iTHIRST Initiative

Recovery, Spirituality, 12 steps

training

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Registration is now open for Spiritual Companionship Certification Training: Spring 2026 Session

Classes Start January 20th

Upcoming Session

Tuesday/Thursday evenings, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.

Spring 2026: January 20 through March 12

Cost of Program: $675

Discounts are available for Seton Hall alumni. Interested alumni should email CEPS@shu.edu for more information. 

Our spiritual companions walk with those suffering from the weight of addiction on their healing journey. We have partnered with Seton Hall University to provide certification training for those who want to become spiritual companions.

Participants will learn:

  • Why addiction is a spiritual disease
  • The relationship of mind, body and spirit in the healing journey
  • Pastoral care strategies for serving the addicted and their families
  • Spiritual healing through the 12 Steps
  • And more.

Training Guide:

  • Section 1 – The Journey from Love, Grace and Freedom to Fear and Enslavement
  • Section 2 – Mind, Body and Spirit
  • Section 3 – Loving Through Pain
  • Section 4 – Finding the Road to Hope
  • Section 5 – Healing through the Twelve Steps
  • Section 6 – Grace and Healing

“As a deer longs for flowing streams, so longs my soul for thee, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.”

Psalm 42:1

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Classes Start September 9th: Spiritual Companionship Training Certification

Register

Register today to attend Tuesday and Thursday evening classes taught by Keaton Douglas:

https://www.shu.edu/academics/ithirst-spiritual-companionship-training

Fall 2025 Session Dates: September 9th through October 30th

Registration is open
Tuesday/Thursday evenings, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.

Cost of Program: $675

Discounts are available for Seton Hall alumni. Interested alumni should email CEPS@shu.edu for more information. 

Addiction is a defining problem of society, with physiological, and mental health components that must be addressed. Ultimately, however, the desolation, the abandonment and the guilt which are all “hallmarks” of the addicted life are in many ways spiritual problems which require a spiritual remedy.

The iTHIRST online training seeks to provide this spiritual remedy to those with substance-abuse disorders through the development and implementation of programs designed to educate and prevent, to provide support to treatment facilities and those incarcerated, and to develop an aftercare community for the afflicted and their families.

The words “I thirst” were among the last words of Christ on the Cross, as well as the words painted in every Chapel belonging to the Missionaries of Charity, St. Teresa of Calcutta’s order. St. Teresa said these words are a reminder that the Missionaries were there to “quench the thirst of Jesus for souls, for love, for kindness, for compassion, for delicate love.” 

The iTHIRST training will be taught by Keaton Douglas, co-author of The Road to Hope: Responding to the Crisis of Addiction and founder of the iTHIRST initiative, which is an acronym for “The Healing Initiative—Recovery, Spirituality, and Twelve Steps.” The initiative seeks to give people in recovery the spiritual tools they need to stay clean and lead the faith-based fight against substance-use disorders, especially opioid use. It also educates the clergy and laity about substance abuse disorders so that the Church might be a resource for the afflicted and their families. Read more about Keaton in the articles linked.

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Classes Start Feb. 18th: Spiritual Companionship Training Certification

Register today to attend Tuesday and Thursday evening classes taught by Keaton Douglas: https://www.shu.edu/academics/ithirst-spiritual-companionship-training

Spring 2025 Session Dates: February 18 through April 22

Registration is open

February 18 through April 22, 2025
Tuesday/Thursday evenings, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.

Cost of Program: $675

Discounts are available for Seton Hall alumni. Interested alumni should email CEPS@shu.edu for more information. 

Addiction is a defining problem of society, with physiological, and mental health components that must be addressed. Ultimately, however, the desolation, the abandonment and the guilt which are all “hallmarks” of the addicted life are in many ways spiritual problems which require a spiritual remedy.

The iTHIRST online training seeks to provide this spiritual remedy to those with substance-abuse disorders through the development and implementation of programs designed to educate and prevent, to provide support to treatment facilities and those incarcerated, and to develop an aftercare community for the afflicted and their families.

The words “I thirst” were among the last words of Christ on the Cross, as well as the words painted in every Chapel belonging to the Missionaries of Charity, St. Teresa of Calcutta’s order. St. Teresa said these words are a reminder that the Missionaries were there to “quench the thirst of Jesus for souls, for love, for kindness, for compassion, for delicate love.” 

The iTHIRST training will be taught by Keaton Douglas, co-author of The Road to Hope: Responding to the Crisis of Addiction and founder of the iTHIRST initiative, which is an acronym for “The Healing Initiative—Recovery, Spirituality, and Twelve Steps.” The initiative seeks to give people in recovery the spiritual tools they need to stay clean and lead the faith-based fight against substance-use disorders, especially opioid use. It also educates the clergy and laity about substance abuse disorders so that the Church might be a resource for the afflicted and their families. Read more about Keaton in the articles linked.

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iTHIRST Spiritual Companionship Training

Tues & Thurs Evening Online Classes

6:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.

The iTHIRST online training seeks to provide this spiritual remedy to those suffering from addiction through the development and implementation of programs designed to educate and prevent, to provide support to treatment facilities and those incarcerated, and to develop an aftercare community for the afflicted and their families.

The iTHIRST training will be taught by Keaton Douglas, founder of the iTHIRST initiative, which is an acronym for “The Healing Initiative—Recovery, Spirituality, and Twelve Steps.” The initiative seeks to give people in recovery the spiritual tools they need to stay clean and lead the faith-based fight against substance-use disorders, especially opioid addiction. It also educates the clergy and laity about substance abuse disorders so that the Church might be a resource for the afflicted and their families.

Curriculum

  • Section 1 – The Journey from Love, Grace and Freedom to Fear and Enslavement
  • Section 2 – Mind, Body and Spirit
  • Section 3 – Loving Through Pain
  • Section 4 – Finding the Road to Hope
  • Section 5 – Healing through the Twelve Steps
  • Section 6 – Grace and Healing