Meaning-Making, Religiousness and Spirituality in Religiously Founded Substance Misuse Services-A Qualitative Study of Staff and Patients' Experiences

Datos Bibliográficos

ID3472129
AutoresTorgeir Sørensen (0000-0002-1154-8464, Innlandet Hospital Trust, autor de correspondencia), Lars Lien (0000-0002-0480-9208, Innlandet Hospital Trust), Anne Landheim (0000-0002-5961-4993, Innlandet Hospital Trust), Lars Danbolt, Lars Johan Danbolt (0000-0001-8839-2886, Innlandet Hospital Trust)
Año2015
Volumen6
Número1
Páginas92-106
Fecha de publicación2015-02-02
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaReligions (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 2077-1444 • E-ISSN: 2077-1444
EditorialMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/rel6010092
OpenAlexW2030355652
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas8
Referencias citadas16

The Norwegian health authorities buy one third of their addiction treatment from private institutions run by organizations and trusts. Several of these are founded on religious values. The aim of the study was to investigate such value-based treatment and the patients' experiences of spirituality and religiousness as factors of meaning-making in rehabilitation. The study was performed in an explorative qualitative design. Data were collected through focus-group interviews among therapists and in-patients at a religiously founded substance misuse service institution. The analysis was carried out by content analysis through systematic text-condensation. Through different activities and a basic attitude founded on religious values, the selected institution and the therapists facilitated a treatment framework which included a spiritual dimension and religious activity. The patients appreciated their free choice regarding treatment approaches, which helped them to make meaning of life in various collective and individual settings. Rituals and sacred spaces gave peace of mind and confidence in a situation that up to now had been chaotic and difficult. Sermons and wording in rituals contributed to themes of reflection and helped patients to revise attitudes and how other people were met. Private confessions functioned for several patients as turning point experiences influencing patients' relations to themselves and their surroundings. Spirituality and religious activity contributed to meaning-making among patients with substance use disorder and had significance for their rehabilitation

Addiction · Alternative medicine · Institution · Psychiatry · Psychotherapist · Qualitative research · Social science · Sociology · Spirituality · Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research · Medicine · Psychology · Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology · Social Psychology · Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes · Rehabilitation