Christian Rehab Centers
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Christian rehab centers are unlike
most traditional rehab facilities because their therapeutic
framework unmistakably focuses on Jesus Christ as the explicit
Higher Power referred to by the other 12-step recovery
methodologies like Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics
Anonymous.
According to the professionals who work at Christian rehab
facilities, other treatment centers that try to please their
non-believing clients are actually doing them a disservice because
the therapists are not stating that it is God alone who has the
power to help addicts recover from their addiction, find their way,
and overcome the vicious cycle of dependence.
Drug and Alcohol Addiction Are Physical and
Spiritual Disorders
Many, if not most professionals who work at Christian rehab
centers believe that alcohol and drug addiction are a physical as
well as a spiritual illness.
Just because therapists who are
employed at Christian rehab centers emphasize the centrality
of God in the rehabilitation process, it must be noted, does
not mean that they neglect other vital rehabilitation issues.
To be sure, Christian rehab professionals time and again use
the most effective and current medical techniques, counseling
approaches, and behavioral therapies in blending Biblical
scripture with the overall drug and alcohol rehabilitation
process.
Most Christians understand that belief alone is usually not
enough to help an alcoholic or drug addict refrain from drinking or
drug abuse. Generally speaking, Christians who are dependent
on drugs or alcohol are in misery from the results of alcohol and
drug-related employment problems, legal issues, relationship and
family difficulties, and/or poor psychological and physical
health. Routinely, these negative outcomes, over time, get
increasingly worse the more an individual continues to drink and
abuse drugs in an out-of-control manner.
To put the drug and alcohol rehab process in an understandable
perspective, most Christian therapists encourage Christian alcohol
and drug addicts to look to the Bible in general and to Job in
particular to ascertain how he surmounted his torment and pain in
order to develop a stronger relationship with God. To be
sure, the alcohol or drug addict may feel anything but innocent and
may experience extreme feelings of guilt and shame due to their
abusive and addictive actions. They need to bear in mind,
however, that God is always ready to forgive them, help them get to
the other side of dependency, and start on the road to
recovery.
Christian Drug and Alcohol Detox
Christian detox is the first step in
the alcohol and drug rehabilitation process undertaken by
Christian rehab centers. Seen as a mixture of spiritual
and physical components, Christian detox aims to eliminate the
drugs and alcohol from the addicts’ body and cleanse their
soul of the damaging and unhealthy behavior in which they have
engaged. Moreover, alcoholics or drug addicts who face
serious withdrawal symptoms can receive much needed relief
through the employment of doctor prescribed medications via
the Christian detoxification procedure.
Although the alcohol and drug rehab protocol is neither easy nor
problem-free, professionals who work at Christian rehab centers
believe that overcoming one’s dependency is possible because God
does not give a person more than he or she can handle.
| Evidence indicates that
involvement of a nonalcoholic spouse in a treatment program can
improve patient participation rates and increase the likelihood
that the patient will alter drinking behavior in a positive manner
after treatment ends. |
Christian Alcohol and Drug Recovery
One of the key problems when focusing on drug addiction or
alcoholism is the fact that the addict cannot see through the
denial and other defense mechanism that reinforce his or her
negative cycle of abuse and addiction.
Christian rehab centers help drug
addicts and alcoholics cut through their denial and accept
their inability to overcome their addiction entirely on their
own. Once this is achieved, alcoholics and drug addicts
can restore their “true nature” and surrender their
frustration, anguish, and pain to God who can then heal them
and give them hope for a dependency-free life in the near
future.
Christian rehab centers typically stress the need for addicts to
become less prideful, more humble, and initiate a more spiritual
attitude so that God can meet them half way, take them back into
His house, and help them reclaim their lives.
Most Christian rehab centers employ the 12-step approach in
their group and individual counseling sessions and they always stay
focused on the belief that it is Jesus Christ who is the Higher
Power who can lead to recovery. Stated slightly differently,
Christian rehab centers are rooted in Scripture and adhere to the
12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous.
While rehab counselors who are members of Christian rehab
centers are Christian, it is enlightening to note that some
Christian treatment facilities employ Christians who are also in
rehab.
| The beneficial effects of
Alcoholics Anonymous may be attributable in part to the replacement
of the participant's social network of drinking friends with a
fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous members who can provide
motivation and support for maintaining
abstinence. |
The Kinds of Treatment at Christian Rehab
Centers
At least three distinctive types of drug and alcohol rehab can
be found at various Christian rehab centers: inpatient,
residential rehab; outpatient rehab; and day treatment
rehabilitation.
