SPIRITUALITY IN RECOVERY
addiction: biological, psychological, social, and spiritual. He
“I often wondered where religion fell into the process of treatment and recovery,” As the founder and executive director of a ministry dedicated to professionally training counselors, McDaniel often references four major theories of Throughout his nearly 40 years of work in chemical dependency counseling, Karell T. McDaniel’s sessions have spanned beyond discussions of substances and mental health. They reach deeper into an area he believes is often overlooked yet is vital to progressing through the 12 steps of recovery. His work in the field initially began as a drug counselor in the military. But after his separation in 1993, his ministerial passion and commitment to bettering treatment processes led him to pursue an uncommon path in counseling. “I often wondered where religion fell into the process of treatment and recovery,” he said. “In a lot of the treatment programs I’d seen, I noticed the religious portion was absent. That shifted my approach.” In the African-American community, where religion is the backbone of many households, McDaniel says the need for spirituality in counseling during recovery is great. “Many of these individuals have been brought up in their faith, and there is an innate desire to turn back to that faith. But as a result of their addiction, they may find their spiritual connection has been blocked or eroded.”
believes his calling in the field is to direct increased attention to the spiritual part of the recovery process. In 2006, he founded Life Recovery Ministries, an organization that provides faith-based counseling through support groups and education. He was also instrumental in founding the Recovery Church. The two organizations are designed to build a bridge between professional providers and the faith-based community. “Just as hospitals have chaplains in them, I didn’t understand why the treatment community did not have chaplains in them.” McDaniel believes the disconnect between treatment programs and spirituality prevents clients from accessing and healing parts of themselves that are vital to their recovery. In 2012, McDaniel became the chair of a faith-based sub-committee funded by the ADAMHS Board of Cuyahoga County, which led to him becoming one of the first funded faith-based providers in the county. During assessments, McDaniel and his team asked clients if they believe in God or a higher power. “About 94 percent of them always acknowledged that they did. So that became the question of their faith and how practicing their religious beliefs can be incorporated into a system to best lead them through the recovery process.”
- KARELL MCDANIEL
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