It is generally agreed that the best approach to the treatment of addiction is a mind, body, spirit approach. The treatment of the whole person has become in vogue in recent years but in fact this idea is as old as the Greek and Ro-man cultures as well as being the basis of oriental healing.
Most substance abuse treatment focuses on the mind and body. People go to detox and then enter a clinically based treatment program where they deal with a variety of mental health issues and substance abuse recovery information. Most often clients are exposed in treatment to the 12 step model. They are given a copy of the Big Book and taken to meetings in the evening. The nature of treatment is usually clinical and always time limited. Most often, by necessity, it is impossible to spend a lot of treatment time on the long term solution of the twelve step model.
Twelve step recovery is spiritually based. It addresses the third component of the mind, body spirit continuum. The most successful prescription for long term recovery is the combination of excellent treatment, good therapy and active involvement in a twelve step program.
Since the long term solution to addiction is a spiritual one it seems logical that people who accept the concept of the need for family counseling, trauma counseling, substance abuse counseling, financial counseling, physical counseling would find it important to receive spiritual counseling. Yet this is probably the least utilized of the many forms of counseling available today.
In the past the people who provided the best advice and healing information were people who were themselves recovering from addiction. Most treatment centers and early half-way houses were run by recovering alcoholics and addicts who were in fact lay therapists. By sharing their experience, strength and hope with the clients they were able to establish a rapport that aided in the transmission of the spiritual message. In South Florida, the recovery center of America, we are fortunate to have many long term veterans of twelve step recovery. Most of these men and women posses valuable experience and knowledge of a spiritual nature.
In the past twenty-five years addiction counseling has been relegated, by the regulation of corporations and state and federal government, to people who have degrees in psychology or social work and certification through the beaurocracy of state governments. What has happened to many of the old timers working in the field is that they have been regulated out of working with alcoholics and addicts. An old friend Ron Martin used to say that the day would come when alcoholics and addicts wouldn’t be allowed near recovering addicts and alcoholics. It is truly a shame that his prediction has almost come true.
For nearly ten years now The Solution Newspaper has been the voice of the recovering community in South Florida. It has always been the editorial policy of this publication to keep the emphasis on the spiritual component of recovery. The publication has been directed towards people who have found the 12 step philosophy to be beneficial to their lives. We work hand and hand with our brothers and sisters who are fighting the battle against addiction in the trenches of treatment centers and half-way houses, individual and group counseling and holistic modalities.
We truly believe that there is a solution and that this solution consists of the selection of the very best in treatment, therapy and the spiritual philosophy of twelve step recovery. We wish to leave the clinical to the clinicians, the medical to the doctors and the religious to the priests, ministers, rabbis and other religious teachers. It is our firm belief however that the best people to teach and counsel on the spiritual solution of twelve step recovery are those with many years of proven success in recovery using the tools of the twelve steps and the textbook of the Big Book of A.A.
We also firmly believe that there is a need for strong education about spirituality and how it can be interpreted and incorporated in a successful recovery program. Who better to instruct and counsel than those with years of study, intensive work with others and the experience of the pain of active addiction? It is time to include those who without degrees or certification can augment treatment by teaching sprirituality from personal experience.