JOURNAL ARTICLE REVIEW 2
Summary
The article I chose to read was, Using Prayer as an Intervention With Clients Who Are
Substance Abusing and Addicted and Who Self-Identify Personal Faith in God and Prayer as
Recovery Resources written by Junkhe et al., in the year 2009. Drug and alcohol addiction is a
disease that affects many individuals and families. While going through the process of
counseling some individuals in the recovery process choose to integrate prayer and God into
their sessions. During their sessions the counselor must start by asking if the client is spiritual
and if so, how much they rely on their spirituality. This allows for the counselor to offer the
integration of prayer and God into the counseling session. Many with addictions choose to
integrate spirituality into their recovery processes, for an example it is used in the twelve-step
community (Juhnke et al., 2009).
It is critical to first ask the client questions about their spirituality, but most importantly
to ask if they wish to integrate it in the session or to omit it. Some clients will choose to use
prayer in their sessions at first and later ask to discontinue it. It is the counselor's job to
communicate to the client that if they wish to resume this practice, they must vocalize this. When
in the recovery process those with addictions rely on God as an outlet, someone who cares about
their recovery and who can offer guidance through this time. When spirituality is being
integrated into this process it can allow a counselor to form a meaningful connection with their
client. For instance, if the client wants to include prayer, they may ask the counselor to pray with
them, or pray for them if they do not feel comfortable to do so themselves.
In the article there were many examples provided, such as, praying for guidance on the
best treatment plans, and asking God for help when cravings make an appearance. These are vital
when a client is using spirituality in their treatment plan. In each session it is important to ask the
JOURNAL ARTICLE REVIEW 3
client if they wish to pray as they did in the other sessions, if not it can seem forced and make the
client uncomfortable. Prayer being integrated into the session also gives the client or counselor
the ability to reiterate goals, new perspectives, as well as mention possible activities that were
mentioned in the session. Though it can be productive to use prayer in a counseling setting, there
are times where it is deemed inappropriate, for instance, if the individual does not use spirituality
as a tool for recovery, impairment from mental health disorders, and if they experience
hallucinations (Junkhe et al., 2009).
Interaction
When reading the article, it evoked many feelings for me due to a history of drug abuse in
my extended family. Initially when reading I thought of my relatives and how they used God in
rehabilitation but turned back to drug use after the fact. I agree with the article's standpoint on
spirituality assisting in the counseling process because I do believe it allows those who are going
through drug and alcohol abuse to have a higher power to turn towards such as God. Within the
article it gave useful tips as to how a counselor can ask about the client's spirituality without
imposing one's own beliefs. This is imperative to note as it is a violation of the American
Counseling Association Code of Ethics (2014, Section A.4.b.), which is to avoid imposing
personal values and beliefs on a client.
This article allowed me to see new ways to speak with clients about their spirituality. It
offered advice as to how one can question the client's belief system without being offensive or
judgmental, but remaining open-minded. The reason this is important to note is because a
recovering addict is dealing with many different feelings, and as a counselor one must try and
help them navigate those emotions. Remaining neutral and avoiding pressuring them into
integrating spiritually gives them control over the session. In another course I have taken at
JOURNAL ARTICLE REVIEW 4
Liberty I read the textbook, Counseling Principles and Christian Beliefs: An Integrated
Approach by Denise Daniel, and in this text, I read about autonomy which is the counselor
respecting the client's choice (Daniel, 2020). When in a counseling session the client should
always have a choice, I believe this is even more so important when counseling a drug or alcohol
abuser.
When the client is given choices in a counseling setting and not just being told what to
do, it allows the client to have a sense of control and power over their own life. There are those
who may choose to keep their spirituality and counseling separate, but by giving them the
opportunity to use their faith in their sessions, we are opening the door for the conversation. This
can allow for a stronger bond between the client and counselor. As used in the article Using
Prayer as an Intervention With Clients Who Are Substance Abusing and Addicted and Who Self-
Identify Personal Faith in God and Prayer as Recovery Resources, this can allow the counselor
to bring up opportunities outside of the counseling session such as how the woman in the
example was going on a 12-step weekend getaway sponsored by her church (Juhnke et al., 2009).
By using spirituality in the counseling setting the client is able to obtain additional resources that
may not have seemed like a resort before, such as the church sponsored events.
Two scriptures that I believe can be useful in the scenario of an individual with an
addiction are Ephesians 5:18 and Jeremiah 17:14. Ephesians 5:18 states, “Do not get drunk on
wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit…” (NIV, Ephesians 5:18), this
scripture applies because it is communicating that no man should rely on alcohol, but instead be
filled with God and allow him to guide their footsteps. This can relate to how when an individual
does integrate prayer into their sessions, they ask God to help guide them in their treatment plan.
