Celebrate Recovery at Provive Wellness

For many people, recovery is not only a clinical process — it is a spiritual one. The experience of addiction has taken them far from who they understood themselves to be, from the faith that once anchored them, from the God they grew up believing in or drifted from over years of suffering. The path back from addiction, for these individuals, is not complete unless it includes a path back to that spiritual foundation. Celebrate Recovery exists at the intersection of clinical recovery and Christian faith, offering the structure of a 12-Step program grounded in the principles of Scripture and the community of a Christ-centered fellowship.

At Provive Wellness, we recognize that recovery is shaped by the whole person — including their faith, their spiritual history, and the values that give their life meaning. For clients whose recovery is grounded in Christian faith, Celebrate Recovery offers a peer community and a recovery framework that speaks their language and honors what matters most to them. It is not a substitute for clinical treatment, but it is a powerful complement — one that sustains sobriety by rooting it in something larger than the self.

Celebrate Recovery support at Provive is available to clients in our Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) and Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) at our Wayne, PA and Scranton, PA locations.

What Celebrate Recovery addresses:

Addiction and substance use — including alcohol, drugs, and behavioral addictions, within a faith-informed framework for healing and accountability
Hurts — the emotional and relational wounds that underlie or co-occur with addiction, addressed through the Beatitudes and the eight recovery principles drawn from Scripture
Habits — the behavioral patterns and compulsions that damage relationships, health, and spiritual life, addressed through accountability, step work, and community
Hang-ups — the thinking patterns, shame, resentments, and fears that sustain suffering and resist change, addressed through honest community and the redemptive framework of grace
Spiritual reconciliation — returning to faith after a period of distance, doubt, or spiritual wounding, within a community that understands what addiction does to the soul
Community and belonging — the fellowship of people in shared recovery, united by both the experience of struggle and the foundation of faith

Celebrate Recovery was founded in 1991 at Saddleback Church by Pastor John Baker and has since grown to more than 35,000 groups in churches worldwide. Its eight recovery principles are drawn from the Beatitudes of Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount, adapted for recovery: acknowledging powerlessness, coming to believe in a Higher Power who can restore sanity, turning one’s life and will over to God’s care, taking a moral inventory, admitting wrongs to God and another person, becoming ready to have God remove character defects, humbly asking God to remove shortcomings, making amends, maintaining a spiritual inventory, improving conscious contact with God through prayer and meditation, having had a spiritual experience and carrying the message. The result is a 12-Step structure recognizable in its form but explicitly and unapologetically rooted in Christian belief.

Research on faith-based recovery programs documents outcomes comparable to secular peer programs, with particularly strong results among participants for whom religious faith is a central part of their identity and worldview. A systematic review in Alcohol and Alcoholism found that religious involvement was consistently associated with lower rates of substance use disorder and better long-term recovery outcomes across a range of populations and settings. Studies of Celebrate Recovery specifically have documented high participant satisfaction, strong sense of community, and rates of sustained abstinence that compare favorably with secular alternatives in religiously oriented populations. The mechanism is consistent with what the broader recovery literature shows: the program works because it provides community, accountability, meaning, and a framework for understanding oneself that extends beyond the clinical episode. For people of faith, a spiritually grounded version of that framework is often the most natural fit.

The group gathers with a licensed art therapy facilitator
A structured prompt or theme is introduced — often connected to the clinical work of the week
Participants work with provided materials (paint, collage, drawing tools, clay) at their own pace
The session closes with guided reflection — sharing what came up and what was noticed
Insights are integrated back into individual therapy and group treatment

Celebrate Recovery meetings are held in churches throughout the Wayne and Scranton areas and nationally. Provive supports clients in connecting with local Celebrate Recovery groups during treatment — attending meetings and building relationships before the structure of PHP or IOP ends. The goal, as with all recovery support at Provive, is that the bridge into community is built before it is needed, so that discharge is not the beginning of an isolated search but a transition into a fellowship already underway.

Call us at (610) 947-0800 to begin yours or a loved one’s journey toward recovery grounded in both clinical excellence and the faith that gives your life its deepest meaning.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to be a Christian to attend Celebrate Recovery?

Celebrate Recovery is explicitly Christ-centered, grounded in biblical principles and Christian community. It is primarily designed for people whose faith is in Jesus Christ. If you are not a Christian but are spiritually seeking, some Celebrate Recovery groups welcome people at various points in their faith journey. If you prefer a secular or differently spiritual framework, SMART Recovery, 12-Step programs, or Rooted in Recovery may be better fits.

How is Celebrate Recovery different from AA?

Both follow a 12-Step structure, but Celebrate Recovery is explicitly grounded in Christian faith. Its principles are drawn from the Beatitudes, its Higher Power is explicitly God as understood in Christian tradition, and its meetings are held in church settings with prayer, worship, and biblical teaching as standard elements. AA uses the language of a Higher Power “as you understand it” and is designed to be accessible across religious traditions. Celebrate Recovery is designed specifically for those whose faith is Christian.

Where are Celebrate Recovery meetings held?

Celebrate Recovery meets in churches. There are Celebrate Recovery groups throughout Pennsylvania, including in the Wayne and Scranton areas. Your clinical team at Provive can help identify local groups and support you in attending during treatment, so you are already known in a community before you complete PHP or IOP.

What is the role of church community in Celebrate Recovery?

Celebrate Recovery is embedded in local church communities rather than meeting in neutral venues. This means that participation often opens the door to broader church community — small groups, worship, fellowship, and pastoral care — that can provide an additional layer of support and belonging beyond the recovery group itself. For many participants, this integration into a broader faith community is one of the most significant long-term benefits.

Does Celebrate Recovery address mental health as well as addiction?

Yes. Celebrate Recovery is designed for all “hurts, habits, and hang-ups” — which includes mental health struggles such as anxiety, depression, trauma, and grief alongside substance use disorders and behavioral addictions. It is not limited to addiction, and many participants are not in formal addiction recovery but are seeking support for emotional pain, relational wounds, or spiritual struggles.

Will insurance cover Celebrate Recovery participation?

Celebrate Recovery meetings are free to attend and held in churches. Clinical treatment at Provive that includes support for connecting with Celebrate Recovery is part of PHP and IOP programming, which most major insurance plans cover. Call (610) 947-0800 for a confidential benefits verification at no cost.