An initial fMRI study on neural correlates of prayer in members of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Background: Many individuals with alcohol-use disorders who had experienced alcohol craving before joining Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) report little or no craving after becoming long-term members. Their use of AA prayers may contribute to this. Neural mechanisms underlying this process have not been delineated.

The Role of Twelve-Step-Related Spirituality in Addiction Recovery.

This paper reviews empirical studies conducted on the role of spirituality and religiosity (S/R) characteristics in 12-step recovery among program members followed up after substance abuse treatment and those assessed independent of formal treatment. Aspects of spiritual functioning that change in relation to program participation and those S/R characteristics that were found to mediate the association between program involvement and drinking-related outcomes are discussed. In addition, a review is provided of 12-step program studies investigating S/R-related predictors of clinical outcomes relevant to risk of relapse among members in long-term recovery.

Narcotics anonymous: a comparison of military veterans and non-veterans.

Substance use disorder, which is often comorbid with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), is a problem confronted by many veterans. To determine the potential utility of Narcotics Anonymous (NA) for veterans, 508 NA attendees were studied. Veterans (n = 172) were more likely to have been referred by a professional than were non-veterans (77% vs.

Physicians in long-term recovery who are members of alcoholics anonymous.

Background: There is little empirical literature on the experience in sobriety of long-term, committed members of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA).

Objective: Studies on the experience of long-term members, however, can yield a better understanding of the role of spirituality in AA membership, and how the program helps stabilize abstinence.

Methods: We studied 144 physicians at a conference of doctors in AA.

Spirituality-based recovery from drug addiction in the twelve-step fellowship of narcotics anonymous.

Background: Narcotics Anonymous is a worldwide fellowship that employs the Twelve-Step model for members dependent on drugs of abuse. The spiritual orientation of its program of abstinence has not been subjected to empirical study.

Methods: Responses of 527 American Narcotics Anonymous meeting attendees to a structured questionnaire were evaluated for the roles of cognitive and psychosocial aspects of spirituality in their recovery.

Abstinence from drugs of abuse in community-based members of Narcotics Anonymous.

Objective: Narcotics Anonymous (NA) is an abstinence-based fellowship with more than 58,000 groups worldwide. There has, however, been little research reported on its members. This study was designed to clarify the nature of the participants in NA who are primarily abstinent, long-term members.

Young People in Alcoholics Anonymous: the role of spiritual orientation and AA member affiliation.

Empirical findings characterizing long-term, committed Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) members are limited, particularly among younger members. The authors studied a sample of 266 highly committed attendees (mean age, 27 years) at an annual conference of Young People in Alcoholics Anonymous (YPAA), whose first encounter with AA was 6 years previously. Most (72%) had abused drugs and alcohol, and 36% had never received substance abuse treatment.

Alcoholics Anonymous and the Minnesota Model of treatment in Iceland.

This study was undertaken to provide an initial characterization of the current status of patients admitted to an alcoholism treatment program in Iceland. Consistent with the Minnesota Model, 12-step facilitation has been a central component of the program since its inception. Of the 94 patients assessed in this study, 67% were male and 40% had attended over 90 AA meetings prior to admission.

The Relationship between parental alcohol use, early and late adolescent alcohol use, and young adult psychological symptoms: a longitudinal study.

We tested the hypothesis that there is a mediational pathway from parental alcohol use during the participants' adolescence to the participants' psychological symptoms in young adulthood. This pathway includes the participants' alcohol use and their psychological symptoms, both during adolescence. The participants are inner city African American and Puerto Rican early adolescents followed until young adulthood.

An exploratory study of spiritual orientation and adaptation to therapeutic community treatment.

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which spiritual orientation was associated with adaptation to therapeutic community treatment. Spiritual orientation was assessed by the Spirituality Self-Rating Scale, a measure consistent with the conceptualization of spirituality typically reflected in Alcoholics Anonymous members' views. Spiritual orientation was positively correlated with acceptance of therapeutic community principles and clinical progress.

Alcohol consumption patterns: gay and lesbian urban ethnic minority members.

