Transformative Power of Belief in Mental Health and Addiction Recovery

Date of Award

Spring 6-12-2026

Document Type

Masters Thesis

Degree Name

M.A. in Religious Studies

Organizational Unit

College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences, Religious Studies

First Advisor

Carl Raschke

Second Advisor

Daniel McIntosh

Third Advisor

Christy Cobb

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

All Rights Reserved
All Rights Reserved.

Keywords

Belief systems, Addiction, Mental health, Transformational change, Meaning-making, Spirituality

Abstract

This thesis argues that belief—religious, spiritual, and secular—functions as a clinically significant mechanism in addiction recovery and mental health rehabilitation. Belief functions not merely as a passive cognitive assent but as an active, embodied orientation toward meaning, agency, and future-oriented healing. Belief, regardless of theological content, operates as a catalyst for personal transformation by restructuring identity, restoring a coherent narrative self, and generating resilience through purpose and community belonging.

My work shows that belief functions as a legitimate therapeutic tool, one that can be measured and one that offers crucial support in clinical atmospheres. This study does not dismiss the biomedical model addressing mental health and addiction recovery, rather it shows that belief systems play a critical role in working alongside it. This thesis does not claim that all recovery is belief-based, nor that religious or spiritual frameworks are uniformly beneficial, but rather that belief functions in many cases as a significant and under-theorized mechanism of recovery.

Belief, understood pragmatically as an action‑guiding and meaning‑conferring orientation rather than mere cognitive assent, functions as a clinically significant mechanism in addiction and mental health recovery that the biomedical model does not adequately explain. Part One develops the theoretical foundations of this claim by drawing on William James, Carl Jung, Viktor Frankl, and Kenneth Pargament to show how belief restructures experience, identity, and agency. Part Two turns to recovery movements and lived practices—from 12‑step fellowships to Buddhist and Jewish recovery communities—to illustrate how belief‑laden narratives and rituals reconstitute the self and embed healing in supportive communities. Part Three examines empirical research in psychology of religion, psychiatry, and recovery science to demonstrate that belief‑based meaning‑making predicts measurable gains in mental health, resilience, and sustained sobriety alongside conventional treatments. Part Four synthesizes these theoretical, practical, and empirical strands into an integrative account, contending that contemporary clinical practice must reckon with belief as a therapeutically powerful dimension of addiction and mental health care.

Copyright Date

6-2026

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. Permanently suppressed.

Rights Holder

Nicholas Gould

Provenance

Received from Author

File Format

application/pdf

Language

English (eng)

Extent

50 pgs

File Size

423 KB

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