” You are committed to turning your life and your will over to God. But you haven’t completed the transaction when you say the words of commitment.

…I asked my sponsor, “If saying the words doesn’t turn my will and my life over to God, how do I do it?” He smiled and said, “That’s what Steps Four through Twelve are: the way to turn our whole lives-past, future, and present- over to God.”

-A Hunger for Healing, p.53

4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

5. Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

The Forth and Fifth Steps led us to take inventory of our lives and to tell others the exact nature of our wrongs. The devil of remorse that had long plagued us has gone. The burden of evil that bent our shoulders and weighted our limbs has gone.

A personal inventory is crucial to understanding the new direction of our spiritual growth. What aspects of our character do we need to retain and emphasize, and what should be modified or discarded? Six components that might go into such an inventory are described in the following paragraphs.

First, we may need to “tell our stories.” This can be accomplished by journaling, that is, by writing out our stories, and by sharing them with others in recovery meetings or private dialogue…

A second component in our inventory is discovering the roots of our addictions and co dependencies. In most cases, this means we have to examine our childhoods. What needs were not met there? What negative experiences or messages about ourselves did we absorb in the dysfunctional family of origin?

Third, we must confront and assess the full extent of our dependencies. Doing so, we will learn more about the severity of our primary addictions, and we may uncover other peripheral addictions we had not previously recognized. We should inventory and identify all of these codependent symptoms and addictions, which have manifested themselves in our adolescent and adult lives…

Fourth, we need to look back at our relationship history with the people who have been significant in our lives-parents, teachers, mentors, friends, romantic interests. We need to inventory all the ways we have hurt them and hurt ourselves by practicing our adult addictions and co dependencies…

Fifth, we must address our guilt feelings. We realize that most addictions are shame-based and shame-propelled. To move beyond this shame-base, we need to distinguish between two major forms of guilt: 1) False shame, or carried shame…2) authentic guilt…

Sixth, we must “look for the good.” An important counterbalancing dimension is that a Step 4 inventory should include the positive, as well as the negative, things about us…

-Serenity, A Companion for Twelve Step Recovery, p.38-42

Step 5, Some people seek an easier and softer way by doing a “general confession” to God alone. They are not about to name specifically the humiliating, “awful” things they have done out loud before another human being. But this act of specifically confessing things is what often leads to serenity. The more afraid you are to tell about a certain act or thought in your Fifth Step, the more likely it is that confessing that particular thing will put a new crack in your denial and free you in a new area. There doesn’t seem to be an easier, softer way, and people who seek one apparently don’t understand the tenacious and tricky nature of this spiritual disease we are facing. Step Five is to help us see, to grasp, to understand specifically how the disease has permeated our lives in ways we usually cannot see any other way.

-A Hunger for Healing, p. 91-92

6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

In the Sixth and Seven Steps, we made restitution to ourselves by casting off the shoddy, sodden garments of the drunkard—and clothed ourselves in tolerance, in humility, in honesty, and in charity.

When we are working Step Six, it is important to remember that we are human and should not place unrealistic expectations on ourselves. This is a step of willingness. That is the spiritual principle of Step Six. It is as if to say that we are now willing to move in a spiritual direction. Being human we will, of course, wander.

Rebellion is a character defect that spoils us here. We need not to lose faith when we become rebellious. The indifference or intolerance that rebellion can bring out in us has to be overcome by persistent effort. We keep asking for willingness. We may be doubtful still that God will see fit to relieve us or that something will go wrong. We ask another member who says, “You’re right where you’re supposed to be.” We renew our readiness to have our defects removed. We surrender to the simple suggestions that the Program offer us. Even though we are not entirely ready, we are headed in that direction.

-Narcotics Anonymous Basic Text, Chapter 4/Step 6

We need humility for three reasons:

… Although Step 7 is the shortest step in terms of wording and is perhaps the least discussed in recovery groups, it is probably the most potent of the twelve. It embodies the miracle of transformation as we turn over to God our broken, defective personalities in order that He might mold them into healthy, effective instruments of His will.

-Serenity, A Companion for Twelve Step Recovery, p. 54-55

8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.

9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when do so would injure them or others.

In the Eighth and Ninth Steps, we made restitutions to others. These Steps help us to get rid of those alcoholic lenses that were before our eyes—the ones that caused us to see not the decent, kindly folk about us but grotesque and distorted figures—demons in a land of nightmare.

Step Eight is a social housecleaning, just as Step Four was our personal housecleaning. In Step Eight we’re setting out to clean up all the bruised relationships and the pockets of guilt, pain, fear, resentment, and sadness that are stored inside, stuck to our shameful past deeds. For this un dealt-with material blocks us from loving other people, ourselves, and God in the present. 

