Many people pray when it looks like all is lost. They have exhausted all other recourses available to them and are still failing miserably. Addicts and alcoholics sometimes refer to this as a “bottom”. Foxhole prayers and jailhouse prayers are shouted out in desperation fueled by fear hopelessness. The Christian Therapists at our Florida Christian Rehab are quick to point out God’s response to Paul in Corinthians 12:7-10. 7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak then I am strong.

 When Paul prayed to God for help it became clear to him why his pain was necessary. Prayer is bringing God and His resources into our earthly realities. How better can we get to know someone than to communicate with them at length? Prayer is drawing upon divine resources to influence human reality. A Drug Rehab is exactly the right place where prayer can impact lives in a positive manner. Our Florida Christian Rehab has structured prayer time to help develop the positive habit of communion with God.

 The words pray and prayer are used at least twenty?five times in connection with our Lord in the brief record of His life in the four Gospels, and His praying is mentioned in places where the words are not used.  Some                     addiction treatment centers may feel uncomfortable recognizing prayer as part of their curriculum but our Florida Christian Rehab recognizes the power of prayer and encourages our patients to pray.

The substance abuse industry and make no mistake it is an industry seems to have a new buzz word. The US mental health and substance abuse services industry includes about 15,000 establishments with combined annual revenue of more than $20 billion.  A number of these facilities are now advertising a “Christian Track” or “Christian Program” to attract a specific population to their drug rehab. Our Florida Christian Rehab is a result of a personal conviction and many months of research and development to give our patients the most comprehensive Christian and Traditional Drug Rehab combination in the United States.

The therapists in our Florida Christian Rehab believe therapy is an active, specific involvement in your sanctification. They understand that they cannot give you your life back the way it used to be; no matter how much you might want that. Jesus crucifixion was not about returning us to The Garden but was about our redemption. As a patient you will learn to become more aware with a better understanding of your behavior, both the good and the bad. Through compassion and patience out therapists will show you the person God wants you to be and help you build a path to travel upon.

As you progress through our Florida Christian Rehab you will not receive grace without truth. At some point you will experience some pain as you begin to grow. Your therapist will encourage you to become honest and vulnerably while re-building relationships all the while giving you the support and hope needed to succeed. Addiction Treatment should be handled by a professional so please check the credentials of the therapists and the licensure of the facility you intend to attend. There is a distinct difference between a “Christian Therapist” and a therapist that just happens to be Christian.

I was resistant to entering an addiction treatment center. I didn’t think I had a problem. It certainly wasn’t my idea to go to a drug rehab that had a Christian Program and yet there I was in a Florida Christian Rehab with drunks, addicts and religious nuts. I was forced to come here by the courts so I couldn’t leave and it was all I could do to not bolt and go on the run. They keep the program tracks separate so I didn’t have to put up with someone trying to save my soul. At the end of the treatment day we were all together in a mixed community back at the apartments.

 I have always enjoyed “people watching” and it was no different in this Florida Christian Rehab. At night I would see some of the Christians get together with their bibles and talk about stuff from the bible while everyone else told drug stories. I felt uncomfortable with the drug talk because it made me want to use and I didn’t know anything about the bible, so I isolated. One night a girl from the Christian Program asked if I wanted to join them. She was hot, I was lonely, and so I accepted the invite. At first it was awkward but they were so cool and non-threatening and they didn’t focus on me so I stayed. I started to hang out with this group and saw they were different; they were positive, focused, and irritatingly nice to everyone.

 I made a decision to go to church with the group; it was a large church and well attended. The pastor picked out some biblical scripture  to talk about and related those scriptures to everyday life. He was very skillful and I found myself listening, identifying with the information he presented. This was nothing like the church I attended as a child with all the ceremonies and strict tradition. At the end of the service the pastor invited people to come forward and accept Christ in their life. Many people went forward even some from the Florida Christian Rehab and I felt a pressure in my chest, I became overwhelmed and I felt tears forming in my eyes. I was confused and maybe a little scared. I did not go forward that night but the seed had been planted. Three weeks later I was one of those accepting Christ in my life and it has made all the difference. The treatment at the drug rehab was excellent and I am still in recovery after three years but becoming a believer will be an everlasting gift.

