Natural Medicine or Spirituality and Religiousness and Alcohol Other Drug Problems

Natural Medicine

Author: Beth MacEoin

In Natural Medicine, Beth MacEoin shows how to use alternative therapies in conjunction with orthodox medicine to create a harmonious, safe, and effective framework for the treatment of illness. This comprehensive volume covers each of the major alternative therapies in depth, with full explanations of their underlying principles, consultation procedures, diagnostic techniques, and methods of treatment. The book includes an extensive, step-by-step guide to the assessment and, where appropriate, home treatment of more than 120 ailments and conditions (situations that require immediate treatment or professional help are highlighted). An invaluable resource for all those interested in or involved with natural systems of healing.

Go to: Questions of Taste or In the Kitchen with Papa Wiltz

Spirituality and Religiousness and Alcohol/Other Drug Problems: Treatment and Recovery Perspectives

Author: Brent B Benda

An in-depth look at the relevance of religious and spiritual issues to alcohol and drug use and abuse throughout the lifespan
Spiritual issues and forgiveness are oft-neglected topics in treatment programs for substance abusers. This unique book brings those underrated components of recovery to the forefront through current research, case studies, and the insight of experts in the field of spirituality as well as drug/alcohol treatment. It illustrates the important interrelationship among religiousness, spirituality, forgiveness, and alcohol and drug use and abuse throughout the lifespan. The contributors examine the effects of religiousness and spirituality on recovery in relation to more widely recognized supports. Each chapter is extensively referenced, and most include tables and/or figures that make difficult information easy to understand and work with.
Spirituality and Religiousness and Alcohol/Other Drug Problems: Treatment and Recovery Perspectives draws clear, important distinctions between religiosity and spirituality. It provides you with a clearly laid out conceptual framework for examining the relationship among spirituality/religiousness and alcohol/drug problems, and a theoretical model of forgiveness in regard to alcohol/drug abuse. This informative book also examines:
the existing literature on the intersection of spirituality/religiousness and alcohol/drug issues
addiction recovery across the lifespan
connections among stress, quality of life, social support, spirituality and religiosity, and recovery
how social supports, spirituality, religiousness, life meaning, and affiliation with 12-step fellowships affect the quality of life forpeople in recovery
evidence-based forgiveness treatment
alcohol abusers' traits and how abusers function in the context of family
Christian perspectives on alcohol/drug use and abuse— with a chapter devoted to Protestant perspectives and treatment implications
predictors of rehospitalization for homeless substance abusers, including spiritual well-being
various dimensions of religious involvement and mental health outcomes among addicted women
whether religiousness, as opposed to church attendance, is related to alcohol/drug consumption and delinquency
the ties between religious variables and mental health in a high-risk population (chemically dependent pregnant or parenting women in a residential treatment program)
. . . and a great deal more
This book is designed to be immediately useful to practitioners (social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, counselors, and ministers) who work with substance users and abusers, as well as to academicians and researchers involved with these topics. Please consider adding it to your professional, research, or teaching collection today!

"Science and spirituality are often seen as oil and water, which has severely hampered research about recovery from addiction. Benda and McGovern provide convincing evidence that spirituality and religiousness are not only relevant, but integral to our understanding the disease of addiction and the process of recovery. In this era, when fruitless debate between professional and faith-based treatments limits cooperation and collaboration, this book offers a path towards reconciliation, mutual respect, and understanding between these two disciplines . . . . Traditional Twelve Step spirituality is articulately described in different chapters by McGovern and William White, while Benda and others offer varying perspectives on the role of religion and spiritual concepts including forgiveness in the development of addiction and the foundation of recovery. Of particular interest is the diversity of populations addressed in terms of the impact of spirituality and religiousness . . . . The concluding chapter by White is noteworthy in its analysis of the impact of age on the process of recovery." — Dr. Jeffry D. Roth, Editor, Journal of Groups in Addiction and Recovery; Author, Group Psychotherapy and Recovery from Addiction: Carrying the Message

