There are some who think that Faith Based Recovery for substance abuse and Alcohol addiction is not really effective. “It is not scientifically, medicinally, or psychologically based” they say and although this is partially true, the case for Faith Based Recovery is not only very strong, but facts and figures support its efficacy.

“By sheer weight of evidence of the numbers of successes,” says Sandi Bramwell, founder of Transformation Life Centre (TLC) in Sandton, Johannesburg, “it is clear that Faith Based Rehabilitation is effective.”

Research has shown that an astounding 10 million South Africans struggle with drug or alcohol addiction. Given that 79.8% of the population are Christians, it is not surprising that most people wish to incorporate religious beliefs into their treatment for addictions.

Weight of evidence

Benjamin Burks, the International Director of RU Recovery Ministries in the USA for over 16 years, has witnessed the miracle of changed lives over and over again. “It never gets old to see God transform someone’s life from being a hopelessly addicted drug user to a recovered and restored vessel for God. Recovery is possible and Hope is available through faith in Jesus Christ.” Says Burks

To add weight to support the case for Faith Based recovery, Burks goes on to state some facts; “Over 400 studies have been conducted on the role of faith in addiction recovery and these studies have found a success rate of 40%-60% in most faith-based programs. This is significantly higher than the success rate of programs that do not incorporate faith or spirituality into their programs!”

Why does it work?

A few salient points made by Burks are:

Hope – Fear and addiction usually go together, but with a faith based program fear is substituted by real hope. This hope emanates from the multiple true testimonials that patients immediately hear and are uplifted by, of genuine recovery cases.

Support – The outside support of Churches and Christian based communities, fellowships and the Church’s own Christian programs is never to be discounted. This type of on-going support outside of the rehabilitation program itself is invaluable.

Faith – The most important ingredient, or the ‘secret sauce’ as Burks puts it, is eliminating the feeling of tackling this sometimes massive ‘mountain to climb’ all alone. Faith-based Recovery programs help people realise that they are not alone and if they place their trust and faith in Jesus Christ and depend on Him, they can beat whatever addiction it is that has them in bondage.

TLC and Faith Based recovery

Transformation Life Centre based in the Northern suburbs of Johannesburg, utilise just such Faith-Based Programs, with individual counsellors and staff that genuinely care about people and will go out of their way to hold them accountable while showing them real love.

Alan and Jo Friedlander (herself a recovered addict) are facilitators in the centre and in answer to this question of whether Faith Based Rehabilitation really works say “We are a team, united, motivated and committed because we constantly see desperate people who have tried and failed so many times to live free of substances finally transform their life and live in victory. This is our personal testament to the efficacy of Christian based counselling!”

Yes, Faith Based Rehabilitation is effective and by all accounts even more so than most other programs. It is vitally important to deal with substance abuse or alcohol addiction as soon as possible, so if you, or a loved one, is suffering from this, don’t hesitate to contact us for immediate advice and counselling to learn more about our excellent in and out patient recovery programs.