Is Christian Based Rehab Right for Me?
The ultra-fast-paced world of today leaves precious little time for inner-reflection, let alone spiritual connection. Anyone with a Christian background or anyone who abides by Christian beliefs well knows how difficult it can be to stay connected with this fundamental part of self. For some addicts, this “disconnect” from spirit becomes the driving force behind an addiction.
When considering the wide array of rehab treatment options, determining whether Christian based rehab is right for you depends on your comfort-level when it comes to dealing with life’s problems and challenges on a spiritual level. Christian based rehab treatment offers an often-overlooked approach to drug treatment, an approach that promotes physical, mental and spiritual healing and recovery from the “inside out.”
Christian Based Rehab Treatment Centers
Helping people in need is a fundamental principle within the Christian based rehab treatment approach. As of 2008, there were 527 faith-based or Christian based rehab treatment centers in the United States. Data collected by the National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services relays this “help people in need” tenet through a few interesting trends running through the Christian based rehab circuit:
- Faith-based centers are twice as likely to offer halfway housing and/or transitional housing options for recovering addicts with nowhere to go
- Faith-based centers are nearly three times more likely to provide drug treatment services free of charge
- Faith-based centers are three times more likely to offer services free of charge to people unable to pay
These statistics reflect the Christian principle in action and underscore the importance of approaching drug treatment from a spiritual standpoint.
In effect, Christian based rehab treatment centers place just as much emphasis on healing the spiritual aspects of addiction as the physical dependency problem. As underlying emotional issues often drive a person’s need to escape into drugs, treating addiction from a spiritual standpoint gives recovering addicts a real fighting chance at beating addiction once and for all.
Christian Based Treatment Options
Much like a traditional drug treatment program, Christian based rehab treatment entails a broad array of services, some of which include:
- Individual psychotherapy
- Group counseling
- Medication therapies
- 12-step support group work
Christian based rehab differs from traditional treatment approaches in that each treatment component uses the principles found in the Christian bible as the basis for growth and healing. As motivation and desire are essential to a successful recovery process, rehab programs use the faith-based principles from the Bible to strengthen a person’s resolve and commitment in recovery.
Reconnecting with Your Faith
Evidence of the importance of connecting with a Higher Power can be seen in how traditional 12-step support groups center their meetings around the acknowledgment of a Higher Power. Christian based rehab emphasizes a Higher Power focus throughout the drug treatment process.
One of the most damaging effects from alcohol and drug addictions is the cold “disconnect from self” a person feels, whether high or sober. Christian based drug treatment works to reconnect the individual with his or her faith in God as well as faith in everyday life.