"In addiction treatment there has been a longstanding distinction between abstinence and sobriety, with an understanding that the difference has something to do with spirituality. This volume reflects the recent surge of research and scholarly interest in this relationship between spirituality and recovery. Who would have imagined, just two decades ago, that we would be reading scientific articles on love, forgiveness, and spiritual well-being? A RICH ARRAY OF POPULATIONS IS ADDRESSED IN THESE CHAPTERS, across cultures, ages, drugs, and life situations, offering more pieces of the puzzle of recovery." — William R. Miller, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry, University of New Mexico

Doody Review Services

Reviewer: Patricia E. Murphy, PhD(Rush University Medical Center)
Description: This is a collection of articles published in an issue of Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly in 2006 that focused on religion and spirituality.
Purpose: The goal of the journal is to provide information about treatment that takes into account both theory and research. Although there are articles on the topic of spirituality in recovery in a variety of journals, this collection provides practical and concise material in a single place.
Audience: Each chapter is clear and compact, making it accessible to the range of readers for whom it is intended -- physicians to clergy. Because spirituality has been part of dependency treatment for many years, the topic is likely to be of interest.
Features: Early chapters provide background on the history and research on the role of religion/spirituality in treatment and addiction. Chapters providing quantitative research on the topic investigate associations of spirituality/religion with factors related to substance abuse in diverse populations. Data analysis is described well, keeping in mind the target reader who may not be well versed in statistics. Each study highlights clinical implications. A particularly laudable aspect is the inclusion of a chapter describing a protocol for forgiveness, followed by a chapter studying the role of forgiveness on outcomes related to substance abuse. The book does not offer reports of longitudinal studies or trials of interventions. This could be a next step. It does expose the reader to references to some of the foremost authors in the field of religion and mentalhealth.
Assessment: This book would be a useful addition to the library of those involved in working with persons with addiction. Because it is both interesting and quite readable, it would not stay on the shelf, but would be put to good use. It is this kind of book that is likely to lead busy practitioners to explore research in their field.

Table of Contents:

Themes and Patterns of Spirituality-Religiousness and Alcohol/Other Drug Problems: Treatment and Recovery Perspectives   Thomas F. McGovern   Brent B. Benda     1
Spirituality and Religiousness and Alcohol/Other Drug Problems: Conceptual Framework   Thomas F. McGovern   Terry McMahon     7
Protestantism and Alcoholism: Spiritual and Religious Considerations   John R. Belcher     21
The Role of Social Supports, Spirituality, Religiousness, Life Meaning and Affiliation with 12-Step Fellowships in Quality of Life Satisfaction Among Individuals in Recovery from Alcohol and Drug Problems   Alexandre B. Laudet   Keith Morgen   William L. White     33
Church Attendance or Religiousness: Their Relationship to Adolescents' Use of Alcohol, Other Drugs, and Delinquency   Brent B. Benda   Sandra K. Pope   Kelly J. Kelleher     75
Dimensions of Religious Involvement and Mental Health Outcomes Among Alcohol- and Drug-Dependent Women   Nicola A. Conners   Leanne Whiteside-Mansell   Allen C. Sherman     89
Spiritual Well-Being, Relationships, and Work Satisfaction in the Treatment of Homeless Veterans with Alcohol/Other Drug Problems   Brent B. Benda   Frederick A. DiBlasio   Sandra K. Pope     109
Forgiveness in the Treatment of Persons with AlcoholProblems   Everett L. Worthington, Jr.   Michael Scherer   Kathryn L. Cooke     125
Alcohol and Other Drug Problems Among Homeless Veterans: A Life-Course Theory of Forgiveness   Brent B. Benda   John R. Belcher     147
Alcohol Abuse in Marriage and Family Contexts: Relational Pathways to Recovery   Jennifer S. Ripley   April Cunion   Nicole Noble     171
Recovery Across the Life Cycle from Alcohol/Other Drug Problems: Pathways, Styles, and Developmental Stages   William L. White     185
Index     203