Substance Abuse Treatment

[Mike (Odgie) Miller]

Per Kanham's request, I will share a little about my work as a substance abuse counselor and some of the remarkable ways that this work reflects ministry. Kanham asked some questions, which I have pasted below in italics. My answers are in plain text.

What does a person need to do if they feel called to do this? Would you consider it big or small?

My advice to anyone who feels called to work with addicts is to educate themselves on the nature of addiction and the treatment methodologies currently in use. If one subscribes to the "illness model" of addiction (which I do) one undestands that addiction alters a person in many ways. Addict thinking and behavior is in many ways totally foreign to how healthy people function. Talk to an experienced drug counselor or an instructor in a program at your local community college or university. Do some volunteer work at a local facility.

Regarding the second question about big or small, I can't answer. I will say that addiction has come to be realized as a holistic issue: physical, psychological, emotional, cognitive, and spiritual. Many people discover their faith in rehab.

Could you share your experiences in the forum?

I work at a 90 day residential facility for adults. We are classified as "intermediate treatment." At one time, we provided services to the "worried well," i.e. people whose primary issue was substance abuse. However, in these days of strained resources, we are receiving more and more people with mental illness co-occuring with their addiction.

As I said above, addicts think and act differently. Many exhibit "street behaviors": posturing, intimidation, etc. Some don't believe that they have a problem; others know how to "do rehab" and try to tell counselors what they think that we want to hear. Some are sociopaths. All of them lie. And almost all of them were seriously damaged before they ever touched a controlled substance. Childhood violence and sexual abuse are rampant. Often their parents neglected them, or worse, invited them to participate in the parent's destructive behavior. Quite a few report that it was their own parents who turned them on to alcohol and drugs. One girl told me that one of her earliest memories was her mother taking her along when Mom went out to score crack.

Regardless, there are some success stories. It is a remarkable experience to encounter alumni of our program and see them working, repairing damaged relationships with loved ones, and staying clean and sober.

The quickest way for churches to get involved is to host 12 step meetings. A treatment ministry would be a very labor and cost-intensive effort, but I am aware that some larger churches do this.

Any other questions are welcome. I will answer as best as I can.

[Darin Hamm]

Thank you Mike.

If a church wanted to have something for addicts would you recommend reaching out to local AA to use the facility or would you suggest something like Celebrate Recovery or another option?

[Mike (Odgie) Miller]

I think that both reaching out to local 12 step groups and offering to host, and a Celebrate Recovery-type ministry could be productive. It depends on what the church is equipped for and the resources of the members. Do you have a member who is in recovery and/or a trained counselor? These are not necessary but certainly helpful.

[John Dobbs]

Great points, Mike. I think most of us feel ill-equipped to help addicts ... sometimes because we know that even the professionals aren't having the easiest time of it. I taught an addiction recovery class for about a year based on Serendipity House's resource called Stop The Madness. It was based upon the 12 steps but also very biblical ... and with excellent ideas for spiritual disciplines, sensory experiences (not sensual!), and other great stuff. I recommend it highly. I found we had people with lots of addictions in the class ... easily trading one addiction for another. Not everyone could identify with each other in details, but in the broader perspective we all felt that there was something controlling our lives that wasn't (1) us or (2) God. I miss my class. Maybe I can start another one in Monroe. Getting the idea out to the church, however, was mostly a failure ... as most people couldn't understand addiction (and denied their own compulsive behaviors). I'm sure we were a little loose on technical definitions of addictions / OCD and such... but we all found hope in God's word and in God's presence as we prayed with and for one another. I admire your work ... because there is no doubt that professionals such as yourself offer a deeper recovery experience. Anytime we had a new person I would try to remember to say that we are not professional counselors / and that we are not to replace established group therapy (AA etc.).

[Mike (Odgie) Miller]

John,

You are right that even the professionals aren't having the easiest time of it. Like you, I have found that a lot of church folk don't understand addiction and are unaware of their own behaviors. This is a shame because much of substance abuse treatment involves skills and activities that are similar to ministry; much as we are trying to rehabilitate addicts, the church is trying to rehabilitate sinners. I see my clients praying together constantly, talking about discovering or renewing their faith as they get clean and sober, and connecting with local churches as part of their post-treatment reintegration. Many of our alumni credit their faith as a huge piece of their recovery. I am convinced that this is an opportunity that many churches are missing out on.