Spirituality and Psychiatry: Substance Misuse
This is the eighth installment of my posts based on the book: Spirituality and Psychiatry, which was kindly sent to me by the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
The first part can be found here, the second here, the third here, the fourth here, the fifth here, the sixth here and the seventh here.
Spirituality features prominently within substance misuse psychiatry, which is not surprising when one considers the spiritual nature of the hugely influential 12-step ideology of Alcoholics Anonymous.
This spirituality is not explicitly Christian and the references and definitions of God are according to the individuals understanding.
Page 145
God is understood by the individual according to their own faith tradition, folk religion or personal notion of the Divine which is unique to that individual. Alternatively, a ‘Higher Power’ is construed in some even less religious way as ‘the group’, or the 12-step programme itself. What is important is that a power outside of oneself is identified – a power greater than self which is not self. It is not so much that the member of AA has to believe in God (although many do) as that they must believe that they are ‘not God’.
In terms of this generalised spirituality, this chapter provides evidence from studies that indicate an invariably positive relationship between abstinence and spirituality, and length of sobriety and spirituality.
CAVEAT: The one interesting exception to this is a study of clergy alcoholics published by Fichter in 1982 in which spirituality appeared unrelated to abstinence.
In terms of specifically Christian treatment programmes, this chapter only notes one study, which is the only relevant outcome study of addiction treatment and Christian spirituality, with good methodology.
Rudolf Moos and his colleagues (Moos et al, 1978) studied 97 men in a residential Salvation Army treatment programme for the treatment of ‘skid row’ alcoholics. The spiritual components of the Salvation Army programme included attendance at AA meetings as well as more specifically Christian counselling and worship. The programme also included therapy groups and community meetings and opportunity for recreation. Residents improved significantly on seven out of nine outcome measures, and those who participated more actively did significantly better on four of these measures in comparison with those who participated less actively. Comparisons with half-way house and hospital-based programmes were favourable.
Undoubtedly spirituality and substance misuse are intimately related and Qualitative and quantitative research show evidence both for a protective effect against the development of substance misuse, and a positive relationship in recovery.
June 2nd, 2011 at 2:19 pm
Just thought I’d make a comment…
I know this whole “review” post thing about mental health, has been” light” on comments, so I’d like to encourage you and thank you for going to the trouble.
This is an area that I’ve been interested in one way or another for a long time.
I’ve been directly involved with a ( now ex partner) with mental illness for the last 25 years.
The experience of mental illness within personal relationships(marriage, and raising children) casts a long shadow over lives, and many of the topics that have ben raised in your posts have been so relevant. Thank you , I think it helps that these things are talked about openly, and “normalised” to some degree.
It’s also worth remembering that you’ll get lots of blog traffic through, but hardly anyone comments.
Bless you , Jo
June 2nd, 2011 at 2:31 pm
Thank you so much for taking the time to encourage me Jo.
Really needed.
Thanks again.
June 2nd, 2011 at 11:38 pm
Stuart, this series is excellent. It’s a good message you are giving and I hope you keep it up! We were “comboxing” (ah, the new lingo) today at my “blog” and I had another thought. It would be great if you also reviewed some or all of “Fides et Ratio.” I actually think it would go nicely with what you’ve done with this book. Frank Sheed’s “Theology and Sanity” (linked in my Theology tab) is also an excellent read, even if you only read the opening statement. Powerful!
“My concern with this book is not with the Will but with the Intellect, not with sanctity but with sanity. The difference is too often overlooked in the practice of religion. The soul has two faculties, and they should be clearly distinguished. There is the will: it’s work is to love – and so to choose, to decide, to act. There is the intellect: it’s work is to know, to understand, to see: to see what? To see what’s there.”
June 2nd, 2011 at 11:41 pm
Fantastic. I was wondering what book I’d move on to next as I’m halfway through this one. I’ll check them out. Can’t wait.