“Growth is a spiral process, doubling back on itself, reassessing and regrouping.”

Juliea Margaret Cameron



Many recovery models treat recovery as a pass/fail situation. Each relapse is experienced as a total failure necessitating starting over. Reset the clock to day one. The previous months and sometimes years of recovery are no longer counted. As if all of the work, tears, and growth are nothing. No wonder people get discouraged and believe they may never recover.

A spiritually affirming approach connects to cycles of nature. Growth in nature is often in spiral patterns and it is never in a perfectly straight line. When spiraling in a growth pattern we are frequently at the same issue as we progress around and as we grow, the spiral takes us to that struggle less and less often, with more strength and skills each time.

How this looks in therapy is we start recovering for longer periods. Relapses often get shorter until finally goals for recovery are achieved. Rather than feeling helpless or hopeless about the substance use, a spiritually affirming path encourages one to fully experience the present moment. This ability to be fully present allows one the ability to increase tolerance for all of the human condition rather than using numbing substances or behaviors.

This may look like a daily mindfulness meditation. It may be being more fully embodied through yoga or tai chi practice. It may be wearing amethyst, a stone traditionally associated with recovery as a visual, physical, and energetic reminder of your growth. It may be a gratitude journal to expand your awareness to more than just the pain points in your life.



Spiritually affirming therapy is not about religion, although it may include that for many. It is therapy that focuses on bringing the fullness of who you are and expanding your connection to all of life. When you are and connected, the ability to manage those struggles increases too allowing for expansion beyond previously unhealthy coping strategies.

Deepening our ability to be fully present transforms and diminishes the need for substance use which is, at its core, a tool to avoid being present. When we can be fully present for the painful struggles, as well as the joys of our existence, we transform the experience and are able to regulate it in the course of daily life.