Residential Inpatient Drug and Alcohol
Rehab
When an individual becomes enrolled
in a Christian residential inpatient rehab facility, he or she
rapidly learns about the physical, spiritual, and
psychological effects of drug and alcohol abuse and
addiction. This educational framework is accomplished
basically through lectures, workshops, group counseling, and
personal therapy.
To be sure, through all of these educational components,
alcoholics and drug addicts are taught how to successfully
recognize and work through the emotional and physical “hot buttons”
that so frequently result in abusive and addictive behavior.
To be more specific, such a broad-based educational approach helps
each alcoholic and drug addict identify and address his or her own
unique relapse warning signs and circumstances.
| Surveys of drinking patterns
show that college students are more likely than their age-mates who
are not in college to consume any alcohol, to drink heavily, and to
engage in heavy episodic drinking. However, young people who are
not in college are more likely to consume alcohol every
day. |
Outpatient Drug and Alcohol Rehab
Although not quite as comprehensive and intensive as residential
approaches, Christian outpatient drug and alcohol rehab commonly
consists of educational principals and components that are similar
to those that are emphasized in inpatient rehab. Moreover,
through education, individual therapy, group counseling, and
training, drug addicts and alcoholics can gain an insight into the
specific high-risk situations that usually challenge their sobriety
and underpin their addiction. In short, through Christian
outpatient rehab, each alcoholic or drug addict learns how to deal
more efficiently and productively with circumstances that can
trigger a relapse and maintain the negative cycle of addiction.
| Regardless of how someone is
diagnosed as alcohol dependent or how they came to realize they
have a serious drinking problem, the first step to treatment is a
sincere desire to get help. Alcoholics who are pressured into
treatment by social pressure or forced to quit by circumstances
rarely succeed in the long run. |
Day Treatment Drug and Alcohol Rehab
Some Christian rehab centers provide a
type of treatment that is somewhat in between the outpatient
and the inpatient options. Known as “day treatment
programs,” this kind of approach is typically geared for local
Christian alcoholics and drug addicts who require less
structure than the inpatient programs provide.
Alcoholics and drug addicts commonly register for this kind of
treatment approach for a period of four to six weeks and usually
attend rehab during normal work hours. Addicts who sign
up for such programs are provided with some of the same
comprehensive training, counseling and educational components that
the inpatient clients receive.
Due to the fact that follow-up counseling, training, and
education are so meaningful in the drug and alcohol recovery
process, individuals who have attended Christian rehab centers are
encouraged to attend local Narcotics Anonymous or Alcoholics
Anonymous meetings when they return to their place of
residence.
| Screening for alcohol disorders
in primary care can vary from one simple question to an extensive
assessment using a standardized questionnaire. The level of
screening used by a clinician typically depends on the patient’s
characteristics, whether he or she has other medical or psychiatric
problems, the physician’s skills and interest, and the amount of
time available. |
Christian Rehab Centers:
Conclusion
The basic philosophy of Christian
rehab centers can be stated in the following summary:
through a combination of education, training, doctor
prescribed drugs, counseling, the latest medical techniques,
and good old fashioned Christian principles, alcoholics and
drug addicts, along with God, can overcome their dependent and
damaging behavior and reclaim their lives in His
grace.
In short, Christian rehab centers help drug addicts and
alcoholics become free of their addictive cravings and the
unhealthy and destructive thoughts and actions that run counter to
their Christian beliefs.
| According to a 1997 report by
the Ninth Special Report to the U.S. Congress on Alcohol and Health
from the Secretary of Health and Human Services, alcohol is a
leading cause of death among youth, particularly teenagers. For
instance, alcohol abuse contributes substantially to adolescent
motor vehicle crashes, other traumatic injuries, suicide, date
rape, and family and school problems. |
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| Alcoholism research has
demonstrated the following: if you have sworn to yourself
that you will never drink again and you have tried to stop drinking
and found yourself drinking once again a few days later or a week
or two down the road, it is very probably that you have a serious
drinking problem. The bottom line is this: if you have
tried to stop drinking and cannot, you are obviously no longer in
control. To state the obvious: from a control perspective,
alcohol is in control of your life rather than you being in control
of your drinking. |
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