RECOVERING ADDICT BLOG
Recovery help, explained plainly
Recovering Addict is a free, Christ-centered recovery community in Ogden, Utah. We meet Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 6:00–8:00 p.m., at Iron House Gym, 155 W 14th Street. Workout starts at 6. After that, the group stays for Christ-centered teaching and practical recovery skills until 8. The program is free.
People come with alcohol and other drugs, pornography and sexual compulsion, food and body struggles, anger, codependency, and other patterns that keep taking over. If it is hurting your life, you are welcome to come and see if this community is a fit. Peer support from a team certified in relapse prevention (Terence Gorski model).
This page explains recovery in plain language, with sources from SAMHSA, NIDA, NIAAA, the FTC, and federal and state law. Recovering Addict is peer support and Christian encouragement. It is not detox, a clinic, or a replacement for professional care. LT and Feliz Weaver founded the ministry. LT (Leonard Ted Weaver) also wrote the Recovering Addict 12-Step Workbook Series used in the meetings.
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Recovery Process
SAMHSA defines recovery as a process of change through which people improve their health and wellness, live self-directed lives, and strive to reach their full potential.1 It points to four dimensions that support recovery: health, a stable and safe home, purpose in daily life, and community, meaning relationships that offer support, friendship, love, and hope.2
Recovery is personal and happens through many pathways, including clinical treatment, medications, faith-based approaches, peer support, and family support.2 Peer support workers are people with lived experience who help others become and stay engaged in recovery.3
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Relapse Prevention (Gorski model)
NIDA explains that addiction is a chronic condition, so for some people a return to use can be part of the process. Relapse rates for drug use are similar to those for other chronic medical illnesses, and a relapse does not mean treatment has failed.6
Terence Gorski's CENAPS model treats relapse as a process with identifiable warning signs that can alert a person to take action. Its steps include stabilization, self-assessment, relapse education, identifying and managing personal warning signs, a recovery plan, daily inventory, involving significant others, and follow-up.1112 Our team is certified in relapse prevention (Terence Gorski model). The evenings include practical education on how to notice risk, make a simple plan, and take the next step.
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Types of Treatment and What Works
NIDA's research-based principles say no single treatment is right for everyone. Matching the setting and services to a person's needs matters, and most people need at least three months in treatment to significantly reduce or stop drug use.7 For opioid addiction, NIDA says medication should be the first line of treatment, usually combined with behavioral therapy or counseling, and that detox alone is not treatment.6
For alcohol problems, NIAAA notes that there are many options beyond 12-step programs and 28-day inpatient stays, including behavioral treatments and three approved medications.9 You can search for programs at FindTreatment.gov or with NIAAA's Alcohol Treatment Navigator.510
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Therapeutic Communities
Therapeutic communities (TCs) are a common form of long-term residential treatment for substance use disorders. They grew out of the self-help movement in the late 1950s.8 They follow the idea of "community as method": residents live together drug-free, and group living, shared activities, and mutual help are the tools for changing habits, identity, and relationships.8
NIDA's principles add that effective treatment attends to a person's many needs, not just drug use.7 Recovering Addict is not a residential program. It is a weekly peer community that meets three evenings a week.
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Industry Problems: Insurance and Brokering
Patient brokering means paying or taking kickbacks for steering someone to a treatment center or recovery home. For insured services, federal law makes it a crime (18 U.S.C. § 220, the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act). States such as Florida also have their own patient-brokering laws.1314 The FTC warns that some businesses buy search ads under real clinics' names, answer calls with generic greetings like "Admissions" or "Recovery helpline," and steer people to their own centers. It can seek civil penalties for deceptive practices in treatment and referral services.1516
An FTC commissioner has also described lead generators that collect people's drug-use and insurance details to sell, and "body brokers" who steer people from sober homes to treatment centers for kickbacks.17 Look up programs yourself at FindTreatment.gov or through SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357.54 Under the federal parity law, most health plans that cover substance use disorder care can't limit it more strictly than medical and surgical care.18
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Family and Faith
SAMHSA describes recovery as holistic and supported by peers, friends, and family members, and it lists faith-based approaches and family support among the pathways to recovery.2 Families can get help too. SAMHSA's National Helpline is free, confidential, and open 24/7 for individuals and families, and NIAAA lists support groups for family and friends, such as Al-Anon.49
At Recovering Addict, Jesus Christ is the center of this community. We open Scripture, talk about grace and forgiveness, and remind each other that a new start is his gift.
