Spirituality in 12 Step Recovery: The Many Paths to Spiritual Fitness - June 2019

Dawn Farm Addiction and Recovery Education Series

“Spirituality in Recovery: The Many Paths to Spiritual Fitness“ was presented on June 25, 2019; by Jerry Fouchey, BS, MA, SpA, CADC; Dawn Farm Personal Medicine Therapist and Didactic Group Facilitator. Spirituality can play an important role in recovery initiation and maintenance. Research has demonstrated that self-identification as a “spiritual” person correlates positively with successful abstinence regardless of whether the person self-identifies as a “religious” person. Twelve Step recovery programs challenge participants through the Eleventh Step to “seek through prayer and meditation to improve their conscious contact with God as they understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will and the power to carry that out.” The literature points out that recovering people have "tread innumerable paths" in this process. This presentation will encourage participants to clarify their personal understanding of a Higher Power, examine the quality of their relationship with that Power, and explore vehicles to build their conscious contact.

This program is part of the Dawn Farm Education Series, a FREE, annual education series developed to provide accurate, helpful, hopeful, practical, current information about substance use disorders, recovery, family and related issues. The Education Series is organized by Dawn Farm, a non-profit community of programs providing a continuum of substance use disorder treatment and recovery support services. For information, please see http://www.dawnfarm.org/programs/education-series.

ABOUT THE PRESENTER Jerry Fouchey, BS, MA, Sp.A., CADC Jerry Fouchey has extensive experience in the field of education as an administrator, facilitator, strategist, teacher and practitioner in the areas of educational administration, curriculum, instruction and staff development, and has played leadership roles in many initiatives in various public school districts. After several years as a Dawn Farm Spera Recovery Center Counselor and later as an Outpatient therapist, Jerry Fouchey currently serves as a Lifestyle Medicine therapist and didactic group facilitator for Dawn Farm. He earned his BS, MA, and Sp.A. from Eastern Michigan University, has received additional training in substance use disorder prevention and treatment procedures, and is a Certified Alcohol & Drug Counselor (CADC). Jerry was instrumental in the implementation of Dawn Farm’s Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) and Lifestyle Medicine programs.