Non-Faith Based Alcohol and Drug Rehab Programs

The addiction treatment process has historically relied on some level of spirituality and faith. The entire idea of “admitting powerlessness” in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) is rooted in the belief that we have to give up our lives and futures to God. Data from Pew Research Center indicates that of the roughly 245 million adults in the United States, 56 million are without religious affiliation. At the same time, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) reports that more than 21 million Americans suffer from substance use disorder (SUD). There’s bound to be some overlap in these two populations.
The reality is that many addicts do, in fact, draw the strength and inspiration they need from their faith to successfully recover from drugs and alcohol. Other addicts, however, don’t have that type of belief system and must rely on non-faith-based alcohol and drug rehab programs to help them in their recovery.

What Are Non-Faith-Based Alcohol and Drug Rehab Programs?

Non-faith-based drug and alcohol rehab programs are programs for addicts who wish to go the more secular route toward recovery. There are more and more programs out there that rely on alternative means of support, empowerment, and inspiration to traditional faith-based recovery programs. Today, there are more and more programs that rely on different sources of empowerment to help addicts launch and sustain their recovery.

Some of the more common non-faith-based alcohol and drug rehab programs include:

• SMART Recovery – SMART Recovery relies primarily on self-governance to help participants overcome substance abuse disorder. SMART stands for Self-Management and Recovery Training. The SMART approach is secular and based in science, using a variety of techniques including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, and other non-confrontational motivation methods. SMART Recovery follows a four-point process: obtaining and maintaining motivation; learning to manage urges; handling emotions, thoughts, and behaviors; and finding and striking balance.
• Secular Organizations for Sobriety (SOS) – Secular Organizations for Sobriety has been around for over 30 years and is a network of independent local support groups that discourage the leaning on religion and spirituality in addiction recovery. The organization connects recovering addicts with meetings throughout the United States. It is a deeply collaborative organization that promotes personal empowerment, science-based recovery, and accountability.
• LifeRing Secular Recovery (LSR) – LifeRing Secular Recovery is a derivative of SOS and employs the three pillars of sobriety, secularity, and self-help to help participants empower themselves in recovery. Although the program is open to patients of all faiths or none, LifeRing supports methods utilizing secular and human efforts rather than religion and spirituality. The organization defines “self-help” as meaning that the key to recovery lies in the individual’s own motivation and effort, and the group is there to reinforce his or her own inner efforts.
• Moderation Management – Moderation Management is a peer-run, non-profit organization linking addicts entering recovery to vital support resources like treatment programs, meetings, addiction-trained therapists, and much more.
  More and more of these programs are being developed for patients who have either never held any religious affiliation or had a bad experience in traditional faith-based treatment.

Benefits of Non-Faith-Based Treatment

Recovering addicts very often find themselves searching for non-faith-based alcohol and drug rehab programs after finding limited success in traditional divinity-focused programs. They find the judgment, the lack of tangibility and rigid structure don’t work for their long-term care needs.

Secular programs are also ideal for patients who:

• Have no true spiritual beliefs or convictions that they can lean on.
• Are spiritual in their daily lives, but wish to keep their recovery and religion separate.
• Are looking to explore other aspects of the AA process, but find themselves limited by religion.
• Are not ready to admit powerlessness and are invested in personal accountability.

Data from the Pew Research Center indicates that only 50 percent of millennials believe in God with absolute certainty. As a larger percentage of this population comes to need addiction care, it’s clear that access to more secular treatment will be needed to help them achieve success in treatment and lasting recovery.

Finding Non-Faith-Based Alcohol and Drug Addiction Options

Each one of the aforementioned programs will have a directory of treatment resources to help you or your loved one get started in recovery. SAMHSA also has a comprehensive database of treatment programs to choose from. It’s entirely possible that faith-based addiction treatment may not be right for you or the addict in your life, and you’re not alone. Powerlessness is not a prerequisite for treatment. If you were really that powerless, you never would have started looking for treatment in the first place. Get the help you need now for your drug and alcohol addiction and start fighting back today. There are multiple non-faith-based alcohol and drug rehab programs to choose from.

Resources:

• pewresearch.org – If the U.S. had 100 people: Charting Americans’ religious affiliations
• samhsa.gov – Mental and Substance Use Disorders
• smartrecovery.org – Sensible Tools for Addiction Recovery
• sossobriety.org – TOGETHER WE CAN RECOVER 
• lifering.org – Discover LifeRing
• moderation.org – Self Management • Balance • Moderation • Personal Responsibility
• moderation.org – Self Management • Balance • Moderation • Personal Responsibility
• pewforum.org – Younger Millennials