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Recovery questions answered
What is peer recovery support?
SAMHSA describes peer support workers as people with lived experience of recovery. Through shared understanding, respect, and mutual empowerment, they help others become and stay engaged in recovery, and their work includes leading recovery groups, sharing resources, building skills, and building community.3 At Recovering Addict, peer support means people who show up with you: honest conversation, encouragement, and someone to walk beside you through the week. It is not detox, a clinic, or a replacement for professional care.
What is relapse prevention, and what is the Gorski model?
Relapse prevention is practical work to notice risk early and have a plan for it. Terence Gorski's CENAPS model treats relapse as a process with identifiable warning signs. It teaches people to identify their own warning signs and plan how to manage them, with support from people close to them.1112 Our team is certified in relapse prevention (Terence Gorski model). NIDA notes that a relapse does not mean treatment has failed.6
Are your meetings free, and who can come?
Yes, the program is free. We meet Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 6:00–8:00 p.m., at Iron House Gym, 155 W 14th Street, Ogden. Workout starts at 6, and the group stays for teaching until 8. People come with alcohol, drugs, pornography, food, anger, codependency, and other patterns that have taken over a life. If it is hurting your life, you are welcome to come and see if this community is a fit. Text 801-695-3085 when you arrive, and someone will let you in.
What should I look out for with treatment brokers or insurance-driven referrals?
Paying or taking kickbacks for referrals to treatment centers or recovery homes is a federal crime for insured services (18 U.S.C. § 220), and some states, such as Florida, have patient-brokering laws too.1314 The FTC warns about search ads that impersonate real clinics and about call centers that answer "Admissions" or "Recovery helpline" without saying who they are.15 Be wary of anyone who wants your insurance details before anything else17 or who pushes you toward a different center than the one you asked about.15 Look up programs yourself at FindTreatment.gov or call SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357, and report deceptive businesses at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.5415
How can families get involved?
SAMHSA says recovery is supported by peers, friends, and family members.2 Family members can call or text 801-695-3085 with questions, and someone will return your message when they can. For support of your own, SAMHSA's National Helpline (1-800-662-4357) is free, confidential, and open 24/7 for individuals and families. NIAAA also lists groups for family and friends, such as Al-Anon and Adult Children of Alcoholics.49
Is Recovering Addict faith-based?
Yes. Jesus Christ is the center of this community. We open Scripture, talk about grace and forgiveness, and remind each other that a new start is his gift. SAMHSA lists faith-based approaches among the many pathways to recovery.2 Faith, friendship, and this community are a real help, but they do not replace a doctor, a counselor, detox, or emergency care.
Is Recovering Addict a treatment program or clinic?
No. Recovering Addict is peer support and Christian encouragement. It is not detox, a clinic, or a replacement for professional care. To find treatment, start at FindTreatment.gov or call SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357.54 In a mental health crisis, call or text 988. In immediate danger, call 911.
Sources
- Recovery and Recovery Support. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
- About Recovery: Guiding Principles and the Four Major Dimensions of Recovery. SAMHSA.
- Peer Support Workers for Those in Recovery. SAMHSA.
- SAMHSA's National Helpline, 1-800-662-HELP (4357). SAMHSA.
- FindTreatment.gov. SAMHSA.
- Drugs, Brains, and Behavior: The Science of Addiction. Treatment and Recovery. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).
- Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment: A Research-Based Guide (Third Edition). NIDA.
- Therapeutic Communities Research Report. NIDA.
- Treatment for Alcohol Problems: Finding and Getting Help. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).
- Gorski, T. T. (1990). The CENAPS Model of Relapse Prevention: Basic Principles and Procedures. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 22(2), 125–133.. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs.
- Gorski, T. T. The Phases and Warning Signs of Relapse. Independence Press.
- 18 U.S. Code § 220: Illegal remunerations for referrals to recovery homes, clinical treatment facilities, and laboratories (Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act). Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School.
- Florida Statutes § 817.505: Patient brokering prohibited. The Florida Senate.
- Looking for a substance use disorder clinic? Scroll past paid ads (Consumer Alert, July 20, 2026). Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
- Opioid Addiction Recovery Fraud Prevention Act of 2018. FTC.
- Commissioner Rohit Chopra, letter to Congress on opioid treatment marketing (lead generation and body brokering). FTC.
- The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA). Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
Peer support from a team certified in relapse prevention (Terence Gorski model). This page is general information, not medical advice.