St Mary’s and Arch Angel Michael

Coptic Orthodox church

Treatment of addiction

Servant’s meeting Sep 2013

All things are lawful to me but I will
not be brought under the power of
any
1 Corinthian 6:12.
Information we learned last time

 Addiction has detrimental effect on the person

and family.
 Addicted person suffers brain changes mostly
affecting behavior centers and chemicals involved
in drive and happiness.
 Addicted person never struggles to continue
using, on the other hand struggles to stop.
 Addicts are mostly functional: school, Marriage,
work…
 Addiction is treatable and there is hope.
In your service you might encounter

 A student that is addicted to play station,

cigarettes, ETOH, drugs.
 Family is asking you for help, what would you do?
 A family member of your students is plagued
with addiction that is destroying the whole
family and it does.
 What would you do?
 Do you think you would help? If you learn how
and what is out there to help?
Who can diagnose addiction?

Psychiatrist, psychologist, addiction counselor .

CRNP, LSW, LISW , LLC, PLLC, BBC , ABC ….

Sunday school servants in St Mary’s church.

Most important we need to adhere to diagnostic criteria so
we don’t get biased.
DUI doesn't equal addiction.
Hitting wife doesn’t equal addiction either even if she is your
sister or dear friend!
 When you get involved

If you keep asking them to stop it won’t

work….
 (Patient’s are trying to quite the habit more
so than staying in it).
 So if you try health interventions it usually
doesn’t work but won’t hurt to try, you get a
T.
 But God rewards are always there.
If you get to know that someone has
addiction problem:
 1) You shouldn’t tell anyone until the person is
ready for that and approves it except if
someone's life is endangered.
 2) Look inside yourself; if you feel that the
addict is getting what he deserves and he
brought it on himself; you need to stay outside
of it.( remember counter transference).
 3) Just listening to an addict or to family
member = supportive psychotherapy.
Let’s talk about the behavior of the
disease:
 The most studied of all is Alcohol so we can
use the treatment steps for guidance:

 Are we looking for cure?

 Nooooooooooooooooo.
 Recovery then :
Remissions and relapses.
The lost sheep

 Can he/she be an addict

 Or a family member?

 Does this apply only to sinners?

 If you help that person ( especially that is the
most difficult of all).

 How will God feels about this?

You can give hope. By guiding to

 Detoxification.
 Rehab ( inpatient or outpatient).
 Talk about AA.
 Increase support circle to the addict.
 What do you think if you are the only person
kind to an addict ( the only person in his life)
to the point that he start listening to you,
doesn’t want to use not to upset you and
start the path of recovery because of you.
The Very 1st step is motivational
interview
 This is the step that is considered an eye
opener.
 We are dealing with a Godly ego: meaning?

 I am in control, I can stop at

anytime, I am
doing it to spend time with friends, I am
doing it because it helps me to focus at
school….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGhj06-sM
2Y

Now you are ready to get an idea about one of

the treatments that are out there you can
sent people to easily. There are groups similar
to most addictions if not all.
Alcoholic Anonymous

 Every body is anonymous “ I am so and so I am

an Alcoholic” 1st name Basis.
 There is an AA meeting in every city every hour
of the day.
 No Authority figures, no therapist, no donations.
 The most senior member can be making coffee
or sweeping the floor same like in our church.
 Money comes from members buying brochures
to pay for rent and hot line phone bills.
Rely on 2 foundations
 1) Group psychotherapy , that is mostly supportive , if
patient can’t rely to anything said then he is not ready
yet.
 Here you can help a family by getting the person
ready by talking more about the damage that
has happened already.
 2) Sponsorship: anyone that is sober can be a sponsor.
 Preferably same gender.
 Will be called 24/7/365. like a priest
 Quality of a servant that felt how good is Jesus and his
sole purpose of serving is to get people closer to Jesus.
The Prodigal Son

 Hit Rock bottom when he felt hungry ,

hopeless and helpless.
 The only thing in his mind is:
will his father accept him as a servant?
 A broken alcoholic is in the same situation.
 St Augustine of Hippo Prayer “Lord make me
pure but not yet”.
In AA

 People are all in the same ship.

 No religious affiliations in AA , surprisingly they
close the meetings with the Lord’s prayer.
 They meet anywhere, churches, houses, clubs.
 Recommend to a new comer to attend
meetings daily for 90 days.( remember the 90
days recovery program success).
 Frequently reading AA books and magazines
Recovery is in 1st day

 Recovery in all aspects: physical, emotional and

spiritual.
 Waking up in own bed.
 Driving to places and actually arriving to destiny.
 Smoking without possibility of burning the
house down.
 No one is offering help out of pity anymore.
 To start the 12 steps 1st or wait to get sober and
start the 12 steps? The chicken or the egg .
Remember that damage is allover their
lives:
 Across the years an addict person had hurt lots of people and
was hurt as well.
You can help in this as well
( family members that you serve, you can
work on helping addict to glue together
what they had broken)
 He is the laughing stock of the community
 This makes others secure around him.
 In AA forgiveness is present and available.
 Remember that God forgive our sins and in AA patient will find
forgiveness, acceptance and a way to repent.
Addicts had a clash with God

 Before treatment addicts look to God from an

immature image : God needs to fulfill my desires (So
their prayers were never answered.)
 While in habit an addict feels that he is the God in his
life and the habit is the nearest thing to his heart.
 Living in sadness because of lack of hope in salvation
is the maximum stress anyone can bear.
 Try to use paradox with patients If we haven’t eaten
the apple , virgin Mary wouldn’t be the mother of
God.
The 12 steps program

 A Path of recovery.
 Some of the steps are exactly equal to confession
in the Orthodox faith.
 Some of the steps are exactly equal when we bow
our heads in front of our priests to get the
blessings.
 Some of the steps are comparative to accepting
baptism and confirmation, the prodigal son
returns, St Moses the great coming closer to God
and feeling His presence .
Step One = We admit

 That we were powerless over ETOH and our lives

had become unmanageable. This is the surgeon’s
incision.
 I am a worn and no man (psalm 22:6)
  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth
no good thing: for to will is present with me; but
how to perform that which is good I find not.. For
the good that I would , I do not do; but the evil I
would not , that I practice. ROMANS 7:18 and 19.
 Eloi, Eloi; Lama sabachthani Mark 15:34
Denial is the worst enemy

What is common between denial and lying?

