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Daphne Walker-Thoth, M.Ed., MACSAPP Committed Caring Faith Communities &

Creating Caring Faith Communities: Engaging Congregations in Substance Abuse and Mental Health Ministry. Daphne Walker-Thoth, M.Ed., MACSAPP Committed Caring Faith Communities & Missouri Institute of Mental Health. Session Overview.

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Daphne Walker-Thoth, M.Ed., MACSAPP Committed Caring Faith Communities &

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  1. Creating Caring Faith Communities: Engaging Congregations in Substance Abuse and Mental Health Ministry Daphne Walker-Thoth, M.Ed., MACSAPP Committed Caring Faith Communities & Missouri Institute of Mental Health

  2. Session Overview • Introduce Committed Caring Faith Communities (CCFC) and its initiative to involve the faith community in substance abuse and mental health ministry • Discuss the uniqueness of the gifts the faith community brings to the field • Share lessons learned in CCFC’s effort to unleash the power of the faith community to address these issues • Explore CCFC’s Addictions Academy as a training model for congregations interested in substance abuse ministry

  3. Unleashing the Power of the Faith Community to Destroy the Stronghold of Addiction On December 7, 1995, Committed Caring Faith Communities (CCFC) launched a campaign to tap into the power of the faith community to address substance abuse and related issues.

  4. Committed Caring Faith Communities Vision Faith organizations leading the charge to create wholeness in families and communities. Mission To empower and support faith organizations in their substance abuse prevention, treatment, recovery, and related services. Our Strategy We stand in the gap by promoting spirituality, creating awareness, and providing education and training to faith organizations.

  5. CCFC’s Philosophy Our Charge To have the broadest impact, CCFC does not provide direct service. It educates and trains faith organizations to deliver the direct service. Diversity is Important CCFC serves organizations of all faiths and denominations. It focuses on commonalities rather than religious differences. Our Services are Individualized CCFC does not have a standard CCFC model that it sells or gives to faith organizations. Its services are tailored to each organization. It periodically develops and tests programs that can be adapted and offered by faith organizations.

  6. CCFC’s Programs & Services • Training in Mental Health First Aid • Conferences/Workshops • Technical Assistance • Camp Family Re-Union • Steps to Recovery • Wise Up Tobacco Prevention • Credentialing of faith and community-based recovery support service providers • Addictions Academy • Convener of Missouri Faith Community Substance Abuse Resource Network • Training on implementation of Girls Holla Back!

  7. Missouri Faith Community Substance Abuse Resource Network • Quarterly statewide gathering of individuals of faith who are interested in substance abuse or related issues • Network has been meeting since 2002 • Collaborations have resulted from Network • Network advocates with legislators for funding for faith-based programs

  8. Uniqueness of Gifts of Faith Community

  9. Faith Community’s Intangible Gifts to the Field

  10. Faith Community’s Tangible (Material) Gifts to the Field

  11. Benefits of Involving the Faith Community • For many Americans, religious faith is the most important influence in their lives. • Spirituality is an important part of recovery for many individuals and families. • Ministries can help prevent alcohol and other drug abuse by reaching out to youth and getting them involved in positive activities.

  12. Benefits of Involving the Faith Community • The faith community can serve as a catalyst for changing public perceptions about mental disorders and increasing awareness that recovery is possible. • An important factor in recovery is understanding and acceptance from people. Congregations are in a unique position to offer understanding and acceptance.

  13. Benefits of Involving the Faith Community • Although there are various treatments and resources available, sometimes access is a problem. The local faith organization may be more accessible than other institutions. • In some cultures, congregation members consult with their spiritual leader before seeking treatment or in lieu of treatment.

  14. Benefits of Involving the Faith Community • Clergy get invited into people’s homes, whereas psychologists, psychiatrists, and counselors do not. • Faith organizations can mobilize the community around specific issues.

  15. Benefits of Involving the Faith Community • In some economically deprived neighborhoods, the church is the only institution left standing. • In some neighborhoods, faith organizations serve as the natural “hub” of the community. • People can learn to nurture their spirits through the faith community.

  16. Lessons Learned in Engaging the Faith Community • Become familiar with the faith organization’s stance on these issues. Check out denominational policy on alcohol use and related issues. • Understand that some clergy have full-time secular jobs in addition to their duties as spiritual leaders.

  17. Lessons Learned in Engaging the Faith Community • Working with the faith community is about building relationships. • Do not approach clergy with the attitude that the faith organization ought to be doing something about a particular issue.

  18. Lessons Learned in Engaging the Faith Community • Make sure the faith organization is a recovery-friendly organization. • Show the congregation how it can incorporate prevention, recovery, support into what it is already doing.

  19. Lessons Learned in Engaging the Faith Community • Do not expect faith organizations to provide social services without some compensation. • Understand that although some faith organizations have the passion and desire, they don’t have the capacity to offer social services on a sustained level.

