History of Inner Substance®
We were motivated to develop a cross-cultural model that was inclusive of the diverse population being challenged by the spiritual and cultural modalities that monopolize current treatment settings. We adapted an integral model from Ken Wilber’s’ Four Quadrant Theory and developed a cross-cultural psycho-spiritual Intervention called Inner Substance®. The Integrative Model and the Intervention both focus on moving one forward to transformative change. Anthropologist Angeles Arrien developed the first cross-cultural model for healing called the Four-Fold Way. Her work has been a major contribution to the development of Inner Substance and its intervention for addictive disorders.
Templa Wellness
Templa has the rights to adopt the USA registered trademark of Inner Substance. The key concepts of Inner Substance are spirituality, cross-cultural bridging, transformative change, Harm Reduction, and an Integral approach to treatment and care for substance abuse and pain management.
Templa’s collaboration with Inner Substance will be to help those who are suffering from addiction, substance abuse, pain management, and grief from loss or illness. Templa provides a home office for Inner Substance to work in the Philippines to help Filipinos transform their suffering.
Mission statement
Inner Substance® is a treatment philosophy that bridges modern knowledge and indigenous spiritual and cultural traditions to foster transformational change.
What’s different about this approach?
The table below shows the differences between Twelve Step (AA/NA) models and Inner Substance ™. Inner Substance ™ can be used as a supplement to any other treatment approach such as Twelve Step models, cognitive behavioral treatments, motivational enhancement, and so on.
| Twelve Step | Inner Substance® |
|---|---|
| Based on concept of powerlessness | Based on concept of empowerment |
| Based on disease model | Based on integral model that includes disease model plus individual, socio-cultural, and societal influences |
| Tools include using slogans, the serenity prayer, working the steps (confessing powerlessness, taking a moral inventory, taking responsibility, making amends, etc) | Tools include cross-cultural methods of accessing spirituality and inner knowing |
| Terminal Uniqueness: Focus on the similarities of alcohol and/or drug addiction and denies or ignores other social identities (with exceptions: Special groups do exist such as women’s groups) | Absolute Uniqueness: Acknowledging individual gifts and talents and focusing on individual development within community, honoring individual differences while searching for universal themes |
| Based on a white, middle class, heterosexual male model | Based on cross-cultural themes identified in most of the world’s indigenous cultures |
| Based on Christian religion | Based on cross-cultural spirituality |
| Abstinence based | Harm reduction |
