The Soul of Recovery: Uncovering the Spiritual Dimension in the Treatment of Addictions

318 Pages·2002·1.83 MB·English

by  Christopher D. Ringwald

The Soul of Recovery:
Uncovering the Spiritual
Dimension in the
Treatment of Addictions
CHRISTOPHER D. RINGWALD

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
the soul of recovery
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the soul recovery
of

Uncovering the Spiritual Dimension

in the Treatment of Addictions

christopher d. ringwald
1

2002
3

Oxford New York
Auckland Bangkok Buenos Aires
Cape Town Chennai Dar es Salaam Delhi Hong Kong Istanbul
Karachi Kolkata Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Mumbai
Nairobi São Paulo Shanghai Singapore Taipei Tokyo Toronto
and an associated company in Berlin
Copyright © 2002 by Christopher D. Ringwald
Published by Oxford University Press, Inc.,
198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016
Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press
All rights reserved. No part of this publication
may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted,
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior
permission of Oxford University Press.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available
ISBN 0-19-514768-5
Book design by Adam B. Bohannon
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
“The Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous and excerpts from Twelve Steps and Twelve Tra-
ditionsand Alcoholics Anonymousare reprinted with permission of Alcoholics Anonymous
World Services, Inc. (AAWS) Permission to reprint this material does not means that AAWS
has reviewed or approved the contents of this publication, or that AAWS necessarily agrees
with the views expressed herein. AA is a program of recovery from alcoholism only—use of
this material in connection with programs and activities are patterned after AA, but address
other problems, or in any other non-AA context, does not imply otherwise.”
Excerpts from the AA Preamble are reprinted with permission of the AA Grapevine Inc.
To Amy Jeanne Biancolli Ringwald,

my wife and best editor,

colleague and conversationalist,

who came late to religion but was always of God.
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contents
preface
ix
chapter i
Addictions, Spiritual Solutions,
and the Insights of Alcoholics Anonymous
3
chapter ii
The Middle Class and Mainstream Treatment
29
chapter iii
Women’s Treatment, Women’s Spirituality
51
chapter iv
Native American Treatment and Indian Spirituality
79
chapter v
Measuring Results, Measuring the Soul: Science and the Spirit
109
chapter vi
Our God, No God: Religious Methods and Secular Approaches

135

chapter vii
Harm Reduction:

Challenging Tradition on the Street with Transcendence

159

chapter viii
Treating Hard-Core Addicts: From Secular Practicality

to Practical Spirituality in Therapeutic Communities

186

chapter ix
The Recovery Movement: Recovering God, Recovering Self

214

chapter x
Faith-Based Solutions in a Democracy

239

notes
271

bibliography
287

index
299
preface

The book reports on the role of spirituality in treating addictions. Many
people who recover from an addiction to drugs or alcohol do so by devel-
oping a spiritual life. When I first learned of this, I was fascinated by the
idea that spiritual beliefs and habits could have an immediate and daily
function, that faith would make a concrete difference, that belief could
save and improve an alcoholic’s life. As a newspaper reporter, I wrote a
series of articles about drug and alcohol treatment in New York State. The
investigation concentrated on the costs and the results of care. It found
that most programs, and the state, had little idea of their results with
patients. The series led to a state Senate investigation and a new law
requiring programs to track their outcomes.
During my reporting, administrators and officials spoke to me of meth-
ods and modalities and biopsychosocial models of care. The alcoholics
and addicts themselves preferred to talk about why and how they were get-
ting clean. Most mentioned spirituality or God. That, I decided, was the
real action in the treatment and recovery of people addicted to drugs.
This book’s premise, based on the evidence and dozens of personal
accounts, is that many addicts recover by spiritual means. If their faith in
God or some “high power” makes the difference, so be it. I am concerned
with the results, not the validity, of such beliefs. Others are better
equipped to debate the existence of a deity. Many people once dependent
on drugs also recover with a spirituality devoid of a deity. My subject is
how and why addicts develop spiritually, and the implications for them
and society.
To avoid repetition, I use the word addicts, generally, to include alco-
holics. Alcohol is a drug and most people who enter treatment have
abused both. Treatment and recovery from either or both share basic ele-
ix