Addiction and Pastoral Care

A timely resource treating addiction holistically as both a spiritual and a pathological condition

Substance addictions present a unique set of challenges for pastoral care. In this book Sonia Waters weaves together personal stories, research, and theological reflection to offer helpful tools for ministers, counselors, chaplains, and anyone else called to care pastorally for those struggling with addiction.

Waters uses the story of the Gerasene demoniac in Mark’s Gospel to reframe addiction as a “soul-sickness” that arises from a legion of individual and social vulnerabilities. She includes pastoral reflections on oppression, the War on Drugs, trauma, guilt, discipleship, and identity. The final chapters focus on practical-care skills that address the challenges of recovery, especially ambivalence and resistance to change.

• Pastoral Care and Counseling- An Introduction
• Pastoral Care And Counseling With Latino/as (Creative Pastoral Care & Counseling)
• Dangerous Calling: Confronting the Unique Challenges of Pastoral Ministry (Paperback Edition)
• Skills for Effective Counseling: A Faith-Based Integration (Christian Association for Psychological Studies Books)
• The Recovery-Minded Church: Loving and Ministering to People With Addiction
• Sex Addiction 101: A Basic Guide to Healing from Sex, Porn, and Love Addiction
• Cut Dead But Still Alive: Caring for African American Young Men
• Everything Changes: Help for Families of Newly Recovering Addicts
• Buzzed: The Straight Facts About the Most Used and Abused Drugs from Alcohol to Ecstasy, Fifth Edition
• Leading on Empty: Refilling Your Tank and Renewing Your Passion