Orthodox rehabilitation center for drug addicts. Orthodox rehabilitation centers for alcoholics free of charge

There are more than 4 thousand social institutions of the Russian Orthodox Church in Russia. Among them are more than 70 rehabilitation centers, 14 resocialization centers, 13 outpatient centers and 34 counseling centers for drug addicts. And every year at least 10 new church structures are opened that specialize in such assistance. All of them will soon be united into a single network. Izvestia visited all types of institutions in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region to understand how the recovery process is going.

Getting rid of drug addiction through the social institutions of the Russian Orthodox Church begins with the fact that either the drug addict himself or his relatives turn to the Church for help. People can come to counseling centers directly from the street or call a helpline. By the time the drug addict begins “joint work” with the Church, he must undergo detoxification himself in a medical institution. As the head of the Coordination Center for Combating Drug Addiction and Alcoholism of the St. Petersburg Diocese, Archpriest Maxim Pletnev, explained to Izvestia, a beginning rehabilitator must be “clean” for at least three days.

After this, the drug addict goes through a motivational period, which ranges from one to three months. For this purpose, there are both secular and church motivational centers - the Russian Orthodox Church actively interacts with secular authorities, hospitals, centers, groups of anonymous alcoholics and drug addicts.

Then comes the third and main stage of recovery, which takes from six months to two years - within the framework of the church rehabilitation center, a parish or monastic community, remote from the city and its temptations.

Finally, the fourth stage begins - resocialization, or return to society. From three months to six months, former drug addicts live in “halfway houses” and adaptation apartments. And at the same time they are looking for work, restoring ties with family and becoming city residents again after long months spent in a rehabilitation center or rural community.

Now there is a lot of work going on to unite all existing rehabilitation, counseling and outpatient centers for drug addicts in the church into a single network,” Vasily Rulinsky, press secretary of the Synodal Department for Charity, told Izvestia. - The system will allow church social workers to receive all the necessary information and organize the movement of each specific “patient” through the network.

It is difficult to judge the effectiveness of programs to return drug addicts to normal life. As the Russian Orthodox Church explained to Izvestia, such statistics are complicated by a number of factors. For example, many residents of rehabilitation centers, having started new life, change phone numbers. Therefore, it is difficult to judge relapses that occurred after a long period. But if we take shorter periods of time, the Church says that at least more than half of those who complete the course never return to bad habit. And this is a large figure, considering that state, secular rehabilitation programs, according to representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church, provide recovery to only 10–20% of those who apply.

Brotherhood of Addicts

The Sologubovka rehabilitation center is located 50 km from St. Petersburg, in the Kirovsky district of the Leningrad region. The center operates at the temple in the name of the Saints Royal Passion-Bearers Tikhvin Diocese of the St. Petersburg Metropolitanate and at the same time subordinate to the Diakonia charitable foundation, which also operates under the Metropolitanate. “Sologubovka” is designed for the simultaneous stay of 26 pupils - this is how drug and alcohol addicts are called here - and accepts men over the age of 18 years.

As the head of the rehabilitation programs of the Diakonia Foundation, Priest Alexey Zhigalov, told Izvestia, priests use all the achievements of world psychotherapy, including the experience of Western countries adapted for Russia.

The rector of the church, Archpriest Alexander Zakharov, is responsible for the “spiritual nourishment” of the pupils, and Alexey Zhigalov is responsible for the rest of the rehabilitation. Drug addicts usually spend six months in Sologubovka. The center is completely full, and there is even a queue. Rehabilitation here is free, but if a person wants to help the organization, such help is welcome. In addition to Sologubovka, Diakonia has another rehabilitation center - Poshitni in the Pushkinogorsky district of the Pskov region. It is designed for 16 people.

According to the executive director of the foundation, Elena Rydalevskaya, rehabilitation in such centers is very different from the “traditional paternalistic model of healthcare.” Rydalevskaya is a narcologist by training; she claims that ordinary medical institutions treat drug addicts as sick, degenerate and irresponsible people. Here we can see an attempt to form a kind of brotherhood of people who have lived through a similar experience. They live and work on equal terms: on the land, on the farm at the center, in the kitchen. However, recovery is not built on hard work.

This is an erroneous judgment,” notes Father Alexey. - If you try to load students with work as much as possible, thereby forcing them to put problems out of their heads, nothing will work. On the contrary, we are trying to dig as deep as possible, to get to the root of the problem in order to solve it. Therefore, our students remember their past every day, analyze their mistakes several times a day, keep diaries, complete individual written assignments, do a lot of work on themselves... Some do not write very well, with spelling errors, but everyone writes.