It’s as if God were saying, “Okay, now you want me to take all of your character defects, fine. Then you can be free and serene and the person I want you to be. But first you must see that almost all your troubles involve other people. You’ve tried to control them one way or the other or fix them; you have guilty or resentful feelings about them; or you have been so preoccupied with yourself and your feelings, dreams, and plans that you have ignored them emotionally and caused them to experience some of their worst fears of being deserted. Now I want you to face what you have done and own your part in hurting each person in your life so you can move into the future I have for you unencumbered by the past and beginning to understand how not to keep repeating the mistakes of the past.”

-A Hunger for Healing, p. 135-136

Step 9 completes what I started in Step 8. I make amends to those that I have harmed. I pay back debts I owe. I apologize. I write letters. I find time to do and say things that would help heal the damage that I have done. I try to bring goodness where previously I had brought discord and destruction. It takes insight, courage and dedication to make such amends, but now I have the help of my God to know what to do and how to do it. I learn to earnestly seek the right way to go about this process from my God. I start to live the kind of life that my God has meant for me to live all along.

-From 12Step.org

10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

Perhaps the greatest gift of all the Steps, next only to sobriety, is contained in this two—the Steps of daily inventory, the daily seeking of closer union with God.

Step Ten is a spiritual pocket computer to help us keep tabs on our behavior today and a cleanser to help keep our spiritual lenses clean. In this method of keeping and inventory every day, we ask ourselves questions like, which of my character defects popped up as uninvited guest today? Am I using the tools of the program? Am I praying? Am I thanking God for all the good things he has done for me this day, and for any positive things he’s freed me to do?...

The reason this is so important is that the sin-disease, which its denial and delusion, is always hovering “just a decision away” to throw us back into fear and confusion. Its tactics are to convince us in various ways, “you’re ‘well’ now and don’t need a stupid program to lead a normal life. You can and should operate on your own as a mature adult.” The disease’s “strategy” often works like this: when we begin to feel a little secure and happy and our relationships are more comfortable, many of us “forget” to have our quiet time. We forget to go to meetings and don’t call our sponsor. We’re busy again, because the pain that drove us into the program has been alleviated. This is a dangerous place to be, because it is one of the major delusions of the spiritual life that we can “do it ourselves” without daily contact with God and a daily look at the reality of what is going on in our own lives.

-A Hunger for Healing, by Keith Miller, p. 164

Many work the steps and stay sane in Twelve-Step programs, yet somehow miss the whole thing about prayer and meditation. Most of the people who work good programs, however, are connected to God is and what his will for them may be, as well as for learning useful truths about who they are and what they’re to do in order to find happiness, guidance, peace, and continued growth. But mostly they pray because they feel gratitude, love and a sense of awe that the One with whom they are in contact is using his power to heal them.

-A Hunger for Healing, by Keith Miller, p. 180

12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

The Twelfth Step tells us that we’d have a spiritual experience. Some of us were a little doubtful about that. We realize now that it’s impossible to make a real effort to fulfill the other Steps without having a spiritual experience. The twelfth Step tells us, too, to carry this message to other alcoholics.

The selfless service of this work is the very principle of Step Twelve. We received our recovery from the God of our understanding, so we now make ourselves available as His tool to share recovery with those who seek it. Most of us learn in time that we can only carry our message to someone who is asking for help.

Sometimes the only message necessary to make the suffering addict reach out is the power of example; an addict may be suffering but unwilling to ask for help. We can make ourselves available to these people, so that when they ask, someone will be there.

Learning the art of helping others when it is appropriate is a benefit of the N.A. Program. Remarkably, the Twelve Steps guide us from humiliation and despair to a state wherein we may act as instruments of our Higher Power. We are given the ability to help a fellow addict when no one else can. We see it happening among us every day. This miraculous turnabout is evidence of spiritual awakening. We share from our own personal experience what it has been like for us. The temptation to give advice is great, but when we do so we lose the respect of newcomers. This clouds our message. A simple, honest message of recovery from addiction rings true.

-Narcotics Anonymous Basic Text, Chapter 4/Step12

 The Skilled Pastor by Charles W. Taylor, Fortress Press, Minneapolis, 1991.

I.    The underlying premise of this model of pastoral counseling is: beliefs are key factors in how we handle situations.  So one way to help us handle situations more constructively is to help us change our beliefs, by challenging unhelpful ones and sharing the good news.  How do we get there?

