A C T S–ALCOHOL CHEMICAL TREATMENT SERIES
AUTHOR UNKNOWN
THE ANSWER FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSE CARE
Many American families feel the agony linked to drug and alcohol abuse. Desperate sobs for help burst from the hearts of both the mercilessly addicted and the hurting family members who try to help and understand.
The frigid loneliness of the chemically dependent penetrates the fabric of the soul and weaves together unbearable guilt with depression. Although the addicted desperately desire a different lifestyle, the enslaving paradox of chemical dependency only promotes a continual conspiracy against every virtue of life. While sincerely craving mental and emotional tranquility, the chemically dependent person inevitably finds rejection, disappointment, and anguish.
The families of the chemically dependent, often ravished by poverty, neglect and abuse, grieve over their despairing plight. In love they try to understand, but their loved one’s paradoxical lifestyle only haunts them with inconsistencies. Misunderstandings result, and ultimately internalized shame and abuse etch deep scars into their mental and emotional makeup. With all hope shattered, the brutal slavery of defeat often suppresses these well-meaning families.
HOW A.C.T.S. WORKS
Using the vast experience of ministering to the needs of incarcerated men and women for over a decade, Christian Prisoner Fellowship developed the A.C.T.S. program to help dysfunctional people cope with their unique problems. Addressing the whole person, A.C.T.S. instructors share prepared lesson materials and emphasize interaction. While promoting human relationships and intimacy, the A.C.T.S. instructor individually cares for each afflicted person.
Each A.C.T.S. lesson addresses chemical dependency with an educational approach. Then, a simple object lesson reveals a life principle, and a life story applies the principle. Each participating addict quickly identifies with the lesson and sees the need and opportunity to change. Accompanying each lesson, testimonials and personal interaction of recovered addicts bring multiplied hope and provide positive role models.
A.C.T.S. also provides care for families of the chemically dependent.
THE A.C.T.S. INSTRUCTOR
The bright colors of hope emanate through concerned and loving A.C.T.S. instructors. Relating to the specific needs of the individual, the instructor carefully unfolds the layers of guilt and pain in a substance abuser’s heart. As if performing delicate surgery, the sympathetic instructor painstakingly unlocks the doors to a new life.
Trained and qualified through Christian Prisoner Fellowship, an international prison ministry organization, the A.C.T.S. instructor manifests the professional image that you would expect. At the same time, the instructor also shatters the distant veneer of professionalism and individually cares for each fragile person.
LIVES MENDED
Positive results multiply as A.C.T.S. reaches more chemically dependent people and their families. Personal anxieties diminish while self-esteem blossoms. Caring people lead the chemically dependent into a new lifestyle that is filled with positive activities. With newly developed coping skills, the once chemically dependent finds new freedom and tranquility in a miraculously recovered life.
In the words of an incarcerated A.C.T.S. participant, Robert Lucas:
I remember when I first arrived at the Oklahoma City Community Treatment Center. I recall the posted bulletins announcing A.C.T.S. At that time I knew nothing of the program or the people who sponsor it, but deep inside me I had a wonderful feeling about it. When the program started I was one of the first there and rarely missed a meeting.
The A.C.T.S. program gave me and the people I shared with a very positive outlook on life, a place to lay down unproductive and self-destructive characteristics and replace them with an outgoing spirit of freshness and newness–something that is very hard to put into words. Through the A.C.T.S. class instruction and helps, my moral values and my happiness have greatly increased. From the changes I’ve seen in mine and others’ lives who attended A.C.T.S., I highly recommend this program.
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THE ABOVE MATERIAL WAS TAKEN FROM TRUMPET, SEPTEMBER 1992, PAGES 7, 10.
THIS MATERIAL IS COPYRIGHTED AND MAY BE USED FOR STUDY & RESEARCH PURPOSES ONLY.
