Celebrate Recovery (CR) is an excellent option for anyone ready to live their lives in sobriety. Attending CR support groups allows you to learn and benefit from a Christ-centered approach to healing from addiction.
True recovery requires much more than just inpatient or outpatient rehab. A solid aftercare treatment plan is required to provide ongoing, long-term support. Celebrate Recovery does a great job of providing this level of support.
Celebrate Recovery is an organization that offers a biblically-based, Christian approach to addiction recovery.
By regularly attending support groups, CR members receive encouragement from one another and find a safe place to express their pain honestly. Through this process, individuals learn how to identify their negative attitudes and destructive habits so they can experience true freedom.
Celebrate Recovery began at Saddleback Church in California in 1991 when a man named John Baker sent a 13-page letter to Pastor Rick Warren. The letter outlined how God had healed John from his “hurts, hang-ups, and habits.” John expressed an interest in bringing that same healing to others, and with Pastor Rick’s encouragement, the first Celebrate Recovery meeting was held in November 1991.
By the late 1990s, prisons and other facilities were using the same program. In the 2000s, Celebrate Recovery had started to spread worldwide.
CR members learn how to rely on a version of the 12-Step Program that is used in Alcoholics Anonymous. The two are very similar; however, AA cites a “Higher Power” while Celebrate Recovery uses the word God.
According to the Celebrate Recovery website, the 12 Steps and their biblical references are:
The acronym R.E.C.O.V.E.R.Y. is another important part of Celebrate Recovery, and it’s referred to as the 8 Principles. The 8 Principles are:
Celebrate Recovery can help members with so much more than substance abuse. Bible-believing Christians who are in substance abuse recovery will certainly benefit, but CR offers support with a range of issues, including:
Celebrate Recovery has shown to be extremely effective in helping its members reach and remain in recovery. This effectiveness is primarily due to the organization’s structure, which can result in several benefits for individuals who regularly attend.
So many people feel alone when they’re in recovery. Attending CR reminds them they’re not alone and it not only provides them with much-needed support, but it also gives them opportunities to support others.
Celebrate Recovery only relies upon the Bible and CR-approved materials. However, these resources are readily available to members to help them continue in recovery long-term.
CR members are expected to keep other members’ private information to themselves. Confidentiality is vitally important to each small group’s integrity as well as to each individual’s healing process.
Celebrate Recovery small groups are places to find support, not advice. Members are encouraged to focus on their own issues while supporting one another without attempting to fix what they see as wrong in other people.
Although Celebrate Recovery is a great option for many people, it’s often not the best place to start receiving the healing you may need.
People in need of addiction treatment and mental health treatment often need to begin with some type of inpatient or outpatient care before they transition to programs like Celebrate Recovery.
At Transformations Treatment Center, we offer Christian treatment options that align with your beliefs as you begin the recovery process. Our well-rounded program is designed to meet you where you are and address the root cause of the issues you face.
Please contact us today if you or a loved one needs mental health or addiction treatment.
