JOURNAL OF HOLISTIC NURSING / June 2002Finfgeld / FEMINIST SPIRITUALITY Feminist Spirituality and Alcohol Treatment

Although there is some evidence that spirituality may play a role in successful resolu-tion of alcohol problems, there are those who assert that traditional androcentric theol-ogies may be detrimental to the healing process among women. Within conventional religious traditions, women have been relegated to positions of diminished status and power and may be subject to expectations of self-abnegation. For these reasons, assert-ing powerlessness and abdicating control to a male-defined deity may be nonthera-peutic. In contrast, feminist spirituality represents a collage of traditions that enable women to identify the divine within and find strength and power through their inter-personal relationships and lived experiences. Together, the foci of feminist spirituality and women’s health care provide new perspectives for alcohol treatment. Nurses need to become aware of these viewpoints and ways in which they can be integrated into their practices. Alcohol treatment programs have traditionally incorporated spiritu-ality as a component of the healing process. In defense of this practice, there is mounting evidence that spirituality plays an important role in helping alcohol abusers resolve their problems (Larson, Swyers, &amp