They are both present frequently in Alcoholics.
What is different, one is conscious and one is
unconscious.
Denial means that patient will continue playing God.
I have made terrible mistakes not crimes. I am here
trying to correct my mistakes.
Psalm 63:1 God; you are my God; early Will I seek you
, my soul thirst for you. My flesh longs for you in a
dry and thirsty land where there is no water.
Step 2= a greater power could restore
us to sanity.
Isaiah 55:6 Seek the Lord while he may be found.
Mark 8:29 Jesus asked his disciples who do men say that I
am , Peter answered you are Christ.
Jesus incarnation was through a process of emptying
himself
Kenonis in Greek, by emptying Himself he made Himself
available to us. No we are comforted that God will
understand us because He knows how is it to be a man.
Same idea Alcoholic empting his ego: I am not God there
is God somewhere. I will feel comfort in his bosom.
Step II is asking for help

I believe , Lord help my unbelief. Mark 9:24

Exactly like the 4 men caring the paralyzed man
they had no clue that they will meat the Lord.
St Moses the great he went to Valley of Natroun
not knowing that he will encounter.
Zacchaeus going on top of the tree he had no
idea if he will be meeting with Jesus.
 Peter walking on the water, when he started
drowning he is asking for help.
Step III surrendering to God

Made a decision to turn our will and our lives to

God
Proverb 3:5 Trust in the lord from all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding.
Father into your hands I commit my spirit. Luke
23:46
In Gods prayer: thy will be done.
Jesus praying in The Garden before Crucifixion
John 6:36.
This is a step of transformation

 As an Orthodox Christian we go through this

step of transformation through repentance.
 Start at the sense that we have done wrong.
 Followed by The Holly Spirit in us makes us
feel bad about it.
 Then finally trying to do something to go
back to our stage of closeness to the Lord.
 And surrendering our lives to him.
 James 4:7 submit yourself to God.
Step III

 Is the step that the individual is asked to

dethrone his Ego
 This means that he is putting all his life in
Gods Hands.
 In divine Liturgy the Anaphora, the offering,
what is offered is surrender to God.
 Isaac Surrender to his dad’s will and Abraham
surrender to God.
Step 4

 Make a searching and fearless moral inventory

 Mathew 23-26 first clean the inside of the cup that
the outside may be clean also.
 Luke 12:3 whatever you have spoken in the dark
will be heard in the light
 Careful about resentments towards people that
hurt you ( bitterness) as it is the most destructive
feelings, they are overlooked only to come back
and hunt down the patient.
 Similar if we have lack of hope.
Step 5= admit

 For an Orthodox person step 4 is the

preparation before confession.
Step 5 is the act of confession.

 Confess to God, ourselves, and to another

human being, the exact nature of our wrong.
 James 5:16 confess your trespasses to one
another.
Remember : Alcoholics are very good liars.
Step 6

 We are now entirely ready to have God

remove all these defects of Character.
 Psalm 37:7 rest in the Lord and wait patiently
for him.
 For an Orthodox is the stage of waiting for
God to act .
 Addict needs yet to explore that.
 Raise oh Lord , talk God your maid is
listening.
Step 7

 Humbly ask God to remove our short comings.

 1Peter 5:6 humble yourselves under the
mighty hand of God.
 Mathew 7:7 ask, and it will be given to you,
seek and you will find knock and it will be
opened to you.
 For an Orthodox : take from me the spirit of
sloth, of lust , for power and idle chatter.
 Still within the sacrament of confession.
Steps 8 and 9

 Make a list of all the people you had harmed,

become willing to make amends to them all.
 Mathew 5:9 blessed are the peacemakers.
 Mathew 5:44 Love your enemies
 Honesty is not the best policy but is the only
one.
 Very Similar to Zacchaeus when he informed
the Lord about returning money to people 4
folds.
Step 9

 Make direct amends to such people

whenever possible, except when to do so will
injure them or others.
Step 10 Keeping clean

 Continue to take personal inventory and

when we were wrong PROMPTLY admit it.
 Watch and pray lest you enter into
temptation
Mark 14:38
The lords prayers Forgive us our sins Luke 11:4
Sometimes we need to see the extremes to
look for a change like St Mary of Egypt.
Continuous: prayer, meditations and reading.
Step 11

 Sought through prayers and meditation to improve

our conscious contact with God , praying only for
knowledge of his will for us and to carry that out,
 1 John 5:14 now this is the confidence we have in
him that if we ask anything according to His will, he
hears us.
 Abstinence for an addict is a miracle he wants to
keep it and needs the tools to do that.
 For an Orthodox it is the opportunity to evaluate
what you are doing in your prayer’s life.
Step 12 = spreading the good news

 Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of

these steps, we tried to carry this message to
alcoholics and to practice these principals with all
our affairs.
 Mark 5:19 {go home to your friends and tell them
what great things the Lord has done for you, and
how he has compassion on you}.
 Matthew 25:40 {Assuredly I say to you inasmuch
as you did to one of the least of these My
brethren you did it to me}.
Glory be to God Forever.