The aim of this study was to assess patterns of alcohol consumption and alcohol related problems in a sample of lesbian and gay NYC residents. There were no differences between lesbian (n = 93) and gay (n = 90) subgroups with regard to alcohol use and health related variables. The average number of drinking days reported for the previous 30 day period was 6.

Introducing spirituality into psychiatric care.

Spirituality is important to many psychiatric patients, and these patients may be moved toward recovery more effectively if their spiritual needs are addressed in treatment. This, however, is rarely given expression in the psychiatric services of teaching hospitals. In order to develop this potential area of improved care, we (1) evaluated the differential attitudes of patients and psychiatric trainees toward the value of spirituality in the recovery process, (2) established a program of group meetings conducted by psychiatric residents and staff where patients can discuss how to draw on their spirituality in coping with their problems, and (3) established related training experiences for psychiatric residents.

Medical versus spiritual orientations: Differential patient views toward recovery.

Background: Relapse among patients in substance abuse treatment has generated interest in identifying attitudinal factors that sustain recovery.

Objective: To assess the relationship of attitudes toward approaches to motivation for treatment and Twelve Step beliefs.

Methods: Dually diagnosed patients (N = 100) completed a survey assessing treatment attitudes, motivation, and Twelve Step beliefs.

Use of and attitudes toward club drugs by medical students.

This study assesses medical students' use of and attitudes towards club drugs, classified as "Generation I" (i.e., cocaine and lysergic acid diethylamide), and "Generation II" (i.

Music therapy: a novel motivational approach for dually diagnosed patients.

Co-occurring mental illness and addiction is very common and results in worse treatment outcomes compared to singly diagnosed addicted individuals. Integrated treatment for co-occurring disorders is associated with better treatment outcomes; however there is a wide range of what is included in integrated treatment. Due to patient and staff interests, integrated treatment often includes complementary and alternative therapies, including music and art therapy.

Assessment of spirituality and its relevance to addiction treatment.

The prominence of Twelve-Step programs has led to increased attention on the putative role of spirituality in recovery from addictive disorders. We developed a 6-item Spirituality Self-Rating Scale designed to reflect a global measure of spiritual orientation to life, and we demonstrated here its internal consistency reliability in substance abusers on treatment and in nonsubstance abusers. This scale and the measures related to recovery from addiction and treatment response were applied in three diverse treatment settings: a general hospital inpatient psychiatry service, a residential therapeutic community, and methadone maintenance programs.

Gang membership and subsequent engagement into a drug free therapeutic community.

The purpose of the present study was to assess the relationship of history of gang involvement to engagement in Therapeutic Community (TC) treatment. Residents (N = 222) at two Daytop facilities completed a survey assessing sociodemographic characteristics, prior gang involvement and multiple aspects of TC functioning. Residents with prior gang involvement (21%) were younger and less educated than those without prior gang involvement.

Substance-abusing physicians: monitoring and twelve-step-based treatment.

This study was designed to provide an independent evaluation of the oversight and rehabilitation of substance-impaired physicians. Records of 104 physicians who had completed their monitoring period by the New York State Committee on Physicians' Health were selected at random from CPH files. They had been followed for an average of 41.

Recovery and spiritual transformation among peer leaders of a modified methadone anonymous group.

This analysis of five recovery narratives from leaders of a peer-led, 12-Step-based self- help group in a methadone treatment program highlights the importance of spiritually-mediated role transformation in the recovery process. For these men and women in their forties and fifties, their progression to a leadership role helping others with their recovery validated the spiritual transformation they regarded as underlying their own recovery process. Assumption of this new leadership/helper role marked a tangible sign that their deepened spirituality allowed them to assume a new, higher function in a struggle with the addiction that had plagued their lives.

Evaluation of a model for the treatment of combined mental illness and substance abuse: the Bellevue model for peer-led treatment in systems change.

The present study evaluated a model program at Bellevue Hospital Center incorporating a peer-led self-help (PLSH) approach which can be applied to bring about systems-level change in a variety of settings where persons with dual diagnosis are encountered. A total of 461 consecutive MICA inpatient admissions were evaluated to compare the PLSH unit with two standard psychiatric units. The PLSH program was associated with a higher rate of acceptance of aftercare referral (93% vs.