Embodiment and somatic modes of attention in the evangelical care model in drug rehabilitation centers (Tijuana, Mexico)

Abstract

This article identifies how beliefs, practices, and religious communities converge in the structuring of the evangelical drug rehabilitation model (ERM). Based on a qualitative study, we propose that the ERM shapes the ways of interpreting emotions and sensations based on a beliefs system that conceives the body as a battle field between good and evil. Sensations produced through ritual experience and symptomatic manifestations relative to withdrawal syndrome constitute key points of the culturally shaped somatic modes of attention (SMA) that are produced and transmitted within the evangelical rehabilitation centers (ERCs). This procedure grounds in prayer, cathartic emotive rituality, belief in forgiveness and God’s calling; in testimony; and in the community of believers. We conclude that religious practices and beliefs constitute essential tools of the ERM and can be efficacious for users who are engaged in a spiritual quest.