A carpenter is only as skillful as the tools in his tool box; the better the tools the better the job. This applies to an addict seeking recovery. At our Florida Christian Rehab we want to supply our patients with as many tools as possible to fight their disease. Most addiction treatment centers introduce patients to 12 step meetings and teach them about the steps. This is, of course, very important if the patient is to have a successful recovery; but it is not enough.

 Celebrate Recovery is included in our Florida Christian Rehab. The principle difference between AA (and other Twelve Step programs) and Celebrate Recovery is that Celebrate Recovery focuses on Jesus Christ as the true Higher Power and uses God’s Word as the authority in relation to the Twelve Steps. The Twelve Steps have a Christian heritage as they were modeled after the Oxford Society. In order to reach people who would be offended by Jesus or the church, AA focused on a Higher Power. But Celebrate Recovery’s 8 Principles to the Road to Recovery tie the Twelve Steps to Jesus Christ’s teachings known as the Beatitudes given in The Sermon on the Mount.

 Our Drug Rehab has a traditional course of treatment as well as the Christian Program. The staff understands that the principals included in the Celebrate Recovery program may not work for all patients. If a patient finds it more comfortable to use “higher power” there is no pressure to force a patients beliefs.  Our ultimate goal is to help our patients with their addictions and give them the tools for long term sobriety.

Addiction affects people mentally, physically and spiritually; if any one of these areas goes untreated the person will surly relapse. Most Addiction Treatment Centers treat the patient mentally and physically but seem to be at a loss when it comes to the patient’s spiritual well being. Our Florida Christian Rehab is well suited to treat all aspects of a patient’s addiction. The Christian Therapist overseeing our Christian Program is a graduate of seminary school and understands the spiritual needs of a patient broken by their disease. We believe that spirituality is a deep often religious feeling and belief, including a patient’s sense of peace, purpose, connection to others and beliefs about the meaning of life. 

Self-centeredness is at the core of the disease of addiction. As a person succumbs to their addiction they start a downward spiral where their belief system starts to change to allow for those behaviors necessary to continue their self abuse. Behaviors become anti social and they start to avoid family and friends. Judgment becomes clouded by the affects of prolonged drug use and the only goal becomes to stay intoxicated. Peace of mind is replaced by turmoil and the addict losses direction and feels there is no longer any meaning to life. This describes our patients as they are admitted to our Florida Christian Rehab.  

 As the patients begin to clear and start to interact with staff they feel the patience, tolerance and respect that has been missing in their lives. The therapist help the patient examine their recent past and then as the bond is made they look at their remote history and the underlying problems that often precede the addiction. Patients in our Florida Christian Rehab attend groups where they study scripture and learn from examples that closely resemble their own experience. The patients start to feel better about themselves and find new meaning through their closer relationship with God. The patients re-establish severed relationships with the help of our drug rehab staff. Before the patient leaves treatment the void they once felt is filled with a positive spiritual awareness. There is still work to be done but the patient’s confidence has been restored and they have a good start on their life of recovery.

I once knew a guy that people nick named “White Chip Charlie” The nick name of course was in reference to the regularity with which he relapsed and then picked up a new white chip. The white chip is the symbol used in 12 step fellowships when someone is invited to start a new way of life and give up their addiction. Relapse is so common to those in recovery that some go so far as to say relapse is just part of the recovery process. The Therapist in our Christian Drug Rehab dispute this as nothing more than a defeatist attitude and just not true.

 Relapse is a process but it is opposite from recovery and any                       addiction treatment center that doesn’t include relapse prevention does their patients a disservice. Addicts / Alcoholics are a paranoid untrusting group and this is part of the reason for relapse. Relapse is a process that is made up of any number of difficult situations occurring naturally is an addict’s life. When these situations are unaddressed they start to negatively impact the addict. There is a cumulative affect that leaves the addict so dysfunctional in recovery that self-medication with alcohol or drugs seem like a reasonable choice. If an addict has yet to develop a trusting relationship with a support group they are likely to relapse. Recovering addicts need feed back about their behavior and their attitude because of their ability to justify and deny to themselves.

 Learning to trust people and accept constructive criticism at home, work and in social groups helps the addict become aware of subtle changes and address situations before they become problems. Patient at our Christian Drug Rehab start the process of self examination and begin to under stand their shortcomings. They learn to trust as they engage in the therapeutic group process. If relapse does occur you must swallow your pride and jump right back into recovery, being readmitted into a drug rehab if necessary.

