Introduction

The benefits of engaging the faith community in both the prevention and treatment of substance abuse and dependence cannot be overstated. According to SAMHSA’s National Survey of Drug Use and Health, today, an estimated 7.7 million persons aged 12 or older need treatment for an illicit drug problem; 18.6 million need treatment for an alcohol problem. Compounding the problem, countless individuals in need of services cannot or do not receive them. Of the 7.7 million who need treatment for an illicit drug problem, only 1.4 million individuals received treatment at a specialty substance abuse facility. Of those not getting needed treatment, an estimated 362,000 reported they knew they needed treatment – among them, approximately 88,000 who had sought but were unable to get the treatment they needed.

SAMHSA has been responding to the needs of people with or at risk for substance use disorders creatively, thoughtfully, and with an eye toward outcomes that can be measured by lives of dignity and productivity. SAMHSA’s vision is of a life in the community for everyone, a vision that is a hallmark of President Bush’s New Freedom Initiative. SAMHSA is achieving that vision by emphasizing the twin goals of building resilience and facilitating recovery. In collaboration with the States, national and local community-based organizations, and public and private sector providers, we are working to ensure that people with or at risk for sub- stance use disorders have an opportunity for lives that are rich and rewarding, that include jobs, homes, and meaningful relationships with family and friends. The engagement of the faith community is an integral part of that effort, particularly at the local level.

Thus, in November 2001, SAMHSA sup- ported a meeting of an expert panel on seminary education, convened in collaboration with the National Association for Children of Alcoholics (NACoA) and the Johnson Institute (JI). That panel recommended the development of a set of “core competencies” – basic knowledge and skills clergy need to help addicted individuals and their families. To help develop those core competencies, SAMHSA, again joined by NACoA and JI, convened a more broadly based panel meeting in Washington, DC, on February 26- 27, 2003. This report details the content of that meeting and the resulting core competencies recommended as a result of the collective work of the meeting participants.

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The Structure of the Core Competencies

Recognizing that clergy and other pastoral ministers have an array of opportunities to address problems of alcohol and drug dependence based on their own positions (e.g., small vs. large congregations, adult vs. youth ministries), panelists agreed that core competencies should provide a general framework with application to diverse pastoral situations. The core competencies should reflect the scope and limits of the typical pastoral relationship and should be in accord with the spiritual and social goals of such a relationship. Panelists delineated the multiple, intersecting roles of the majority of clergy and other pastoral ministers: to comfort and support individuals, to create communities of mutual caring within congregations, and to educate the congregation, and sometimes the larger community, about issues of importance to individual and community well-being. They recognized that each pastoral role offers specific opportunities to address alcohol and drug dependence and their impact on individuals and families. Panelists also recognized that each opportunity is unique, requiring a particular set of knowledge and skills.

Summarizing the Clergy’s Base of Knowledge and Skills

Panelists agreed that, if clergy are to inte- grate work on alcohol and drug dependence into their pastoral roles, they need basic facts about these illnesses and their impact on the individual and family members. They need to be knowledgeable about:

• The neurological mechanisms and behavioral manifestations of alcohol and drug dependence
• The effects of alcohol and drugs on cognitive functioning
• The role alcohol or drugs may play in the life of an individual
• The various environmental harms posed by alcohol and drug dependence to families, workplaces, and society as a whole
• The experience of alcohol and drug dependence; how alcohol or drug use affects the “inner world” of the indi- vidual using them and how it can affect family members

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