Substance abuse

Sidney C. Tortorice

The purpose of this project was to train selected adults from Jimmie Hale Rescue Mission, Birmingham, Alabama, in a strategy for coping with grief in relation to substance abuse. The project director sought to fulfill three goals for this project. First, to research the field of grief recovery in order to determine essential practices, he researched literature in grief recovery and evaluated essential grief recovery practices in rescue missions. The second goal was to identify the best model for grief recovery in substance abuse programs in selected rescue missions. He accomplished this goal by researching abuse programs in multiple North American rescue missions. The third goal was to design a grief recovery strategy for substance abuse residents at Jimmie Hale Rescue Mission by selecting team members and creating strategy sessions.

Donna Seay D.Min.

Addiction continues to be on the rise in the United States and affects both individuals and families who suffer from this disease. “Empowering The Church To Promote Hope and Healing to Those Suffering From Addiction” was designed to educate, equip, and empower members of the church to journey with those who suffer from addiction. The four-week curriculum was based on the four functions of Pastoral Care which are healing, guiding, sustaining, and reconciliation. The project utilized a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods to analyze the results. Participants were provided theological and biblical foundations for the four functions of pastoral care.

James Edward Erwin

The purpose of this project is to establish a new church for substance abusers to help them overcome their addictions in Barry County, Missouri. The need for this new church is great, as will be illustrated in Chapter 1. Chapter 2 of this project will show the biblical rationale for the need to reach out to substance abusers. This project will also describe, in Chapter 3, the history of one type of church-the Set Free Church-which has been successful in reaching out to substance abusers to help them overcome the addiction cycle. A plan will be formed with a core group and a set of partners to help grow this new church. Finally, this project will be analyzed in Chapter 4 and evaluated in Chapter 5 to determine what other potential church planters can learn in their context.

Kenneth Foy

The purpose of this project was to equip a selected group of Christian lay counselors at the Celebration Hope Center of Metairie, Louisiana to provide substance dependence treatment. To gain an understanding of substance dependence treatment and how this issue has become widespread, the project director researched and provided current statistics on substance dependence. Educational and substance abuse professionals were enlisted to review materials utilized in the development of the workshop. The project director also utilized scripture to validate and support the treatment approach. The project director assisted Christian lay counselors in conceptualizing the nature and character of substance dependence. The project director enabled Christian lay counselors to provide substance dependence treatment by combining a faith-based and twelve-step model. The project director used various teaching methods to allow Christian lay counselors to examine the many dynamics of substance dependence treatment.

Ross Stanley Banister

Addiction to substances and other behaviors is epidemic. The properly trained and prepared church is the perfect culture for recovery from addiction to occur. Assuming that "all truth is God's truth," this dissertation is designed to gather science that is compatible with scripture, and integrate as a theology of addiction and recovery. Neuroscience, as well as psychological and sociological truths, helps demonstrate the importance of the church in addressing this issue. The dissertation is multi-method: interdisciplinary, integrative (science and theology) and ethnographic (addict and recovery cultures). It is quantitative only in reporting research findings of others.

Willie J Bailey

The project sought to educate substance abusers of Camillus House Social and Personal Adjustment Center, located in Miami, Florida, on how the multigenerational disease of addiction is passed on. This project promotes a public health approach to the treatment of substance abuse by treating the family rather than the individual. Five sessions using an impromptu skit and four didactic sessions educated the abusers about the roles family members play in dysfunctional families. Data suggested an increase in knowledge regarding family roles but no change in beliefs about the importance of involving family members in treatment.

Ruby J Bowens

The purpose of this paper was to impact the self-image of adult male substance abusers in treatment through the practice of the spiritual disciplines of prayer, meditation, fasting, and worship. The research focused on ten weeks of didactics, experiential learning, and practical applications of the spiritual disciplines utilizaing the Self-Image and Spiritual Disciplines Curriculum. The results of the study prominently indicated that all of the project goals were acheived. The participants were empowered by the Holy Spirit to make healthier lifestyle choices as they realized their self-image and true identity comes from God.

Larry D Kendrick

Larry Kendrick, the writer of this doctoral project, is a hospital chaplain serving on a substance abuse ward. The chaplain conducted a pre-test spiritual assessment, three months of spiritual intervention, and a post-test spiritual assessment. The initial spiritual injuries scores were documented; then the chaplain provided spiritual intervention group therapy, individual counseling, and chapel services to address the patient's spiritual injuries and move the patient toward a spiritual awakening and increased sobriety. Eight out of ten patients scored less in the post-intervention spiritual assessment and showed signs of diminished spiritual injuries and movement toward a spiritual awakening and improved sobriety.

Louis Peirre Moore

This project focused on the issue of systemic denial and its impact on the African American church and community on substance abuse. The project's area of concentration was the African American churches located on the west side of Charlotte, North Carolina in the Charlie II Police District. The goal was to research whether or not the issue of systemic denial by the African American church and community help to aid the negative effect substance abuse has on individuals, families, communities, and the church. It is this writer's premise that the majority of African American churches are in a state of denial because of a lack of finances, education, and training. If denial does in fact exist, then the research would identify and give understanding to the full scope of consequences contributing to substance abuse.

Sharon S Barcham

No abstract.