Introduction

Introduction

What can we learn from those who have battled addiction? This introductory talk from *Healing Addictions* sets out a clear and spiritually grounded roadmap for anyone curious about an Orthodox Christian approach to recovery. Fr. Christophe Lepoutre explains that the series will look at alcoholism and drug addiction, sexual addiction, and codependency, always holding together three strands: 12-step recovery, clinical pastoral counselling, and the "science of spiritual medicine" in the Holy Orthodox Church.

You’ll hear how traditional fellowships like Alcoholics Anonymous, Al‑Anon, Sexaholics Anonymous and others can be genuinely helpful, yet are seen here as a means toward a deeper end: “a life with Christ, with the living God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” A key highlight is his redefinition of alcoholism.

Rather than just counting drinks or blackouts, he asks whether someone uses alcohol “to get high, to change their mood, to change their reality.” If so, he argues, there’s a problem, because “even when they do it some, it is devastating to the soul to a certain degree.” Fr. Christophe then introduces one of the core ideas of Orthodox psychotherapy: the appetitive function of the soul.

Created as a hunger and thirst for God, this appetite, he says, gets misdirected toward created things, which is what fuels addiction: “The appetite will never be satisfied by anything created. It can only be satisfied by the living God.” From there, he points to emotional and spiritual sobriety, the sacramental life, the Jesus Prayer, and the example of the saints as the fuller picture of healing.

If you’re curious how faith, 12-step wisdom, and deep inner work might fit together in recovery, this opening talk gives a thoughtful, spiritually rich starting point. How is your own “appetite” being fed?