Treatment is prayer, punishment is poetry

Every day, drug addicts attend morning and evening prayers, and also pray together before and after meals. However, it is not necessary to be a believing Christian. Father Alexey says that the center is ready to accept anyone. No one is forced to be baptized here, the priest emphasizes. However, initiation into religion occurs even without this, by introducing people to the basics of faith and frequent communication with parishioners.

“I’ve been here for three and a half months,” says 35-year-old Mark from Vyborg. - How did you get here? Caught with psychoactive substances. Spent two days in a temporary detention facility. Then there were drug treatment clinics, where I stupidly spent 80-odd days, then I ended up here.

The first two weeks are very difficult, you want to escape from the center every day. But, despite the fact that you can leave rehabilitation at any time - in Sologubovka, contrary to popular belief about the treatment of drug addicts, no one is deprived of their freedom and there is not even a fence on the territory - something keeps the majority of pupils from this step.

I also thought that this was some kind of sect, I doubted whether I needed it, prayers before dinner were simply wild for me,” Mark admits. - But three weeks later I approached the priest myself and underwent Baptism - well, because I understood that there was some kind of emptiness inside me.

During the first weeks in the community it is forbidden to use mobile phones. Then, when the student “gets accustomed”, calls and visits with relatives are allowed. Another taboo is foul language. True, the “punishment” for it is very specific. Pupils are asked to read the verse.

Representatives of the Church note that over the years of social service they have gotten rid of the “messianic complex” about helping everyone. But, according to the clergy, among their pupils those who do not return to old life, is still significantly larger compared to conventional centers.

Orthodox rehabilitation and adaptation of drug addicts, of course, is not the only one possible. But it really shows its effectiveness, says Elena Rydalevskaya, executive director of the Diakonia charitable foundation.

An alternative to rehabilitation in suburban communities is a day hospital for drug addicts in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, headed by the head of the Coordination Center for Combating Drug Addiction and Alcoholism of the St. Petersburg Diocese, Archpriest Maxim Pletnev.

People here are not separated from their regular work, home, and the real world. But every day for three months, drug addicts come here to sort out their problems in a group of 12 people, for psychological and spiritual help. During the two years of operation, about 100 people passed through this center. More than 50% of them experience remission.

Adaptation apartment

At the last stage - resocialization - former drug addicts are sent to an adaptation apartment of the Diakonia Foundation, located in the center of St. Petersburg.

20 people with similar life experiences live in it at the same time. An adaptation apartment is good not only with psychological point point of view, but also from a practical point of view. One gets a job - and recruits others, another signs up for a sports club - and the rest follow him.

IN big apartment with an area of about 150 sq. There is no TV, but every evening its residents communicate collectively and individually with chemical dependency counselors. Life is organized as in a hostel. Everyone pays 6 thousand rubles for rent and can spend six months here.

The owner of the apartment, Alexander Yarotsky, admits that he could rent out the apartment at a higher price and to a more traditional crowd, but he has been cooperating with Diakonia for five years now because “it’s important.”

The apartment is not alien to me. “I myself lived in it for a long time, my child was born here,” says the owner of the adaptation living space. - At first, of course, there were great concerns. But all the natural fears in such cases were not justified.

As for the neighbors, according to Alexander, “everyone would like such quiet and pleasant neighbors.” Some misunderstandings, of course, arise from time to time. For example, a neighbor who recently moved in did not immediately understand what was happening, he thought that “there is some kind of hostel here.”

But we had an explanatory conversation with him. And he even decided that maybe he should change his life and... take our rehabilitation course,” says Yarotsky, to the general laughter of the apartment’s inhabitants. - In a word, if you want to rent out an apartment well, rent it out to drug addicts and alcoholics.

Alcoholism is a big problem, large-scale social problem. Some Orthodox monasteries have created special rehabilitation centers. There, treatment for alcoholism is provided in the monastery. The centers are engaged in the spiritual rehabilitation of those suffering and their return to society. They create comfortable living conditions for patients.

Alcoholics are given the ability to live and work fully for the benefit of their family and society. They can come to their senses, turn to the Lord and improve relationships with others. The duration of rehabilitation depends on the degree of obsession with drunkenness.

Residential treatment of alcoholics in a monastery has many advantages. Patients cleanse their souls, repent before the Lord of their sins, and work on themselves to give up the habit of drinking.
Healing will be more successful if the patient is supported by loving people. Monastic centers actively promote this. It is explained to the relatives that they must help the sufferer free himself from addiction. Mothers, spouses, and relatives must patiently communicate with alcoholics.

