Spiritual Care
Spiritual Care
Spiritual Care for Addiction Treatment and Recovery
At Valley Hope, our comprehensive addiction treatment program addresses the mind, body and spirit. A combination of more than 50 years of experience treating addiction with extensive evidence-based research clearly confirms that spirituality plays a powerful role in healing and recovery from substance abuse.
Our spiritual care approach is based on the understanding that spirituality reaches beyond religious traditions and focuses on building hope, self-worth, and purpose. Whatever your belief system is, our spiritual care team will help you incorporate it into your treatment plan and build recovery skills.
Private religious practices, such as prayer and reading, during treatment and recovery have positive impacts on sobriety success. Engagement in spiritual activities during treatment is directly related to improvements in treatment engagement and long-term recovery.
The spiritually-based 12 Step program is embedded in the Valley Hope treatment model. Our programing is designed and our staff selected and trained around an integrated holistic model of treatment. With care and sensitivity, our clinical care team, including chaplains, explores and addresses all the areas that may be causing a patient pain or suffering.
Chaplain Services
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Valley Hope remains one of the few addiction treatment organizations that provides a dedicated, full time chaplain team at each residential center. Our chaplains offer spiritual care and support in the clinical setting.
How Chaplains Provide Support
- Spiritual Assessments.
Spiritual assessments create an understanding of the patient’s spiritual background including worldview (theist, atheist, agnostic, etc.), religious upbringing, current or past spiritual disciplines, concerns, and struggles (guilt, resentments, anger toward God, abandoned by church, etc.).
- Development of Treatment Plan.
Valley Hope chaplains establish what spiritual disciplines the patient might practice during their treatment stay for the purpose of spiritual growth and alignment with personal values. This plan may also establish goals for reconciling with God or working on grief.
- Encourage 12 Step Work.
Your designated chaplain will provide weekly work on one of the 12 Steps. The details of this 12 Step work remains confidential between you and your chaplain.
- Chapel Services.
Valley Hope chaplains lead optional daily chapel services on-site at each residential treatment facility. Chapel services are conducted as 10-15 minute meditations that focus the patient on recovery and higher power.
- Educational Lectures.
At Valley Hope, chaplains provide patient group lectures on 12 Step work and spiritual issues such as forgiveness, spirituality, spiritual disciplines, guilt, shame and more.
Valley Hope chaplains also provide help as needed to each patient. Beyond spiritual assessments, treatment planning, and step work, additional individual chaplain sessions are provided as needed.
Spirituality and Recovery Outcomes
At Valley Hope, spirituality is embedded in our values and history, and patients are typically very receptive to exploring their personal spiritual beliefs — regardless of what they are — and how to leverage them as an essential part of their recovery strategy.
With experience and evidence cultivated over five decades of treating patients with drug and alcohol addictions, Valley Hope’s clinical research confirms the importance and effectiveness of integrating spirituality into our treatment model.
Higher levels of spirituality have a protective effect against addiction relapse and is associated with increased length of sobriety. Involvement in spiritually-based programs and fellowships during the recovery process, such as 12 Step and AA/NA, are also strongly linked to successful recovery behaviors and outcomes.
Research underscores the importance of integrating spirituality into addiction treatment and recovery:
- Higher levels of spirituality are shown to have a protective effect against relapse and is associated with increased length of sobriety.
- Involvement in spiritually based programs and fellowships during the recovery process, such as 12 Step and AA/NA, are also strongly linked to Improved recovery behaviors and outcomes.
- Those who have reported having a significant spiritual experience or awakening have shown improved odds of maintaining continuous sobriety.1
- On other health indicators, frequency of involvement in 12 Step programs related to lower distress, reduced depression, and higher quality of life.2
1Kaskutas, Norman, Bond, & Weisner, 2003; Sandoz, 1999; Strobbe, Cranford, Wojnar, & Brower, 2013; Zemore, 2007; 2Gossop et al., 2003; R. H. Moos et al., 1999; Wilcox, Pearson, & Tonigan, 2015
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Testimonials
“Valley Hope saved my life. They know what they are doing, and they really care.” - Sammie, Valley Hope Alumna
“I can't explain to you the people, the staff, the experiences. The things I let go of. The people I still stay in contact with til this day. Valley Hope changed my entire aspect of life after my addiction completely blinding me of it. I would refer anyone I know to this place, and have been back multiple times to see it.” -Brittany, Valley Hope Alumna
“I highly recommend Valley Hope to anyone that's trying to stop drinking alcohol and doing drugs. All are welcomed here. I now have four years of sobriety. Thanks for helping me get my life back, your staff was kind and loving. They showed me how I can live sober and free.” – Miguel, Valley Hope Alumnus