Jeremiah 17:14 states, “Heal me, LORD, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for
JOURNAL ARTICLE REVIEW 5
you are the one I praise.” (NIV, Jeremiah 17:14). This scripture is important to recognize
because if one calls out to God to be healed, in this instance from drug or alcohol abuse he will
heal them, if they ask God to save them, he will place a hedge of protection around them and
save them with his love and grace. For an individual going through addiction counseling, it has
been proven that integrating spirituality is beneficial for the client. According to the Ashley
Treatment website, “...82% of clients who had a spiritual awakening while in treatment were
completely abstinent at the one-year mark, versus 55% of those who had not had this
awakening.“ (Ashley Treatment, 2021). This shows that it is statistically proven that having
spirituality integrated into the counseling session is helpful for those in substance recovery.
Application
In my scenario, my client Debbie has substance abuse issues and wishes to integrate
prayer into her sessions. Debbie has been abusing alcohol for ten years now and does not
experience hallucinations or delusions. When asked if she believes in a higher power, she claims
she believes in God. As we begin our session Debbie asks to say a prayer, she begins by thanking
God for helping her with cravings and guiding her treatment plan. This seems to help our
sessions move along because she feels in control and has a reliable foundation, her faith. A
month later, Debbie slips up and has an alcoholic beverage upon further inspection, we narrow it
down to Debbie being a social drinker. When asked she tells me that she desires to drink when
she sees her friend Brad drinking and having a good time. This brings forth the question of
whether Brad is keeping Debbie from her goal of sobriety. At the end of the session Debbie asks
me to pray, I begin to pray, “God, we thank you for Debbie, we thank you for allowing her to see
what you need her to see and gain new perspectives. As Debbie makes her way through this
JOURNAL ARTICLE REVIEW 6
treatment plan, we thank you for goals being met. Amen.”. This allowed me and my client to
bond and move forward with our treatment plan, Debbie is now three months sober.
In a clinical session with a client that has substance abuse issues, I could draw knowledge
from the article I read about this exact situation. I would start by looking through my client’s
background information to ensure that they do not have any mental illnesses I am aware of that
cause delusions or hallucinations. This would be important information to know as it can
determine my approach in the counseling setting. If the client does not experience hallucinations
or delusions, I would be able to assess the client about their spirituality, whether they believe in a
higher power or God and if they believed God would want them to abstain from substance abuse
(Juhnke, 2009). I would approach this situation by asking questions and giving choices such as,
“Would you like to integrate prayer into our sessions since you disclosed that you do believe in
God?” or “If you would like to integrate spirituality into our sessions, please feel free to do so.”.
The client should feel in control of the counseling session, this allows them to feel heard
and understood. If my client did not feel comfortable to pray in front of me, but wished to have
this integrated into their session, I would pray in an appropriate and guiding way. When I would
pray for this client, I would pray that God showed me and my client guidance on the treatment
plans, as well as thank him for productful and enlightening counseling sessions. I believe doing
so would keep the client optimistic and allow them to feel comfortable, it is about praying with
them, not praying against them. There are different methods that can be used with my client
depending on how they wish the counseling setting to go. There may be a time where my client
asks to omit prayer from our sessions, and I will have to accept that until the client conveys they
wish to continue.
JOURNAL ARTICLE REVIEW 7
References
American Counseling Association. (2014). 2014 ACA code of ethics.
https://www.counseling.org/docs/default-source/default-document-library/2014-code-of-e
thics-finaladdress.pdf
Juhnke, G. A., Watts, R. E., Guerra, N. S., & Hsieh, P. (2009). Using Prayer as an Intervention
With Clients Who Are Substance Abusing and Addicted and Who Self-Identify Personal
Faith in God and Prayer as Recovery Resources. Journal of Addictions & Offender
Counseling, 30(1), 16-23.https://go.openathens.net/redirector/liberty.edu?url=https://
www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/using-prayer-as-intervention-with-clients-who-
are/docview/194444334/se-2
Daniel (2020). Counseling Principles and Christian Beliefs: An Integrated Approach. Kendall
Hunt Publishing. https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/books/9781792411298
Bible gateway passage: Ephesians 5 - new international version. Bible Gateway. (n.d.).
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+5&version=NIV
5 ways spirituality boosts addiction recovery. Ashley Addiction Treatment. (2021, July 23).
https://www.ashleytreatment.org/rehab-blog/5-ways-spirituality-boosts-recovery/#:~:text
=One%20of%20these%20studies%20(Lyons,had%20not%20had%20this%20awakening.
Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)
