Christianity ‘one goal’ for addicts

Press, 1 June 1977, Page 1

Christianity ‘one goal’ for addicts

By

FELICITY PRICE

Although Christianity may not be the cure for drug dependency, it may well be one of the answers to the problem, according to two Christchurch mental health experts who specialise in work with drug dependents. “Drug users do lack a goal in life, and Christianity could be an answer to this,” Mr E. D. Anderson, of the drug dependency section at Princess Margaret Hospital’s psychiatric unit said yesterday. “Anything that can give them a purpose in life is valuable.” In an article in “The Press” yesterday, Mr Ray Comfort, a young Christchurch businessman who has produced a booklet, and a paperback book called “My Friends Are Dying.” on the subject of drug addiction, maintained that Christianity was a cure for addiction. When asked to comment about Mr Comfort’s assertions, Mr H. C. Cohen, senior psychologist for the Justice Department’s South Island Psychological Centre, said he was prepared to believe that Christianity could be a cure. “However, it is not through the Christianity of the established Churches, but through the return to the original forms of Christianity that this rehabilitation has been achieved,” he said.

“People in the established Churches have the same attitudes to society, and the same material and moral values, that those who have become dependent on drugs opted out of,” he said.

“By accepting the charismatic Christianity they have opted for different values.” Mr Cohen said that transcendental meditation was considered another possible answer for the drug dependant seeking a goal to provide the necessary motivation for getting off drugs. "Addicts are inadequate people to start with,” he said. “To them, the idea of ordinary life seems incredibly dull and unattractive, and you seldom find any who want to come out of the drug scene.”

What was needed was long-term psychotherapeutic approach to treatment, he said. Mrs E. Macßaild. a counsellor at the National Society for Alcoholism and Drug Dependency in Christchurch, said that a lack of investment in anything outside the drug scene was most noticeable in all those attending the society, and Christianity could well give them a reason for existence. “For those addicts who buy it as a reason to live. I’m sure it is quite potent,” she said. "But you cannot expect it to be the answer for all of them.” In Christchurch, about 35 per cent of the society’s work is with drug problems. the rest is with drinking. Each month it sees about 30 to 45 people with drug problems, and most of these are heroin dependants.

At present, in addition to counselling and assessment, the society’s work with them centres on the methadone maintenance programme, designed to

substitute methadone (a synthetic drug) for heroin. It is generally agreed by those working with drug dependants, particularly the heroin addicts, that the success rate for total cure is very low — between 10 and 30 per cent.

The main reason they say, is the lack of motivation on the part of the addict to stay “clean.” Unless they can be given a reason to keep off narcotics, they are likely to return to their habit.

The actual physical withdrawal from the drug is relatively minor, whether it is through total withdrawal or through transfer to a substitute, such as methadone, compared with the psychological withdrawal.

Once the physical health of the addicts is restored, the social and psychological conditions — which led to the dependence in the first place — must be overcome.

This is where motivation is so important, and why experts such as Mr Cohen advocate long-term psychotherapy, so that the original personality disorder can be overcome.

Drug dependence was a symptom, not a disease, said one mental health expert.

The opinion of the experts would appear to tie in with that of Mr Comfort, who says in his book that young people, finding no lasting satisfaction in the values of society in the seventies are turning to the escapism of drug abuse for fulfilment.