Lighthouse Network Offers Emotional Guidance, Support in the Aftermath of Sandy

Through the Storms of Life – and Nature – Lighthouse Offers Personalized Counseling and Referral Options for Those Seeking “The New Normal” SOURCE LIGHTHOUSE NETWORK

Key Facts:

Hurricane Sandy devastated the eastern United States last week, leaving entire communities destroyed.
Those most greatly impacted may have difficulty in the days, weeks, and months to come in processing their “new normal” and moving forward emotionally in healthy ways.
Lighthouse Network, the country’s premier Christian counseling and addiction referral service, offers hope, resources, and even customized treatment plans if needed, for victims struggling to make sense of the devastation from this latest storm or from other issues and circumstances from which they suffer.
PHILADELPHIA – The entire Eastern seaboard of the United States was ravaged last week as Hurricane Sandy barreled up the coast, making landfall in New Jersey and destroying towns in her wake throughout New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, and Connecticut. Citizens in the entire Mid-Atlantic region are struggling to return to a sense of normalcy, though many remain without power for basic needs. Estimated damages range from $20 to $50 billion dollars, making this storm one of the most destructive in our nation’s history.

Though repairs and restoration of homes and towns begins, restoration of battered spirits can take more time and assistance.

“People generally have a limit to the emotional burdens they can bear and once that limit is breached, people can explode, implode, or just melt down depending on their own coping mechanism,” said Karl Benzio, M.D., Founder and Executive Director of the Lighthouse Network. “Though this may seem a time when folks bearing the majority of the burden just have to keep going to restore a sense of normalcy to life after the storm, there is great need to proactively process what has happened, grieve any losses, and move forward effectively. Professional help can aid in that process when an event of this magnitude occurs.”

Lighthouse Network can help storm victims by providing compassionate, Christ-centered counseling and therapy or referrals to Christian counseling professionals that can help people affected by Hurricane Sandy to cope with their new realities and move on with the practical side of rebuilding. The organization promotes Christian counseling and therapy programs, recognizing that God has the ultimate power and ability to completely heal the whole person, no matter what storms life may bring.

“No matter what the storm in life, whether it’s a sudden natural disaster like this hurricane, something that builds over time like financial woes, or destructive habits, Lighthouse Network can offer a light in the storm to guide people to hope and healing,” said Benzio. “We offer all levels of assistance, from simple web resources like daily devotionals or articles to faith-based counseling or referrals through our Addiction and Counseling Helpline, all the way to customized curriculum development to help people or groups that can’t find the support they need through other programs.”

Through their free, 24-hour Lighthouse Network Addiction and Counseling Helpline at 877-562-2565, Lighthouse Network Care Guides talk with callers and can help determine the next best course of action for the caller’s needs, based on their current situation.

Lighthouse Network provides guidance through life’s storms for people who have a hard time defining their particular problem or have difficulty finding the right answers from other often-confusing sources. Care Guides will link patients or loved ones to a counseling, addiction, or psychiatric care facility through Lighthouse Network’s national database of treatment centers, counselors, and therapists. They successfully manage complicated cases, especially of acute addiction, and provide help from a holistic (spirit, mind, and body) perspective. Helping people of all faiths, our approach integrates cutting-edge science and spiritual truths as this approach produces the best chance of successful change in a person’s life. Being a faith-based organization has opened the doors to many hard-to-find Christian options producing powerful and lasting transformational experiences. Read stories of changed lives that have resulted from Lighthouse Network’s assistance.

Through its website, www.lighthousenetwork.org, Lighthouse Network offers several resources for those struggling with addiction, as well as for their families, including Stepping Stones, a free daily devotional for managing life’s stressors and storms and equipping readers with healthy decision-making skills, and Not Alone radio short features that help parents or grandparents of addicts cope with their situation and help their loved one. Visit http://lighthousenetwork.org/stepping-stones/ to read the devotionals and sign up to receive them daily via email. To listen to the radio short features, visit http://lighthousenetwork.org/ln-radio-short-features/. For more information on Lighthouse Network, visit www.LighthouseNetwork.org or call the Lighthouse Network Addiction and Counseling Helpline toll-free at 877-562-2565.