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Cited by 136Religion, Spirituality, and PsychologySubstance Abuse Treatment and OutcomesOpioid Use Disorder Treatment

Spiritual direction in addiction treatment: Two clinical trials

Open access
Miller, William R., Forcehimes, Alyssa, O'Leary, Mary J., LaNoue, Marnie D.·2008·Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment
DOI 10.1016/j.jsat.2008.02.004PMC PMC2600849
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Abstract

Spirituality has long been regarded as an important component of recovery from addiction. This article reports the findings of two controlled trials of spiritual direction as an adjunct in addiction treatment. In Study 1, 60 participants were randomly assigned to receive or not receive a 12-session manual-guided spiritual guidance (SG) intervention during and after inpatient treatment, in addition to treatment as usual (TAU). In Study 2, two cohorts of 40 each received TAU without or with SG during their inpatient stay. In both trials, contrary to prediction, SG had no effect on spiritual practices or substance use outcomes at any follow-up point. At the first follow-up in Study 1 only, those randomly assigned to spiritual direction unexpectedly showed significantly less improvement on depression and anxiety, relative to TAU controls. Limitations and implications for treatment are discussed.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.jsat.2008.02.004

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  • Of the 67 studies with quality ratings of seven or higher on R/S and anxiety, 38 (55%) reported inverse relationships and seven (10%) found positive relationships.

    “Of the 67 studies with quality ratings of seven or higher, 38 (55%) reported inverse relationships [173–182] and seven (10%) found positive relationships (greater anxiety among the more R/S) [183–189].”

    From Religion, Spirituality, and Health: The Research and Clinical Implications (2012) · cites this paper as [182]

    In Study 1 Results (Psychological Outcomes; page unavailable), patients assigned to spiritual guidance had significantly higher state anxiety than treatment-as-usual patients at the four-month follow-up. That supports citing this trial as an example of an adverse anxiety finding, but the paper reports no significant increase in measured spirituality and does not establish greater anxiety among people with higher R/S. It also does not supply the citing sentence’s review-wide counts or quality ratings. (LLM, conf=0.85)

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Research works printed but not linked: 5

  1. Connors GJ Tonigan JS Miller WR Longabaugh R Wirtz PW Religiosity and responsiveness to alcoholism treatments Project MATCH hypotheses: Results and causal chain analyses 2001 Vol. 8 Bethesda, MD National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism 166 175
  2. Coopersmith S Self Esteem Inventories (SEI) 1981 Palo Alto, CA Consulting Psychologists Press
  3. Lawrence RT Measuring the image of God: The God Image Inventory and the God Image Scales Journal of Psychology and Theology 1997 25 214 226
  4. Merton T Spiritual direction and meditation 1986 Collegeville, MN The Liturgical Press
  5. Tonigan JS Miller WR Connors GJ Longabaugh R Wirtz PW The search for meaning in life as a predictor of alcoholism treatment outcome Project MATCH hypotheses: Results and causal chain analyses 2001 Vol. 8 Bethesda, MD National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism 154 165

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Authors
Miller, W. R., Forcehimes, A., O'Leary, M. J., & LaNoue, M. D.
Affiliations
University of New Mexico (US)
Corresponding author
Miller, William R.
ORCID
Miller, William R.
Venue
Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2008-12
Volume
35
Issue
4
Pages
434-442
ISSN
0740-5472 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.jsat.2008.02.004
PMC
PMC2600849
OpenAlex
W1997816565
Cited by
136
References
52
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 44 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 10
FWCI
4.50
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
  • National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (K05AA000133)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Health › Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Opioid Use Disorder Treatment
Keywords
spiritual guidance, spirituality, addiction treatment, substance use disorders, inpatient care, adjunct intervention, spiritual practice, depression, anxiety, recovery
MeSH terms
Adult, Anxiety, Depression, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Inpatients, Male, Manuals as Topic, Middle Aged, Cohort Studies, Substance Abuse Treatment Centers, Treatment Outcome, Substance-Related Disorders, Spirituality

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