Christian Drug Rehab

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Christian drug rehab is different from most of the conventional drug abuse rehab methodologies because it clearly claims that Jesus Christ is the “Higher Power” referenced by the other 12-step rehab programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous.

In addition, according to the Christian drug rehab perspective, other drug rehabilitation treatments that try to appease their clients who are “non-believers” are basically treating these clients with disrespect because they are not made aware of the fact that it is God alone who has the power to liberate them from their dependency.

Drug Addiction is Seen as a Spiritual and a Physical Disease

image: young lady distraught over pain of drug addiction Many, if not most Christian drug rehab therapists and practitioners believe that drug addiction is both a physical AND a spiritual disease.

Because Christian drug rehab approaches emphasize the centrality of God in the rehabilitation process does not mean that other significant treatment factors are ignored.

Indeed, Christian drug rehab facilities commonly provide competent counseling, first-rate medical practices, and current behavioral therapies in conjunction with Christian practices and Biblical scripture in the their drug rehab procedures.

Many Christians understand that “belief” alone is not typically enough to help a person refrain from abusing drugs.

As a matter of fact, many Christians who are drug dependent have a difficult time abstaining from drug abuse because they may be suffering from the consequences of divorce, poor health, separation from children, financial difficulties such as bankruptcy, unemployment, and/or legal problems.

Sadly, without quality treatment, these situations commonly get progressively worse the more the person continues to engage in substance abuse.

Many Christian therapists give confidence to Christian drug addicts by encouraging them to look to the Bible and see how Job rose above his suffering and pain in order to develop a deeper relationship with God.

It is certain that Christians who are dependent on drugs do not usually feel blameless and may experience strong feelings of shame or guilt.

Christian addicts, however, need to understand that God is always ready to forgive them so that they can overcome their dependency and begin the journey to recovery.

Factors that have been suggested as causes of addiction include pharmacological, social, genetic, and biological aspects.

Christian Drug Detox

image: young man pleading with girlfriend to stop drug abuse Christian detox is the first step in the drug rehab protocol. Viewed as a combination of physical and spiritual components, Christian detox focuses on getting rid of the poisons in the drug dependent person's body and soul that have been causing the damaging and unhealthy activities that the addict has been manifesting.

Not unlike other quality rehab approaches, moreover, Christian detox centers provide substance abusers who experience severe withdrawal symptoms with doctor-prescribed medications that will give the abuser much needed relief as well as safety when engaging in the withdrawal process.

Even though drug rehab is anything but easy, Christian therapists and practitioners believe that overcoming one’s addiction is possible because God does not give a person more that he or she can handle.

Addiction always brings about changes in the addict’s brain and mind. Some of these transformations include physiological changes, chemical changes, anatomical changes, and behavioral changes.

Christian Drug Recovery

image: doctor writing in chart of drug abuse patient in recovery One of the critical factors inherent in addiction is that a substance abuser has a difficult time seeing through the denial and dependency that reinforce and perpetuate the cycle of abuse.

Christian rehab helps the drug dependent persons see through their blinders and admit their helplessness in overcoming the addictive power of the drugs they have been abusing.

After the drug abusers "sees the light," they can regain their “true nature” via surrendering their frustration, anxiety, suffering, and pain to God who can heal them and give them hope for an dependency-free life.

image: male teen needing drug rehab

So that drug rehab can be effective and productive, Christian therapists stress the need for drug dependent individuals to forget their pride and humble themselves, thus taking “proper action” so that God can meet them half way and take them back into His house and re-establish their lives.

Physical dependency has been demonstrated to be a major factor in the psychology of addiction and almost always becomes one of the key sources of motivation that results in the persistence of an addiction.

The Christian 12-Step Rehab Procedure

The Christian drug rehab procedure utilizes the "Christian 12-step" recovery approach in both individual and group counseling.

This treatment methodology, it must be stressed, always keeps the fact front and center that it is Jesus Christ who is the “Higher Power.”

Stated differently, Christian drug rehab programs are based on Scripture while modeling themselves after the 12 Step recovery format of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Psychological addiction is not limited to drugs or alcohol. Indeed, all kinds of behavioral activities and patterns can be viewed as “psychologically addictive” if they are harmful. Examples include sex, work, Internet use, porn, vandalism, eating, gambling, and computer use.

While the therapists and practitioners who are members of Christian drug rehab treatment team are Christian, it is worth mentioning that many Christian drug rehab facilities employ Christians who are themselves in recovery.

