Psalm 69:1-36 To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. Of David. Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me. I am weary with my crying out; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God. More in number than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause; mighty are those who would destroy me, those who attack me with lies. What I did not steal must I now restore? O God, you know my folly; the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you.
According to a study by William L. White, Christian Rehabilitation and other faith-based recovery initiatives have been traced to have existed even in the 18th and 19th centuries. Faith-based recovery programs often have existed outside of, or on the boundaries of, the mainstream of drug rehabilitation systems. However, it has just been recently that these practices were legitimized through the Executive Order of President George Bush called Access to Recovery Program (ATR) and the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment’s Recovery Community Support Program (RCSP).
There are several different types of Christian Rehabilitation Programs or Faith-Based Recovery programs. These includes:
- the 100% Christian Rehabilitation program that has very little medical intervention;
- the work-based Christian rehabilitation programs that uses prayers and the Scriptures but at the same time is like a form of vocational commitment; and,
- the combination of Christian teachings and medical interventions, which has often been the more effective among the three.
The Christian Social Model Recovery program is essentially a center ran by recovering Christians that offer 100%Christian-based program that has a little medical intervention in the form of clinical counseling and/or credentialed staff members.
The Salvation Army and Teen Challenge groups are work-based Christian rehabilitation programs that uses prayers and the Scriptures but at the same time is like a form of vocational commitment. Patients do not pay for the treatment but they are asked to work in the program for 8-12 hours per day to to cover for the cost of their stay.
The combination of Christian teachings and medical interventions has often been found the more effective among the three. It is a combination of faith-based treatment, medical intervention, credentialed counseling and therapy, and a Christian focus.
As have been observed generally, faith-based programs alone, apart from medical intervention, is insufficient for drug addiction rehabilitation. However, faith-based approaches properly integrated with medical intervention has been proven to have improved the rates of recovery from addiction.
As traditional models of recovery permit a patient to treat his recovery over his faith, Christian drug rehabilitation centers, Christian detox, Christian alcohol treatment center, Christian center for substance abuse treatment, Christian drug addiction centers, Christian rehabilitation facilities, etc., allows a Christian to have his faith as more important as his recovery. With the Christian faith, reconstruction of the patient’s identity, values, and interpersonal relationships becomes easier, thus, making the journey of Christian Rehabilitation a more successful treatment over traditional systems in the mainstream.