Why a Christian Rehab Program for Addiction Treatment?

When the founders of Seabrook House (now Seabrook) sat in a circle with the idea of bringing an addiction treatment center to New Jersey, the traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) was their guiding light. The year was 1968. This small group of AA and Al-Anon members consisted of two Roman Catholics, one Lutheran, one Episcopalian, one Baptist and one very Agnostic individual. Their understanding of the Oxford Group (known originally as A First Century Christian Fellowship), assisted them in ensuring spirituality would be key to recovery at Seabrook.

Founded in 1921 by Frank Buckman, an American Lutheran minister, the Oxford Group, considered sharing to be a necessity, it allowed one to be healed. It was viewed as a blessing to share. Two early members of the Oxford Group were Dr. Bob and Bill W., AA’s founders. Moral standards of absolute honesty, absolute purity, absolute unselfishness, and absolute love, though seen in some circles as impossible to attain, were guidelines to help determine whether a course of action was directed by God. In Oxford terms, sin was "anything that kept one from God or one another" and is "as contagious as any bodily disease".

To be spiritually reborn, the Oxford Group advocated the following four practices:

1.   The sharing of our sins and temptations with another Christian.

2.   Surrender our life past, present and future, into God's keeping and direction.

3.   Restitution to all whom we have wronged directly or indirectly.

4.   Listening for God's guidance, and carrying it out.

These practices morphed into the six precepts relayed by Ebby T., who was Bill W.’s AA sponsor:

1.    We admitted we were licked.

2.    We got honest with ourselves.

3.    We talked it over with another person.

4.    We made amends to those we had harmed.

5.    We tried to carry the message to others with no thought of reward.

6.    We prayed to whatever God we thought there was.

This all sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Dr. Bob, Bill W., and Dr. Samuel Shoemaker spent hours studying and discussing the portions of the bible that aligned with the Oxford Group. From all of this, the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous emerged.

Seabrook opened its doors to families with addiction in 1974, now some 44 years ago. The rest “is history” as they say, an organization devoted to the spiritual principles that founded it.

Today, Seabrook offers it patients treatment services that ensure lasting recovery which heals the physical, emotional, spiritual and social impact of substance use disorder. Addiction is a chronic disease. We believe that Faith and Spirituality are at the “Heart of Recovery”. Our desire is spiritual healing for all our patients of all faiths, including those who are Atheists or Agnostics.

Seabrook’s Rehab for the Body, Soul & Spirit, is a specific program that uses the "Life Recovery Bible NLT" published by Tyndale and edited by Stephen Arterburn and David Stoop and the Life Recovery Workbook, “A Biblical Guide through the 12 Steps”. The program consists of daily lectures, behavioral groups, weekly recovery groups, individual spiritual counseling, pastoral counseling and regularly scheduled non-denominational services. Sunday worship at local churches and Reconciliation are also available.

The Seabrook Spiritual Care Director is the Rev. Paul M. Asciutto Jr. MSW, LCSW.

Rev. Asciutto has devoted his life to helping individuals and families develop healthy ways to deal with the stressors in life for over 40 years. He brings to the table his Spiritual wisdom as a Pastor and teacher for 20 years and his knowledge in the addiction field for the last 20 years. He was Ordained to the Gospel Ministry at First Baptist Church in Dallas Texas in 1981 and graduated from the Criswell Center for Biblical Studies, with a Bachelor of Arts Degree. He has a Bachelor of Science Degree from the City University of NY; and a Masters of Social Work from Stony Brook University in 1994. He is a Licensed Social Worker since 1994 and a Licensed Clinical Social Worker since 2011. In 2013 he was approved as a Clinical Social Work Supervisor. He was awarded the Greater Philadelphia Community Service Award for Spirituality in 2016.

He believes that God called him to Seabrook and has served as our Family Services Coordinator for over five years. He has taught and inspired over 2,000 families to develop and implement new coping skills needed in their journey of healing from the disease of addiction. Rev. Paul has helped to develop a Spirituality and Christian Recovery Program and serves as the Spiritual Care Director overseeing this wonderful program.

For more information, please reach out to the Reverend Paul M. Asciutto, Jr. MSW, LCSW at pasciutto@seabrook.org

Yours in Recovery,

Matthew J. Wolf, Vice President Seabrook