Date

3-2021

Department

Rawlings School of Divinity

Degree

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

Chair

Jack Steven Davis

Keywords

Celebrate Recovery, Twelve-step Groups, Addiction, Idolatry, Cognitive-behavioral Therapy, Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, Pastoral Counseling, Spirituality in Recovery

Disciplines

Christianity | Counseling

Abstract

Celebrate Recovery is a Christ-centered twelve-step program in which participants benefit from testimonies and mutual sharing of their struggles and victories. However, “cross-talk” and giving advice is not permitted in the group. Some participants may need or desire individual counseling. This thesis project focused on a Celebrate Recovery ministry in a rural setting where travel and economic obstacles create an impediment to access the services of a licensed therapist. Individual pastoral counseling was combined with the Celebrate Recovery group experience to ascertain whether the combination of these two approaches would yield enhanced and accelerated recovery as perceived by the participants. The individual therapy model employed was Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy combined with elements from Solution-Focused Brief Therapy within the context of a Christian worldview. A qualitative analysis method was used in which participants were interviewed prior to their counseling intervention and, again, upon the completion of the intervention to determine their self-perceived progress in recovery. The results indicated that participants prefer individual counseling in addition to their recovery group experience and that they experienced growth in their recovery.

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