In what cases do addicts go to monastic centers?

As a rule, people turn to Orthodox centers for help when traditional treatment has not helped, after a series of breakdowns.

A Christian in rehabilitation can, upon reflection, realize how his fall came about. He has a chance to comprehend his life and improve his relationships with loved ones. If he sincerely repents, God will certainly help him overcome his sinful addiction. Treatment will have a positive result only if the person has a sincere intention to quit drinking alcohol forever.
The earlier treatment is started, the more successful its outcome will be. Delay is dangerous. Toxins can cause damage internal organs. Problems with the liver, nervous and cardiovascular systems may begin. You need to contact a medical facility in time, without waiting for alarming symptoms. Alcohol detoxification must be done carefully. It is necessary to choose a diet suitable for the patient. Medicines should be taken in moderate doses so as not to damage the liver and heart.

During the period when withdrawal from binge drinking is carried out, it is necessary to urgently isolate the patient. However, it should be noted that he must do this voluntarily. Free treatment for alcoholism in monasteries and churches helps place addicts in a completely different, unusual atmosphere for them. Side by side here are friends in misfortune.

The center's staff and brothers and sisters of the monastery treat the sick with compassion and love. Strong faith in the Lord and unflagging trust in His mercy will help to overcome the obsession with a vicious passion. Many people come to the centers for whom rehabilitation has become the first conscious steps towards an Orthodox church.

Principles of monastic healing

Liberation from addiction is carried out humanely, without violence against the individual. Both spiritual, psychological and physical methods of treatment are used.

The spiritual aspect shows that the root of the problem is the individual’s distance from God. No matter how hard a person tries to fill the spiritual emptiness within himself, no matter how hard he tries to fill the deficit of love, no one except the Lord will help. Spiritual rehabilitation, including Repentance and Communion, as well as participation in divine services, miraculously helps in overcoming alcohol addiction.

Psychological rehabilitation overcomes behavioral addiction and helps you start living without alcohol.

Physical rehabilitation methods include:

occupational therapy;
playing sports;
walks in the fresh air.

Rehabilitated alcoholics follow a daily routine. Addicts must train their will. It is imperative to exclude idleness. Then there will be no time to think about alcohol. His place must be taken:

study;
soulful books;
labor;
conversations with a psychologist;
communication with friends.

Monastic healing techniques

Treatment of alcoholism in monasteries and churches includes rehabilitation, consolidation of the results obtained by traditional treatment. Of course, you should make your own efforts. Seeing the seriousness of the treatment, the center staff and monks will definitely try to help. For the purpose of rehabilitation, sick people are collected into groups.

Those who wish can cleanse their souls in the Sacrament of Confession, repent of their sins and try to give up their addiction to alcoholic drinks. Sick people must regularly attend Liturgies. Prayers are offered for them water-blessing prayers. Those who are obsessed with drunkenness should definitely pray during the day, read Holy Gospel and the Psalter.

When you have faith in God and trust in the providence of the Lord, you can cope with alcoholism without drugs, hypnotic sessions and coding. Coding is an undesirable, radical means. It is better not to resort to it, as it has a negative effect on the psyche.

Patients are often ashamed of themselves. To overcome this feeling, they need to participate in socially useful activities. Then self-esteem will increase, you will feel like a worthy member of society, and relationships with family and friends will improve.

Monasteries and nunneries

You can find out which monasteries provide treatment for alcoholism in the nearest diocese. There you can also inquire about the hospice for visitors. In such monasteries they often help drunkards who have lost their apartment and family.

The most famous monasteries that provide care for alcohol addicts are the following:

IN Orthodox brotherhood Sobriety at the church in honor of Saints Florus and Laurus in the Moscow region provides for work in workshops and in vegetable gardens, as well as joint prayer.
In the Orthodox community "Erino" you are allowed to live for up to three years. Monastic regime.
In Vysotsky monastery in the city of Serpukhov, conversations are being held with priests, joint prayer and work.

Help is also provided in convents those suffering from drunkenness:

In Svyato-Vvedenskaya Ivanovo monastery the sick will be included in joint prayer and work.
At the Alexander Nevsky Monastery in Maklakovo, located in the Moscow region, women will be involved in monastic life.
In the monastery in honor of Christmas Holy Mother of God, located near Ussuriysk, needs help in working in the parishes. Addicts will definitely pray at monastery services.
Free rehabilitation courses receive numerous grateful reviews.