SAMHSA Releases Guide for Clergy

By Sarah Priestman and Rebecca Clay

SAMHSA's Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) is helping to break through the "wall of silence" that isolates clergy from discussing substance abuse problems with their congregants.

A new CSAT report, Core Competencies for Clergy and Other Pastoral Ministers in Addressing Alcohol and Drug Dependence and the Impact on Family Members, summarizes the basic knowledge, skills, and attitudes that ministers, priests, rabbis, imams, and other religious leaders need to help addicted individuals and their families.

Developed in partnership with the National Association for Children of Alcoholics (NACoA) and the Johnson Institute, the report outlines a dozen key steps.

"These core competencies will give clergy an effective tool to help address drug abuse and alcoholism before individuals and families are in crisis," said CSAT Director H. Westley Clark, M.D., J.D., M.P.H.

Congregational leaders have many opportunities to provide information, guidance, and comfort to congregants and family members affected by alcohol and drug dependence. But all too often, those opportunities are lost.

"Every week, religious leaders of different faiths look out into their congregations and see people who are dealing with substance abuse issues," said NACoA Executive Director Sis Wenger. "Many of them, however, don't recognize the symptoms of substance abuse or the fear and confusion felt by the children of persons with substance use disorders. As a result, they don't offer their support."

A big part of the problem is that clergy simply aren't trained to recognize or address such problems. In fact, a panel of experts convened by SAMHSA in 2001 found that few clergy training programs specifically address the topic of addiction or its effects on children and families. To fill that gap, the panel recommended the development of a set of core competencies clergy members should have.

Determining what those competencies should be was the goal of a 2-day meeting convened by SAMHSA in 2003. Congregational leaders, researchers, physicians, academicians in both secular and religious institutions, and others representing diverse religious perspectives and congregations came together to reach a consensus on ways to address this pervasive problem.

Designed to provide a general framework that religious leaders can apply to diverse situations, the core competencies reflect the typical clergy member's multiple roles. Several competencies, for example, address the clerical role of providing comfort and support to parishioners. To fulfill that role with substance-abusing individuals and their families, clergy members should learn to recognize signs of dependence, understand addiction's effect on individuals and their families, and know the characteristics of each stage of recovery.

But getting congregants the help they need means more than just making referrals, the report emphasizes. "While referrals may be appropriate," the report notes, "alone they are insufficient." Well-prepared clergy should know how treatment can benefit addicted individuals and their families, be familiar with 12-step groups and other community resources that can help them, and be able to express concern, caring, and hope. Children need special attention, the report stresses, because substance abuse affects the whole family. Clergy and other pastoral ministers can connect them with appropriate support services and act as safe, reliable confidants.

After establishing a list of core competencies, the panel assembled suggestions for dissemination. A public education campaign using what the report calls "an interdenominational voice" was one suggestion for reaching religious, professional, and lay audiences.

Even more important, the participants offered recommendations for integrating the core competencies into both seminary and post-ordination training programs for clergy.

"These core competencies establish the base for possibly the biggest cross-denominational educational effort of its kind," said Johnny W. Allem, president of the Johnson Institute. "They pave the way for community-based pastoral counseling training centers and 185 accredited American seminaries to have a common approach to bring both faith and science to bear on this disease."

The American Association of Pastoral Counselors (AAPC) is partnering with NACoA and the Johnson Institute to include the core competencies in its pastoral counseling and credentialing programs. According to Douglas Ronsheim, D.Min., AAPC Executive Director, "Congregational leaders are responding to issues of substance abuse and affected family members at increasing rates." At the same time, they are hesitant to counsel in areas outside their expertise. The core competencies will increase the clergy's capacity to respond more effectively to the needs of their congregational members.

The report suggests the development of several educational tools based on the competencies, including a continuing education curriculum, a preaching and teaching guide with sample sermons, and a bibliography of resources on addiction and spirituality.

Clergy members' influence can extend beyond their own congregations, the report points out. By reshaping congregational attitudes and norms, the clergy helps to reshape wider community norms.

"The people whom SAMHSA serves are the very same people who turn to clergy every day," said SAMHSA Administrator Charles G. Curie, M.A., A.C.S.W. "This report is the beginning of a long process that will result in educational segments being incorporated into seminary courses that will help train clergy and pastoral ministers across denominations to deal with substance abuse issues."

Back to Top