Engage: Is there a spiritual dimension to recovery from substance use disorder?
A senior University of Chester lecturer made a major contribution to a broadcast that explored the spiritual dimension of Alcoholics Anonymous’ famous recovery programme.
Dr Wendy Dossett, Senior Lecturer in Religious Studies at the University’s Department of Theology and Religious Studies and Director of The Higher Power Project, was one of three guests invited to discuss the spiritual and transformational experiences of people in twelve step recovery, for a Things Unseen podcast.
The Twelve Step Programme, which was devised in the US in the 1930s, forms the backbone of Alcoholics Anonymous and other mutual aid groups for people suffering with a range of substance use disorders.
Things Unseen is a regular podcast exploring a spiritual climate that no longer fits into orderly patterns. Fewer of us are attracted to formal religion but more believe in angels, or life after death, or simply some kind of higher power. At the same time, some faith groups are booming like never before. The podcast aims to examine what is most intriguing in this fragmented spiritual landscape.
This episode, entitled Addiction and Faith: The Twelve Steps Programme, was hosted by Ruth Gledhill, who was religious correspondent for The Times for more than 25 years. She posed the question:“God features four times in the Twelve Steps Programme and there are references to a ‘higher power’ and ‘spiritual awakening’. So what does this mean in a society where only around a third of us say they believe in God? Can the 12 steps work without a religious faith, and if so, how?”
Dr Dossett explained: “Higher power language in twelve step fellowships is diverse, and people in recovery develop their own understandings of a power greater than themselves.
“They draw on many sources of inspiration, and most people in the fellowships do not identify as religious.”
During the podcast, Dr Dossett drew on accounts from participants in the University of Chester’s Higher Power Project, which records and maps the range of understandings of ‘higher power’ or ‘power greater than ourselves’, as used by people in recovery from addiction to alcohol or drugs. She added: “We hope that our analysed data will be of value to treatment providers, the medical profession, social workers and anyone interested in ways in which people in sustained recovery from substance use disorders build healthy new lives.”
To listen to the Addiction and Faith: The Twelve Steps Programme audio podcast, visit http://www.thingsunseen.co.uk/podcasts/addiction-and-faith-the-12-step-programme/
To find out more about the University’s High Power Project, visit http://www.chester.ac.uk/higherpowerproject
