Thursday's Morning Report from Politics in Minnesota contains a link to an article in the Marshall Independent that ordinarily would have escaped Bluestem's attention, Addiction program new to area touts 80 percent success rate.
The article tells of the establishment of an addiction program called Reformers Unanimous at Bethel Fellowship, a nondenominational church in Minneota. Like nearly every news report about RU that Bluestem found in searching Nexis, the reporter seems to have accepted the claims made by program organizers about the efficacy of the program--and the dismissal of other programs--without fact checking.
But unlike reports about RU in the database--and statements made by the organization's national director--the local organizers claim that RU "isn't meant to bring people into the church in general."
Moreover, the broad definition of what constitutes an "addiction" might raise eyebrows.
Success rates?
In the article, program administrator Dale Johnson tells reporter Karin Elton:
"In other programs, it's one out of 10 will make it," he said. "In this program it's eight out of 10. When I first heard about the success rate, I thought 'this is ridiculous,' but judges have endorsed it in Rockford, Illinois, where it started and jails let inmates out to attend meetings. A bus picks them up and takes them there. They have a good relationship with the courts. (The courts) are seeing the fruit. They don't want to keep seeing the same people over and over again. America has more people in prison than any other country."
Oh really? First off, Bluestem couldn't find any independent verification of RU's self-professed "success rate," simply the assertion repeated year after year by organizers. Since Johnson is talking about a meeting-style program, perhaps RU might be compared to the original 12-step program, Alcoholics Anonymous.
Finding an apples-to-apples comparison is difficult, especially given the glibness of RU's assertions. A 2011 Scientific American article, Does Alcoholics Anonymous Work?, reports:
In 2006 psychologist Rudolf H. Moos of the Department of Veterans Affairs and Stanford University and Bernice S. Moos published results from a 16-year study of problem drinkers who had tried to quit on their own or who had sought help from AA, professional therapists or, in some cases, both. Of those who attended at least 27 weeks of AA meetings during the first year, 67 percent were abstinent at the 16-year follow-up, compared with 34 percent of those who did not participate in AA. Of the subjects who got therapy for the same time period, 56 percent were abstinent versus 39 percent of those who did not see a therapist—an indication that seeing a professional is also beneficial.
Caron, a Pennsylvania-based rehab center, reports in Current Statistics: Facts on Relapse and Recovery:
Relapse rates from addiction (40 to 60%) can be compared to those suffering from other chronic illnesses such as Type I diabetes (30 - 50%), Hypertension (50-70%) and asthma (50 to 70%). Drug addiction should be treated like any other chronic illness, with relapse indicating the need for renewed intervention.11
And:
A major outcomes study with 10,000 patients in both in-patient and outpatient treatment (Hoffman & Miller) found that 90% of patients attending AA meetings at least weekly and participating in aftercare for one year were able to abstain from the use of any alcohol at all during that year.14
Thus, while RU's assertions for its success rate can neither be confirmed or refuted, the dismissal of other programs isn't particularly well-grounded.
About that church thing
Bethel Fellowship pastor Tom Nomeland told the Independent:
Nomeland said the program is open to anyone who has any type of addiction - it could be drugs, pornography, gambling, eating disorders. It isn't meant to bring people into the church in general or to Bethel, but the parishioners are there to help [emphasis added].
Bluestem found this claim to be peculiar, since the biography of the national organization's director, Ben Burks, states:
Reformers Unanimous is a faith based addiction program designed to direct the addicted back to God’s support group—the local church.
Burk's site is listed under "Our Other Sites" on RU's front page. The mission statement is repeated in the graphic at the head of this post, found on the website for the Hammond, IN, RU chapter (only a 75 percent national success rate asserted on that page).
Under the section What We Offer: For The Courts, there's this description:
Reformers Unanimous is a faith-based program that focuses on reforming behavior by transforming our thought processes according to spiritual principles. Since the concepts of Reformer Unanimous are faith-based, the student has a life-time support system when integrated into a local church in his community.
And RU isn't a program of ongoing recovery, but rather:
Reformers Unanimous Ministries exists to help anybody worldwide who wishes to experience a life of victory over difficulty. This victory is obtained and retained not through an experience of ongoing effort, but through a once in a lifetime decision to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and a subsequent dedication to developing a dynamic love relationship with Him.
Since the national program is fairly upfront about the importance of a local church for the individual "addict," it's curious that the Minneota staff would claim otherwise.
About those addictions
Finally, there's the matter of the omnibus "addiction" approach. Recall that Nomeland told the Independent:
Nomeland said the program is open to anyone who has any type of addiction - it could be drugs, pornography, gambling, eating disorders.
While there's some similiarity between anorexia and bulimia and addiction, one wonders if the catch-all approach of throwing the porn "addict" in with the anorexic is the best policy. Moreover, other sources suggest that RU considers queer sexual identity an addiction to be cured.
In the vernacular: pray away the gay.
In the 2012 article, Illegal … But Still Sinful Legal, but still sinful…, Burks wrote:
. . . Alcohol may be legal, but it is still sinful. Marijuana may be legal in some states, but it is still sinful. The real issue is with God. That is all that should matter. RU Principle #1 is the only real place to start for recovery – “If God is against it, so am I”.
. . .I can take you across this great country and introduce you to people who have started with Principle #1 and their lives have been enriched and transformed. No longer are they addicted to sinful homosexual ways. No longer are they ensnared by alcohol, marijuana, or any other sinful, controlling substances. They have been changed.
Well then. "Homosexuality" is an addiction, as well as a sin for Burks. Search the Internet a bit, and one can find examples of individuals who are in RU chapters for this "addiction." BJUnity tells the story of Jonathan Nichols, whose mother sought an RU cure for his "addiction":
. . .Before I left, my mom asked me if I would consider going to the Reformers Unanimous men’s home in Rockford, Illinois. For those of you unfamiliar with it, Reformers Unanimous is an “addictions ministry” that is completely Bible based. Basically what that means is that there is no certification necessary. Church laypeople are acting as counselors to anyone, regardless of what he or she is struggling with. The men’s house is a place where the extreme cases can go for more intensive Biblical treatment. The realization that my mother saw my being me as the same level of non-desirability as a compulsive alcoholic or serial drug user increased my desire to leave. . .
And that men's home? While certification isn't needed, the program isn't entirely a private affair. The housing application form online includes this bit:
FOOD ASSISTANCE: Provided by state In an effort to further lower program costs for our students, we have partnered with the state of Illinois to provide food assistance to those who qualify. Each student will be taken to the local department of human services to be assessed for food assistance eligibility and is required to take the necessary steps to qualify.
Food stamps? For the poor, dependence in some conservatives' thinking. For RU in-patient services, a way to a personal relationship with Jesus. Never mind the The Lies and Dangers of Reparative Therapy that HRC outlines.
One wonders what other elements of humanity RU considers "addictions," and if Minnesota's courts or social services have shuffled anyone into the three existing RU programs in Minnesota.
Private individuals have the right to signup for whatever religious healing they want, but putting this on the public's dime or time--especially in the absence of evidence-based recovery rates--might not be the best course in Minnesota.
Photo: An RU meme.
Comments