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Bolton L Journal Article Review Number
1
Integration of Spiritualty and Counseling (Liberty
University)
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Running head: JOURNAL ARTICLE1
Journal Article Review Number 1
Lenny J. Bolton
Liberty University
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Summary
When it comes to assisting clients who might be suffering from a substance abuse issue
and are therefore addicted it is important to recognize the role in which spirituality is vital to the
addiction treatment process. A person’s spiritual beliefs can be important when determining
which assessment to administer by a professional. The 12-Step programs of various anonymous
groups seek to help foster a relationship with a God or higher power of that persons choosing
through prayer and/or meditation. It is the notion of prayer that creates a connection to one’s
higher power, that they may call God if they chose, the aids them in the recovery process.
Juhnke, Watts, Guerra, and Hsieh (2009), “Prayers used by clients within sessions rarely take
more than 3 minutes,” which lends to its being beneficial to clients because it can be done
quickly and on a personal level anywhere and at anytime (p. 17). However, when it does come
to a client being able to benefit from prayer it is important to first assess whether or not the
client has a current belief in a God of his/her choosing or a higher power outside of themselves.
After it has been established that a client has the intention or desire to integrate
spirituality or prayer into their counseling relationship there are a couple of ways in which that
can be accomplished by their counselor. First, would be to acknowledge the sentiment that
prayer could be helpful in the client’s recovery after they have previously mentioned something
about seeking help from their God or higher power. It could be helpful to present options to
clients who might not be familiar or comfortable with prayer on their own. Secondly, inviting
clients to pray at the beginning of their session for the course/guidance of the session or just in
general about their recovery process. Thirdly, prayer could be helpful at the conclusion of their
session to help a client come full circle and be able to analyze how their thoughts all fit together.
Lastly, and what might be the most important is the prayer/meditation that the clients can use in
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real time to help curb cravings and prevent relapses. This all stems from a client’s connection to
their spirituality which can lead them into the practice of prayer that helps to facilitate a
connection to their higher power using their faith as a recovery resource.
Interaction
Initially I chose this article because I find it interesting that a lot of the people who are
recovering from substance abuse initially have trouble believing in a God or a higher power of
their choosing. This stems from the notion that if there truly was a God or higher power out
there looking over and/or out for them, how could they let them become addicted to whatever
substance. However, I have seen firsthand that the notion of having faith and some level of
spirituality being of the utmost importance when an addict is in recovery and trying to remain
sober. One of the best tools an addict in recovery has aside from his fellow addicts is prayer.
The serenity prayer is such a powerful tool in the recovery toolbox that allows for addicts in
recovery to ground in the moment and create that connection to God and/or their higher power
that really speaks to one’s ability to connect with God in a quick and personal manner at any time
and in any place.
One of the things that stood out to me the most was the assessment piece engulfed with
questions about believing in God or a higher power. It was such a black and white questionnaire
that they were given; however, further prompts and questions were then given to get to the root
of the “No” and thus might negate the benefit of prayer beneficial. I do not think many people
really think about whether or not they truly believe in God or a higher power in addiction but
could really benefit from the use of prayer to help them combat the disease if they can just
believe in something outside of themselves, such as God, to help them.
It would be interesting to read additional articles concerning the use of prayer and
spirituality in substance abuse and addiction treatment with individuals who consider themselves
to be agnostic or atheist. Since the 12-step program states only a belief in a higher power outside
oneself, it would be interesting to see how individuals differ in the integration of faith and
spirituality who had not thought to do so in the past but are willing to try something new.
Application
If I had a client come into my practice presenting with substance abuse disorder. This
client cannot seem to get any substantial amount of clean time, as they approach three or more
months something clicks inside of them and within a couple weeks they relapse. This client is
seeking my professional counseling help because they heard about the 12 step program but are
apprehensive to go to a meeting because they fear they do not have any higher power to which
they can connect with. I would first assure my client that this feeling is nothing to be concerned
with and that many people start in the exact same place as them; however, the willingness to seek
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help is the first step towards them being able to live a life free from substances. “God and prayer
have long been central components within the Alcoholics Anonymous and recovery circles,” so
it would be helpful to confirm with my client that they have a belief in either God or a higher
power of their choosing (Juhnke, Watts, Guerra, and Hsieh, 2009, p.17). Once it had been
established that my client did in fact hold a belief in God or a higher power of their choosing we
would then go into talking more in depth about their own spiritual practices in which they
participate in in order to connect with their God or higher power. More specifically Juhnke,
Watts, Guerra, and Hsieh (2009) established that a client could use their connection with their
higher power or God to help with any cravings that might come while they are living life on
life’s terms with the stressors of everyday life. This might not seem like much to the lay person;
however, to a person struggling with substance abuse minor stressors could be triggers leading
them to relapse. So, it is important that as a counselor I help them to establish good practices or
technique they can use at any given time to help curb any cravings. The most useful of those
tools would be the power of prayer. Prayer can be as simple or as elaborate as a client would
like it to be depending on their level of connection to God and their specific needs with their
substance abuse struggle. While belief in God and having faith does not guarantee that a person
will not suffer from substance abuse, that same belief can be very beneficial in their efforts
towards recovery.
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References
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. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?qurl=https%3A%2F
%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Fdocview%2F194444334%3Faccountid%3D12085
