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Faith-Based Strategies
Initiatives that are delivered through or in partnership with faith communities and organisations. These approaches often draw on spiritual values, community networks, and pastoral support to promote wellbeing, prevent substance use, support recovery, and reduce stigma. Faith communities can play an important role in raising awareness, providing social support, facilitating referrals to professional services, and helping reintegrate individuals affected by substance use disorders. When combined with evidence-based practices and strong partnerships with health and social services, faith-based strategies can contribute meaningfully to comprehensive responses to substance use and related harms.
Beyond Treatment: Building Systemic Capital for Recovery
ABSTRACT
Treatment is essential to addressing substance use disorders, but access to treatment alone does not determine whether recovery can be initiated and sustained. People enter treatment with very different levels of personal, social...
SBIRT AS A TOOL FOR PREVENTION AND REDUCING RISKY SUBSTANCE USE BEHAVIOURS AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE IN ZARIA, KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA.
ABSTRACT
Background: Screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) is an evidence-based practice that has been shown to reduce alcohol and drug use in healthcare settings, but there is a paucity of research on the...
We know what works, why don’t we use it? Some reflections from our work with Member States
For more than 15 years, UNODC has been promoting evidence-based practice on drug use, as well as treatment, harm reduction and recovery services for people who use drugs and people with drug use disorders, both in the community and when in...
A Mosque-Based MOUD Programme: Bringing Treatment, Peer Support and Faith Together
The Ar-Rahman Mosque programme in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, was an innovative treatment initiative that combined faith-based and evidence-informed approaches for Muslim men experiencing Opioid Use Disorders. It was reported to be the first...
A scoping review of spirituality in relation to substance use disorders: Psychological, biological, and cultural issues
This scoping review explores the role of spirituality in substance use disorders (SUD) across psychological, biological and cultural dimensions. It reviews research on topics including spiritual awakening, drug craving, psychedelic-assisted...
Religion and Spirituality in Addiction Recovery
This scoping review examines the role of spirituality in substance use disorders across three interconnected areas: psychology, biology, and culture. It explores topics including spiritual awakening, the relationship between spirituality...
From Darkness to Light: Spiritual Turning Points in Recovery among Former Substance Users in Norway
This qualitative study explores how spiritual experiences contribute to recovery from substance use disorders among 24 people who completed Christian faith-based rehabilitation programmes in Norway. Participants described experiencing loss...
A mosque-based methadone maintenance treatment strategy: Implementation and pilot results
This study describes an Islamic-inspired methadone maintenance treatment programme delivered in a mosque setting for 36 Muslim men who used heroin. The programme combined methadone treatment with peer support and religious counselling...
International Recovery Day 2026: Celebrating Recovery
To mark International Recovery Day on 30 September, ISSUP Global, in collaboration with the Recovered Users Network (RUN), presents a webinar dedicated to celebrating recovery from substance use disorders and amplifying recovery voices.
What Should the Treatment of the Soul Be? Exploring Addiction, Alcoholism, and Overeating
“What good will it be for someone if they gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?”
— Matthew 16:26
What does it mean to “damage the soul,” and what might it mean to restore it?
The...
Recovery in the context of public health interventions within the criminal justice system.
Recovery in the context of the justice system and incarceration refers to a long-term process of change through which people see improvements in their health and stability, experience changes in identity, strengthen relationships, and gain...
The prevalence, risk and protective factors and service needs in relation to the comorbidity of substance use and neurodiversity
This report was commissioned by Citywide because Community Drugs Projects had recognised a need for support to develop better service delivery for people who were neurodivergent. Citywide Drugs Crisis Campaign is a national network of...
Connecting Civil Society with the United Nations: Opportunities for Engagement in Drug Policy, Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice
ISSUP Global, in collaboration with the Vienna NGO Committee on Drugs (VNGOC), present a webinar on onnecting Civil Society with the United Nations: Opportunities for Engagement in Drug Policy, Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice.
Psychosocial determinants of recidivism risk among incarcerated individuals with a history of substance use: A systematic review
The prevalence of recidivism among individuals with a history of substance use and incarceration remains a significant concern for criminal justice systems worldwide. With significant social and economic ramifications, preventing people...
The Changing Approach to Addiction — From Incarceration to Treatment and Recovery Support
It’s been more than 50 years since the United States launched a “war on drugs.” History has demonstrated the ineffectiveness of “tough-oncrime” drug-use policies, including laws requiring mandatory minimum sentencing for possession of...
Community-based substance use treatment programs for reentering justice-involved adults: A scoping review
Introduction:
For adults involved with the criminal justice system who are reentering their communities postincarceration, there is a large need for community-based substance use treatment. Little is known, however, about the types...
Humanitarian settings and Use of Substances: CBT as a model of care
ISSUP Kazakhstan, ISSUP Indonesia and ISSUP Sri Lanka, presents a three-part part webinar series on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) in the Treatment of Substance Use Disorders.
Behind the Infamous ”Sabu”: The Social and Psychiatric Burden of Methamphetamine Use in Indonesia
ISSUP Indonesia , ISSUP Sri Lanka and ISSUP Kazakhstan, presents a three-part part webinar series on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) in the Treatment of Substance Use Disorders.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Substance Use Disorders: Principles, and Practice Examples from a Sri Lankan Context
ISSUP Sri Lanka, ISSUP Indonesia and ISSUP Kazakhstan, welcome you to a three-part part webinar series on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) in the Treatment of Substance Use Disorders.
Substance Use Disorders: Evidence-Based Treatment Approaches - Bridging Policy, Clinical Practice and Recovery Support
ISSUP Kenya presents its webinar on Substance Use Disorders: Evidence-Based Treatment Approaches; Bridging Policy, Clinical Practice and Recovery Support.