This study aims to find a pastoral counseling healing approach for the various addiction problems that are spread all over Korean society. It started with research on the essence of addiction which includes the psychological and theological meaning, the roots of addiction, the stages of addiction, and so forth. Then various addictions that church members are experiencing was examined and lastly a healing approach for addiction with a focus on pastoral counseling was proposed.
One characteristic of this study is that it contributes to a multifaceted understanding of the meaning and roots of addiction. The roots of addiction are accounted for in depth according to the family system factor which includes social elements, a psychological factor, a neurological factor and a spiritul factor. For addiction treatment methods, emotion coaching and emotional healing on a deep level are set forth. This unique treatment method can be considered this study's contribution which is not found in other studies. Furthermore, the 12 step program which is recognized as the most effective program for addiction treatment is introduced.
In the West, medical science and organizations concerned with mental health perceive the body, mind, and soul as an organism and doctors, clinical psychologists, and pastoral counselors have started to cooperate in talking care of and treating patirnts. However, many chruches in Korea, which have a characteristic of being conservative, lack a sound understanding of psychology and theology and have a tendency to discard or ignore psychology. In this aspect, this study has great significance for the addiction treatment research of conservative Korean church denominations in that it made an effort to propose a model of understanding and treating addiction on the basis of Christian theological tradition while covering neurological, theological and family environmental levels which include social elements in a multifaceted manner.
Since this is a pastoral counseling study on addiction and is theoretical, there should be a following study on the present condition of addiction in churches or how church members are exposed to addiction and what kind of experiences they go through. If researches such as 'A phenomenological Study on Addiction Experiences of Church Members' are carried out, it will bring more help to church members.