Spirituality, forgiveness and purpose in recovery
Single father Brett says that entering The Salvation Army’s Canberra Recovery Services Centre (CRS) therapeutic community may have saved his life. It helped him to regain custody of his children, maintain a job, keep a home, and, he says, taught him a great deal about the “disease of alcoholism”.
His time in treatment also ignited a deep Christian faith, and he believes this relationship with God continues to play an integral role in his fight to stay sober.
The link between spirituality and recovery was recently explored as part of the ongoing Bridging the Gap a multifaceted and ongoing research initiative between The Salvation Army Recovery Services and Illawarra Institute for Mental Health, University of Wollongong. Last year, the partnership won a prestigious National Drug and Alcohol Award for Excellence in Research.
Based at the university institute, Dr Geoffrey C B Lyons recent doctorate was Spirituality, forgiveness and purpose in faith-based substance abuse treatment programs.
The study found that at first, “client’s levels of spirituality, forgiveness and purpose in life may be relatively unrelated. However, as treatment progresses these experiences develop and appear to become more closely associated.”
Dr Lyons also found that after they leave, “clients who have experienced greater growth in spiritual experiences, purpose in life and forgiveness of self, are more likely to remain completely abstinent”.
Clinical director of Salvation Army Recovery Services Gerard Byrne says: “Through Bridging the Gap, we are building an evidence base for client outcomes.
“With our widely-ranging research partnership, we wanted to identify what The Salvation Army’s faith-based approach to drug and alcohol services would bring in terms of improved client outcomes.”
Brett gratefully acknowledges that many facets of his time in treatment, especially “time out to take stock”, plus ongoing support from AA, have helped his battle with alcohol.
He says: “I was emotionally bankrupt, spiritually bankrupt and felt worthless. I just pretty much just wanted to die.
“I was a failure as a father, as everything! My story is ‘I drink to keep myself away
from myself’ … I had come to a place where … getting out of bed was a problem without a drink.
Brett says he received education, counselling and support through the recovery services. But equally as importantly, he says: “What The Salvation Army (did) was they loved. They loved me back to a place where I could finally like myself enough to build the bricks in my mind to become strong enough to actually stop drinking”.
And Brett says his faith in God has been an essential part of the recovery process.
He truly believes he is now privileged to have a relationship with a loving and a supernatural God and says: “I really don’t know how I ended up in recovery services. One minute I was just a mess and the next minute I was there and I was in. The moment I walked into the place I knew I was in good hands and it was where I had to be. It was just like …it was a miracle!”
“The relationship that I now have with God – and it’s not just being a believer, it’s a relationship – plays a big part in my recovery today. It’s probably the foundation of my recovery.”
This week is Drug Action Week. For further information about The Salvation Army’s Recovery Services, check out: http://salvos.org.au/recovery/
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