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“Spirituality” is a term that has been defined in various ways and as a phenomenon can differ from one person to another. In its most basic sense, spirituality refers to how a human being derives life meaning — in other words, a passion and purpose for being alive.
“In its broadest meaning, spirituality can be defined by how it is experienced (a heightened state of perception, awareness, performance or being) and by what it does to and for the individual (informs, heals, empowers, connects, centers or liberates),” the addiction expert William White wrote in a 2006 article in Counselor Magazine.
As so defined, spirituality and the presence of a spirituality component in treatment correlate with higher rates of recovery from drug and alcohol addiction, according to recent findings in this area. This article will highlight some of the existing research, including what it suggests about how, more specifically, spirituality improves rates of recovery. (You can find more helpful information on the role of spirituality in recovery in this previously published Learning Center article.)
A growing body of research has found that the presence of a spirituality component in treatment and recovery yields better recovery outcomes. 12-step groups like AA are where these links between spirituality and higher rates of recovery have received the most study.
AA by its own description is a spiritual program for recovery in which there are “many paths to spirituality” and members come to rely on a “Higher Power” … “whether it was the collective power of AA, the AA group itself, or some other entity, concept or being that helped us to stay sober.” The “12 Steps” are spiritual principles that members are encouraged to practice in their daily lives, with the goal of experiencing positive core change and, in turn, sobriety. They include the following:
Studies have shown a strong correlation between regular involvement in AA’s spiritual program for recovery and better recovery outcomes, such as higher rates of abstinence and lower rates of relapse:
Research has turned up still other links between spirituality and recovery that suggest spirituality plays a critical role in improving treatment and recovery outcomes. For example, a study of recovering heroin and cocaine addicts funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) found a strong link between spirituality and better treatment outcomes.
Other studies have shown how a spirituality component can help prevent relapse, boost abstinence rates and improve the overall quality of life during longer-term recovery (and in turn resilience to substance abuse). In a 2006 study published in Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, researchers examined the role of social supports, spirituality, religiousness, life meaning, and 12-step affiliation —all factors that relate to spirituality — in recovery from heroin and crack cocaine. Below were just a few of their findings:
Spirituality is also gaining more attention as an evidence-based treatment intervention for the common co-occurring disorder (COD) known as “post-traumatic stress disorder” (PTSD) that disproportionately affects people with drug or alcohol addiction. (Roughly half of those in substance abuse treatment have suffered some form of trauma and its effects.) Now recent studies suggest that healthy spiritual beliefs (which can be acquired) can help heal this common COD afflicting those in recovery.
