Spiritual Care For Men
What is Spirituality?
One of the most important aspects of your addiction treatment at Hanley Center is spiritual care and counseling. By no means do we equate spirituality and religion; instead, we believe that spirituality reaches deeper – beyond religious traditions – to the very foundation of your life.
Spirituality encompasses a sense of hope, self-worth, and purpose in life, all of which significantly affect your quality of life and sense of wellness.
We believe that spirituality is the set of personal convictions that influence your daily life through your thoughts, deeds, verbal communications, and relationships with yourself, others and your higher power.
Spirituality and Men
Men, women, older adults and even Baby Boomers tend to approach spirituality differently. Men typically spend much of their lives striving to live up to their father’s expectations and prove themselves worthy of their love and respect. Because our Western Judeo-Christian society views God as a masculine, paternal power, and because men tend to struggle with the father image, this often puts them at odds with spirituality.
Furthermore, our Western culture teaches men to “be tough, don’t cry, don’t show your emotions and feelings, don’t trust anyone but yourself, be independent.” Any wavering from this standard is perceived by others as a sign of weakness.
But 12-Step programs, and group therapy in particular, goes against everything men are taught: to begin the healing process and continue along the recovery journey, men must open up and show their emotions, let themselves cry, share their feelings, listen to and trust others, allow themselves to be vulnerable.
Steps 1 and 2 of the 12 Steps require you to turn your life over to a Higher Power, which directly challenges a man’s independence and fear of vulnerability. Our spiritual care counselors will help you overcome these obstacles and formulate a life-long spiritual transformation that will lead to individual freedom and a meaningful spirituality for your continuous recovery from drug and alcohol abuse.
Spiritual Care for Addiction Treatment and Recovery
The 12-Step spiritual principles taught and experienced at Hanley Center are vital to the ongoing success of men in recovery. They enable you to let go of old behaviors and feelings of shame and guilt that trapped you in a cycle of addiction.
They empower you to tap into your own spiritual resources to promote peace of mind, restore injured relationships, and foster sobriety on the journey to recovery.
At Hanley Center, the chaplain’s role is one of comforting presence and unconditional love, which focuses on fostering peace and the well-being of the whole person. Through spiritual counseling and activities, men come to realize that addiction to drugs and alcohol compromises the quality of their relationships and daily life.