II.  The framework for the model is provided by

A.   The HELPING SKILLS: LISTENING, RESPONDING, CHALLENGING THE UNHELPFUL BELIEFS, AND INITIATING ACTION.

III.  Along with the helping skills, the model employ

B.  THEOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT and
C.  RELIGIOUS RESOURCES.

IV.  All of this involves communication, which is of four kinds:

a.    Verbal-this is the least important;

b.    Nonverbal, such as facial expressions, posture, tone of voice.;

c.    Dynamic-features of the relationship between the people involved, such as sexual attraction or unequal power;

d.    Symbolic, such as clerical garb or a military uniform.

V.   The parishioner seeking pastoral counseling goes through three STAGES: exploring, understanding and acting.  The pastor also goes through stages, which are in bold italics below.

      A.   The parishioner's first stage is EXPLORING-here's what's bothering me, and why, if I know why.  To help in this stage, the pastor must be fully present [be a companion, go to the place where the trouble/illness is and be there with the trouble/ illness.  Don't try to fix it and don't run away.  Just be there.] The pastor's objective at this stage is empathy-gaining an understanding of the parishioner's point of view.  The presence skills are the key helping skills because they focus on the relationship: I am here with you.  The PRESENCE SKILLS are:

            1.  ATTENDING, demonstrated by
      a.  Posture-SOLER. 
           1)  Face the person squarely;
           2)  Adopt an open posture;
           3)  Lean toward the person, if appropriate;
           4)  Maintain good eye contact;
           5)  Try to be relatively relaxed.
      b.  Observing the person's
           1) Posture;
           2) Facial expressions;
           3) Focus-where is her/his gaze directed?  At the floor?

                           Out the window?
           4) Movements;
           5) Involuntary reactions such as crying, blushing.
      c.  Listening to
           1) delivery-audial nonverbals eg. Smiling while

                           expressing anger;
           2) content-FEAT:
                a) feelings expressed;
                b) experiences related;
                c) actions-things done and not done;
                d) thoughts-internal activities such as prayer, idea

                 d.  Problems in attending can include
          1) distractions-fatigue, anxiety, attraction;
          2) evaluations that lead to judgment;
          3) social and personal differences such as race, culture

2.       RESPONDING-let me see if I understand:

a.       paraphrasing-I hear you saying that you resent the use of Rite I during Lent.

b.       Probing-How does that make you feel?  I'm not sure what you mean-can you say more

3. Assessing-Let's see where we are here/how might we clarify things.  This is a bridge between exploring, (V A above) and understanding.  Here we try to explore at a deeper level.  The skills here are:

a.    summarizing-pull together what's been presented. "You feel that Rite I is stilted and old fashioned and this feeling interferes with your spiritual response to the service."

b.    hunching-expressing intuitions based on the data gathered during attending and responding, eg. "It strikes me that. . . ."

c.    eliciting-what are the underlying beliefs that may be causing difficulty here.  Is there a "should" or "ought" [The Big O]? I must do this; that must not happen.

4. Ways of being absent rather than present:

a.    self-expectation-I should be able to fix this.

b.    premature proclamation-rather than being present to the person, you focus on the stated problem.

c.    instant solutions-I suggest you go into rehab tomorrow.

      B.  The parishioner's second stage is understanding her/his problem, and the pastor's role there is proclamation-challenging unhelpful beliefs and sharing the good news.  But before moving to that, there needs to be some theological assessment by the pastor-thinking theologically about the parishioner's underlying beliefs.  Recall the underlying premise of this model as stated above in I.

     1.  Problems identified here are:

a.   guilt--I should be able to take care of my husband rather than being in this hospital bed;

b.   anxiety-I may die from this and that would be the worst thing imaginable;

c.   anger-I've always been a good person; how can this be happening to me?

2.     The Pastor's job here is to decide which beliefs to challenge and what theological arguments to use.

      C.   After assessing the parishioner's beliefs theologically, the pastor can aid the parishioner's UNDERSTANDING by  proclamation-challenge unhelpful beliefs and share the good news by:

           1.  Informing-provide information and correct harmful misunderstanding-no one finds it easy to take care of a family and work outside the home at the same time.

2. Sharing-offering your own relevant experience, eg. "My father was abusive too."  Use this sparingly, as it tends to shift the focus to you.

3. Confrontation-It's not your fault.

4. Contending-dispute the underlying belief with reason and religious resources, eg. "Even Jesus lost his temper/seemed impatient sometimes."

5. Reviewing-ask the parishioner to review the proclamation.

6. Proclamation is difficult-you must challenge the parishioner's perspective while communicating respect.  Be assertive but tentative; you could be wrong.