I recently met with over twenty pastors in the Jacksonville, Fl area. My propose was to inform them of the services offered by Our Florida Christian Rehab. Many of those that I met with agreed that rehab was necessary but were conflicted with the roll the drug rehab plays after the patient has been detoxed. These were men and women of God who believed once the drugs and alcohol were out of the patient all that person needs is God. They agreed with the medical aspect of the disease concept in the very early stages of the recovery process but then using becomes a sin and the addict must rely solely on God.   

 I am not a doctor nor am I as proficient in the scriptures as were the good people that were gracious enough to meet with me. I am a Christian who has been in recovery for nearly three decades. I agree with the importance of God in our recovery; my relationship with God is why I am still clean and sober today. The shame, guilt, anger and denial felt by addicts as they fearfully approach addiction treatment often disallows their belief in God. Our Florida Christian Rehab uses traditional treatment methods as they patiently lead the patient back to Christ or in some cases to Christ for the first time in their lives.

 The difference between most drug rehab centers and our Florida Christian Rehab is the importance we place on faith in God. We look to our medical staff to safely detox the patient and to our clinical staff to patiently and respectfully treat those issues that have kept the patient locked in their addiction for years. As the toxic affect of the drugs begins to clear and the patient becomes more open to new ideas our Christian Therapists instill the importance of hope and faith on the patients journey in recovery.

We can draw strong comparisons between the devastated people of Haiti and addicts in Addiction Treatment. Although the situations are different the feelings of hopelessness and desperation are similar. We certainly can’t compare the loss of life or home; but we can draw on the incredible faith shown by these resilient people facing sever challenges and overwhelming odds. The faith in God expressed by the majority of Haitians is the same faith needed by patients in a Christian Drug Rehab.   

 When patients enter a Christian Drug Rehab it is often the result of a consequence, a loss or threat of loss in their life. Patients feel lost, hopeless, desperate and trapped. They often state they feel they are at the lowest point in their life, having lost homes, jobs, family and friends. This loss may in fact be self induced but loses just the same; and having to face their situation without the use of drugs is indeed painful.   

 Christian Drug Rehabs can offer faith through the word of God to help patients rebuild their lives. Christian leaders through out Haiti are rallying people through their faith and replacing desperation with hope. Our Christian Counselors in drug rehab can use the example of the Haitian People to motivate patients in their own struggle and in deed replace desperation with hope.

            Twenty years ago I worked for a Drug Rehab that interviewed the whole family prior to admitting the patient. The message being conveyed was the entire family is adversely impacted by the addicts’ behavior even if the identified patient no longer lives with the family. That Treatment Center was ahead of its time with its strong focus on the family just as the Florida Christian Drug Rehab in Jacksonville leads the way today with their family program.

 The family therapist at our Florida Christian Drug Rehab has studied with Pia Mellody and John Bradshaw, leaders in the field and experts in co-dependency, conflict resolution and setting boundaries. Addiction Treatment is not complete without addressing resentments held as a result of growing up in a dysfunctional family.

 When a patient is admitted to our Florida Christian Drug Rehab the staff will make every effort to engage the family in our week long family program. The family actually comes into treatment with their loved one and participates in the clinical process. The goal is to repair or at lest have all involved accept existing issues and work towards resolution. If you are considering a Drug Rehab Center, come to one with a good family program.

Making the decision to enter a Drug Rehab can be frightening as it is serious. When I was trying to find the right facility to get clean I looked all over New Jersey for a good drug rehab center. I ended up entering a Christian Drug Rehab even thou I wasn’t Christian. It was an excellent program but thee was too much pressure from staff and peers for me to attend Church and participate in other Christian oriented groups and classes. They finely just asked me to leave the facility saying I was non – compliant and a distraction to other patients.  

 After only a week in treatment I knew had to find another facility to complete my therapy. I found an Addiction Treatment Center in Jacksonville, Florida that looked like the right place for me. I was there for three days when I found out they had a Christian Drug Program. At first I was worried that I might have the same problem as in New Jersey. What I found out was that the program I was in, the traditional track was totally separate from any other program.

 Patients at Lakeview Health were free to transfer into another track within the facility if they thought it would help them but there was never any pressure. I knew some patients that moved to the Christian Drug Rehab, but they never tried to force their faith on me. Besides getting world class treatment we all learned we could live together regardless of our different beliefs.