This appears to be a well-thought through strategy that is based on the fact that many Christian substance abusers need to hear from other Christians who, through God, have successfully overcome their dependency.

Types of Christian Drug Rehab

There are essentially three different types of Christian drug rehab: inpatient, residential drug rehab, outpatient drug rehab, and day treatment drug rehab.

Addicts have a tendency to engage in various activities or to use particular substances as substitutes for more appropriate and healthy coping mechanisms when dealing with stress, anxiety, and with their everyday lives.

Inpatient Residential Drug Rehab

When a drug abuser gets admitted to a Christian residential inpatient rehab facility, he or she gets educated about the physical, emotional, and spiritual consequences of long-term, chronic substance abuse.

The individual receives his or her "education" via lectures, individual therapy, workshops, and group counseling.

Interestingly, it is this educational approach that helps each person learn how to effectively address and work through the physical, social and/or psychological "triggers" that have led to his or her substance abuse in the past.

As a central part of this comprehensive educational approach, each person is helped to identify and work through his or her own unique “relapse warning signs.”

According to some researchers, both pain and pain relief occur in the brain, triggered by the release, uptake, quantity, and control of various brain chemicals and other natural substances. The same can probably be said for addiction. Regardless of the source of addiction, the effects are essentially in the brain and chemically, psychologically, and physically affect the person’s emotions and energy levels.

Outpatient Drug Rehab

image: doctor upset over loss of drug detox patient Christian outpatient drug rehab programs, though not quite as extensive or as structured as inpatient approaches, commonly provide many of the same educational and spiritual teachings and principles that are emphasized in the residential treatment program.

Indeed, through individual and group counseling, education, and spiritual training, people in Christian outpatient drug rehab are better able to identify their unique high-risk situations that challenge their abstinence.

In sum, through outpatient drug rehab, each individual learns how to successfully cope with and manage situations that typically led to relapse in the past.

Although the term “addiction” is frequently employed in reference to drug or alcohol dependency, it also applies to other compulsions such as uncontrollable gambling, obsessive sex, compelling Internet use, a neurotic desire for porn, uncontrollable overeating, or an obsessive need for love.

Day Treatment Drug Rehab

image: doctor showing concern about his drug rehab patient Some Christian drug rehab centers provide day treatment programs. These programs are basically another treatment option that fall somewhere between the residential and the outpatient approaches and are usually targeted for local people who require less structure than the residential program provides.

Individuals typically enroll in this kind of rehab for a four to a six week time period (or more) and usually attend this form of treatment from 9am until 5pm.

Even though this rehab option is somewhat less structured and less intense than residential rehabilitation approaches, it is important to mention the fact that people who are enrolled in day treatment receive basically the same educational counseling and training and spiritual guidance as substance abusers receive in the inpatient rehab programs.

Since follow-up education, spiritual guidance, treatment, and counseling are so central to the Christian drug rehab process, people who have completed Christian drug rehab treatment are encouraged to attend local Alcoholics Anonymous meetings when they return home.

Addictions develop their own forms of reinforcement. Stated differently, the tolerance and the dependence the substance abuser experiences become rewarding and reinforcing in and of themselves, regardless of the “high” or the "buzz" they feel.

Christian Drug Rehab: Conclusion

The overall conceptual framework of Christian drug rehab can be summed up as follows: through a combination of quality medical treatment, spiritual guidance, doctor-prescribed medications, counseling, and solid Christian principles, a substance abuser, through God, can overcome his or her damaging and unhealthy behavior and restore his or her life.

Indeed, because of Christian drug rehab, many Christian drug abusers have become free of the cravings and the damaging thoughts and actions that have contradicted their beliefs.

The substance or activity that triggers addiction must initially result in feelings of pleasure and changes in emotion or mood.

When focusing on the “Christian 12-step” protocol, replacing “the higher power” with “Jesus Christ” makes recovery more meaningful and more in concert with the faith of many Christian drug abusers.

Stated differently, for many Christians, joining a Christian 12-step group or going through Christian drug rehab makes more sense and is more relevant than any other treatment approach.

image: female teen needing alcohol treatment

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Addiction requires an initial experience with a substance or with an activity. The very first experience with the substance or behavior can be viewed as an “initiation” that may or may not lead to addiction, but which needs to take place in order to set in motion the changes in the addict’s brain that are responsible for motivating a person to experience the activity or substance again.

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