Most substance abuse treatment programs today, including drug and alcohol addiction treatment programs, lean a lot on spiritual guidance and help to provide consistent treatment to the patient.

The most notable ones are the programs by Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous, both of which use the 12 Step Treatment Program to cure the respective addictions. A very integral aspect in both these programs is the invocation of a higher power in treating the person.This concept of higher power is kept ambiguous and it is expected of the person undergoing the treatment to make an understanding of it themselves. Most people take the higher power to be God, who can guide them onto the right path of recovery in addiction treatment. But, people also consider this higher power to be none other but their own spiritual self, or their soul, which can conscientiously show them the right path to live a sober life.

The first steps in the Alcoholics Anonymous as well as the Narcotics Anonymous programs include the acceptance of the fact that the person has a problem within themselves, which is of the addiction. This awareness is essential for overcoming the denial process. Once the person has accepted that a problem exists, they must invoke a higher power to come over and help them in their treatments. There is a specific purpose of involving the higher power. People in addiction treatments are usually in a perplexed state of mind. They do not know whom to ask for guidance. They feel lonely and secluded in their treatments. But if the person is aware that there is a higher power that will always be present with them during the treatment, they get more courage to face it.