     D.  The parishioner's third stage is ACTING (forming a plan to change beliefs and resulting behavior), and the Pastor helps this by offering religious resources.  The pastoral theology of change is found in "the Holy Spirit will teach you everything and guide you to all truth"; "God intends us all to be well".  But you must act to receive the gift of change.

1. Change is

a.       difficult,

b.       complex,

c.       frightening, 

d.       opposed by irrational beliefs such as

                          1) my misery is entirely caused by external causes;
                          2) my past rules my present and cannot be changed;
        2.  Change is supported by

a.       social influence-if I believe that the healer can heal me, I am more likely to be healed;

b.       problems-solving-setting goals, making a plan;

c.       religious resources- Holy Spirit, religious community, pastoral persons, scripture, prayer, rites.  These resources can be applied, for example to:

                          1) despair-low self-esteem that comes from not accepting God's mercy

                            2) dread-terror in the face of death;

                         3) alienation [from family, from community]-care deformed into self-protection.

 
Prepared for class presentation, Introduction to Pastoral Theology, Spring 2008, CDSP. Material in brackets in not in Taylor, but is supplied by the author of this outline.  The last chapter of Taylor, "Guidance" (Chapter 7), is not included here.  It has to do with helping with the action phase of the process.

Cultivating Wholeness by Margaret Kornfeld, The Continuum International Publishing Group, Inc., New York and London, 2006.

Chapter 9, “Care and Counseling in Life’s Daily Round,” pp. 251-256, Effects of Addiction.

I.               The illnesses of chemical abuse and dependency can be treated.  However, addiction is bigger than the illness itself; it is also a syndrome affecting mind, spirit, thoughts and actions,  supported by an entire family system.

a.       Dependency is at the heart of addiction:

                                             i.      Physiological response–need for the chemical, and

                                           ii.      Obsessive thinking and compulsive behavior on which the person depends in order to get the chemical.

                                          iii.      The brain learns that the chemical feels good, but more and more is needed to produce that effect.

                                          iv.      Genetic, developmental and environmental factors regarding who becomes addicted are not well understood.

II.             Alcoholism is a progressive, potentially fatal but treatable chronic disease.

a.       The alcoholic suffers

                                             i.      At home and at work;

                                           ii.      Physically;

                                          iii.      Potential legal difficulties, e.g. drunk driving;

                                          iv.      Compulsion to drink, even when understanding that drinking causes problems–out of control.

III.            Alcohol abuse turns into dependence. 

a.       Need to drink to

                                             i.      Feel good, and

                                           ii.      Avoid withdrawal symptoms.

b.       Three basic forms:

                                             i.      Binge drinkers;

                                           ii.      Steady drinkers of a lesser amount; and

                                          iii.      Combination of the above.

IV.          It is clear that people are biologically predisposed to alcoholism and that the causes are brain-based. 

V.            High levels of anxiety, agitation, impulsivity, depression, anger, stress, loneliness, bereavement and boredom, as well as socioeconomic factors such as poverty, may lead to self-medication with alcohol.  However, the “cure” causes physiological dependence.

VI.          There are basically two types of alcoholics.

a.       Type A–begin drinking later in life, have fewer early risk factors, and milder physical, psychological and social consequences.  They respond better to residential treatment and have fewer relapses.

b.       Type B–more childhood risk factors and more severe dependence, more consequences, consume more alcohol, may have other addictions.  More likely to relapse.

VII.         Religious communities should educate about self-medication, and look for ways to relieve the underlying problems noted in V above.

VIII.       The life cycle of addiction is: feeling good, then obsessive thoughts about how to get high, then intoxication, then feelings of embarrassment, shame, etc. which lower self-esteem so the need to feel good returns and the cycle repeats.

IX.           Denial of the consequences is essential to function in this system.  This includes the family, which needs to stay together in spite of the disruptions caused by drinking.  People feel needed by the addicted person.  The addicted person is trying to feel calm and alive, but the “medication” produces chaos and excitement, which people get used to.

X.             To help, stop the addictive cycle, stop consuming the substance.  Medical treatment for withdrawal may be needed, as well as treatment for depression and other stress-related illnesses.  A 12-step group is essential, and individual and group psychotherapy may help.  Not drinking is not enough because it leaves a void; something must be added.  Jesus, in casting out demons, said that unless good spirits were invited to fill the house that the evil spirits had left, may more evil spirits would return.  Learning a new reward system is essential, and connection to loving relationships is crucial.

Prepared for class presentation, Introduction to Pastoral Theology, Spring 2008, CDSP.