  20. Lessons Learned in Engaging the Faith Community • Encourage collaboration among faith organizations and provide education on how the difference between networking, coordinating, cooperating, and collaborating. • Ensure that the faith organization has the training and education that it needs to address issues of substance abuse and mental health.

  21. Lessons Learned in Engaging the Faith Community • Help the faith organization build a ministry team to focus on substance abuse or mental health rather than having one person shoulder the entire responsibility for the ministry. • Prepare the congregation for the substance abuse or mental health ministry.

  22. Lessons Learned in Engaging the Faith Community • Help the substance abuse or mental health ministry develop a strategic plan to establish goals and objectives and ensure everyone is on the same page. • Do not try to strip the faith organization of what makes it unique. • Help faith organizations with similar passions link with one another. • Help the faith organization explore levels of involvement in the continuum of care.

  23. CCFC’s Addictions Academyas Training Model for Congregations Interested in Substance Abuse Ministry

  24. Addictions Academy • First piloted in St. Louis in 2002 with seed funds from St. Louis Mental Health Board. • 32-hour course on substance abuse and addiction offered over 5-day period at Lincoln University in heart of Missouri. • Specifically designed for the faith community. • From 2004 to 2009, the Missouri Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse used the Academy to train prospective faith and community-based recovery support service providers under Access to Recovery. • Unanticipated benefit of the Academy is opportunities for collaboration among graduates.

  25. Addictions Academy Class 2002 This first class consisted of four-hour sessions every Thursday night in St. Louis for 8 weeks. It was held on the campus of the University of Missouri – St. Louis. There were 59 graduates.

  26. Addictions Academy Class 2004 First statewide, week-long class held at Lincoln University

  27. Comments From Graduates About Addictions Academy • “It was a grace-filled gift.” • “Loved it! I was set free in my thinking and trusting.” • “Before I came, I did not have any plans of going to college, now I do.” • “It gave me a clearer understanding of what my true purpose is.” • “It was truly an experience I will never forget. I understand so much more about the work we provide now. Also I learned that we aren’t in competition but in unity together.”

  28. Comments from Graduates About Addictions Academy • “It gave me boldness and courage and compassion to tell other people about being set free.” • “The program helped me look at addiction in a different way.” • “Since I attended the Academy, I’ve become more equipped to help others help themselves. I appreciate the wealth of knowledge I gained at the Academy. In turn, I am motivated to passionately pursue my desire to become a certified substance abuse counselor. I am dedicated to this cause.”

  29. Topics Covered in Addictions Academy • Addiction 101 • Alcohol, Tobacco & Other Drugs: Challenges & Responses for Faith Leaders • How to Approach the User • Setting Up a Faith-Based Substance Abuse Program • Shame & Guilt of Addiction • History & Interpretation of the Twelve Step Model • Science-Based Drug Abuse Prevention • Co-Dependency & Family Dynamics

  30. Topics Covered in Addictions Academy • Introduction to Concept of Co-Occurring Disorders • Screening & Appropriate Referrals • Certification & Licensure • Finding Help for the Helper • The Access to Recovery Program • Ethics, Boundaries & Confidentiality • Call to Recovery • Suicide Prevention

  31. Advanced Addictions Academy • Pastoral Counseling • Science & Art of Recovery • Addiction to Food, Gambling, Sex • Co-Occurring Disorders • Crafting Sermons on Substance Abuse • Identifying Spiritual Gifts • Working with Re-entry Population • What’s the Latest in Prevention (Strategic Prevention Framework) • Achieving and Sustaining Recovery through Spiritual Growth • In-depth Look at Co-dependency • Prevention and Intervention for Children of Addicted Parents

  32. What the Academy Taught CCFC • Many people in recovery who want to help, only have their own experience from which to draw. They benefit from learning about other paths to recovery. • Many people who want to help still need healing themselves. • Often, members of the faith community learn best from people of faith who are also experts in the field.

  33. What the Academy Taught CCFC • Some people who want to help have no idea about the complexity of addiction and mental disorders and the relationship between the two. • Some faith organizations should not be involved in substance abuse or mental health ministry. • People of faith who work or volunteer in this field need more than information. • Education and training is essential.

  34. Session Summary • Provided brief overview of CCFC as an organization and its mission. • Talked about why it is important to involve the faith community in substance abuse and mental health ministry. • Shared lessons learned by CCFC. • Shared information about CCFC’s Addictions Academy.

  35. Contact Information Daphne Walker-Thoth, M.Ed., MACSAPP Executive Director, CCFC Research Associate, Missouri Institute of Mental Health 5400 Arsenal Street – Room C-307 St. Louis, MO 63139 (314) 877-6440 or (314) 645-6229 d.walkerthoth.ccfc@att.net Daphne.Walker-Thoth@mimh.edu Websites: www.ccfc-stl.org www.mimh.edu

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