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This investigation attempts to identify factors which influence whether or not someone is likely to drop out of a chemical dependency treatment program. Dropping out is defined as someone who leaves treatment against medical advice. The subjects were patients from a private, non-profit, medically based, residential program. Nine demographic characteristics were abstracted from the charts on file for the patients at the treatment center. Two groups of 45 patients each were selected from the inpatient population. One group, the Completed Treatment group, comprised patients who had completed the 28 day program. The second group, the AMA Discharge group, comprised patients who dropped out of treatment within the first 4 to 10 days. The demographic characteristics analyzed were gender, number of drugs used by the patient, drug preference, method of admission, treatment history, marital success, social status, dependents living at home, and education.

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This thesis is a theological reflection on substance use and misuse. René Girard’s mimetic theory of human Desire is used as a hermeneutic to explicate the formation of self in Western modernity. The role of intoxicative and hallucinogenic substances in Western culture is seen primarily as facilitating the Capitalist template of homo oeconomicus whose central tenets are individualism, autonomy and rationalism. The mind-altering quality of such substances is a means to cope with the existential angst of individualist modes of life and provides, in the milieu of social interaction, an artificial and temporary sense of connectedness with others. Humanity’s ubiquitous search for connectedness and meaning beyond itself is argued as its defining spiritual character. Consequently the addiction recovery principle of sobriety through accountability to a Higher Power – seen as a spiritual principle and practised in recovery programmes based on the twelve-step method of Alcoholics Anonymous – provides the foundation for the empirical aspects of this study. Lifestory narratives of a sample of recovering individuals reveal the spiritual roots of substance misuse as disconnection and isolation from certain significant others (such as parents), or from a normative code of early social settings (such as schools). The role of intoxicative and hallucinogenic substances in providing alternative means of connection and belonging is illustrated through the mimetic patterns in the narrative accounts which substantiate Girard’s reading of human Desire as fundamentally contingent upon the Other. In considering the implications for the Church’s praxis, Girard’s notion of nonrivalistic mimesis is elucidated as an antidote to Capitalist Desire in which the Church unwittingly participates. Hauerwas’ vision of a communal and sacrificial witness is put forward as an alternative template for the Church in its witness and offer of Christocentric relationality whose economy of Love removes the need for mindaltering substances in order to affirm one’s identity.

Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka livsmålen genom ett autobiografiskt minnesperspektiv hos personer med missbruksproblematik, som deltog i en pågående behandling och som hade genomgått en avgiftning. De var drog- alkoholfria. Resultaten visade ingen skillnad i antal livsmål vare sig i det förflutna eller i framtiden inom kategorierna nära relationer, ekonomi, privatliv, emotioner/känslor, socialt liv, arbete/utbildning, hälsa och fysiskt välbefinnande. Det fanns inte heller någon skillnad i hur försöksdeltagarna hade lyckats med dessa mål. Dock fanns det skillnader i att försöksdeltagarna hade misslyckats mest med målen relaterade till nära relationer i det förflutna om man jämför med andra målkategorier. Studien visade också att försöksdeltagarna hade fler framtidsmål jämför med deras mål i det förflutna. En annan intressant aspekt som framkom i studien var att personer med missbruksproblem tenderar att komma ihåg fler negativa minnen än positiva från det förflutna. / The purpose of this study was to investigate life goals through an autobiographical memory perspective in people with addiction problems. They had already undergone detoxification and were drug- alcohol- free. No difference was shown in past and future life goals. Nor was there any difference in how the participants had succeeded in these goals. However, participants were shown to fail most with life goals related to close relationships. The study also showed that participants remembered more future than past life goals. Finally, it was shown that most of their autobiographical self- grounding memories were of negative valance.

A Thesis Proposal Submitted to the Psychology Department School of Human and Community Development University of Witwatersrand in Partial Fulfilment of the Degree of Master of Arts Degree in Psychology by Dissertation. February 2016 / This study was aimed at an in-depth exploration of the recovery experiences of a group of 12 individuals who attended 12 step self-help groups situated in different regions in Johannesburg. 12-step self-help groups are presently the largest clinical supplements in the world. Ongoing discussions with the relevant representatives from the fellowships of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) were utilised in order to gain access to this population of people. These 12 individuals suffered from substance dependence and one or more co-occurring disorders (CODs) and were interviewed in semi-structured interviews about how their lives had changed since they had achieved a state of recovery and about some of the difficulties they had experienced since the point at which they had achieved remission from their substance-related disorder. The study also focused on the therapeutic aids that the participants had found useful during their time in recovery. In this study, CODs refers to the existence of at least one substance-related disorder and at least one psychiatric disorder in the same individual. The overarching methodological framework that was used in the study was phenomenological. It was evident from the study that the road to recovery is fraught with many challenges that the recovering individual needs to negotiate and that very often there is no information available on what the best course of action to follow is. In conclusion it is evident that recovering addicts, especially those that have been diagnosed with one or more CODs often require on going support and care if they are to continue on their journey of recovery

The purpose of this study is to understand the impact of spirituality among substance abuse counselors for those who in the recovery process. The research demonstrates the effectiveness of how personal beliefs of substance abuse counselors influence the treatment experience. This study uses a qualitative post positivist paradigm to study the impact of practitioners’ personal beliefs towards spirituality in the treatment of clients. It addresses essential factors from a spiritual and religious framework and reveals the consideration of personal beliefs of substance abuse counselors and its impact on the treatment experience of an individual’s recovery. The content of the research is derived from personal experience and then interpreted through reason and logic to understand the layers of spirituality and religion. The results of this analysis can be used to illustrate the impact that spirituality has within the field of substance abuse treatment.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2007. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vi, 78 p. Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 40-51).

Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1988. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographies. Also available via the Internet.

With minority Americans expected to comprise more than 40% of the U.S population by 2035 and 47% by 2050 and substance abuse epidemic with 23.5 million nationwide in need for treatment, there is a growing need for cross-cultural counseling competence among substance abuse counselors. This study examined substance abuse counselors' level of cross-cultural counseling competence in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The research method used was quantitative in nature. Substance abuse counselors were asked to self-assess their level of competence by completing a questionnaire and modified Cross-Cultural Counseling Inventory Revised (CCCI-R) subscales to determine whether counselor's gender, level of education, field of study, ethnicity, and number of continuing education make a difference in level of cultural competence. CCCI-R was proven to have acceptable content validity and is representative of domain of cross-cultural counseling competence. A total of 109 participants completed the questionnaire and CCCI-R. <br>The result of a one-way ANOVA in the mean scores revealed no significant difference between counselor's gender, level of education, field of study, ethnicity, and cultural competence. The post hoc data analysis in the field of study indicated those counselors who were trained in Counseling and Social Work scored higher than counselors trained in Psychology. The results of the Pearson Correlation revealed no relationship between the number of continuing education hours and substance abuse counselor's level of cross-cultural counseling competence. After the testing of hypotheses of this study, the results indicated no significant differences in the mean scores of the independent variables and substance abuse counselor's level of cross-cultural competence. / School of Education / Counselor Education and Supervision (ExCES) / PhD / Dissertation