Get a historical perspective on “Faith-Based Recovery: Its Historical Roots” in a 2005 article in Counselor: The Magazine for Addiction Professionals.

Read a 2013 comparative analysis of faith-based and secular interventions and treatments for substance abusers.

Read a 2001 CASAColumbia study that dives into the link between religion and spirituality and substance abuse.

Read a study conducted by the American Psychological Association revealing that adolescents’ perceived importance on religion and spirituality cut their interaction with drug use in half compared to adolescents who did not view religion as important.

Read a 2013 study by the National Center for Biotechnology Institute that claims good mental health is associated with religious belief or participation.

A comprehensive primer on addiction and treatment approaches is available from the National Institute on Drug Abuse at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md.

Dr. Aseem Shukla is a urologist and a member of the board of directors of the Hindu American Foundation, a human rights group that says it favors a more humane immigration policy.

Siroj Sorajjakool is an associate professor of religion at Loma Linda University in California. Sorajjakool wrote When Sickness Heals: The Place of Religious Belief in Healthcare (Templeton Foundation Press, forthcoming in April 2006) and co-edited Spirituality, Health and Wholeness: An Introductory Guide for Health Care Professionals (Haworth Press, 2004). Contact through the media office for the university.

Dr. David Spiegel is a professor of psychiatry and behavioral studies at California’s Stanford University School of Medicine and a leader in the field of psychosomatic research and psychoneuroendocrinology/oncology. Spiegel’s 1989 study showed that not only did supportive-expressive group therapy improve quality of life in women with metastatic breast cancer, it significantly enhanced survival time. This […]