Author: Gary Jackson

12 Step Programs for Addiction Recovery

Treatment waiting lists can take a couple of weeks up to several months, and enrollment in most state-funded treatment services will usually require proof of residence and income. They prioritize and work to manifest values of faith, community, abstinence, acceptance, and ongoing self-improvement in their members. SMART Recovery is a secular alternative to 12-step programs like AA. Rather than emphasizing powerlessness and embracing a higher power, the SMART Recovery approach emphasizes viewing substance use as a habit that people can learn to control. It draws on aspects of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and helps members to build motivation, cope with cravings, change addictive thoughts, and adopt healthy habits.

While 12-Step facilitation programs don’t necessarily follow the steps, they promote the use of a 12-Step methodology, in the hope that clients will move to a 12-Step program after rehab to help maintain sobriety. In addition, certain treatment centers base their model for service around some of the ideas promoted through the 12-Step program. These centers can offer research-based services and promote a more scientific understanding of addiction treatment, but they incorporate some of the spiritual, psychological, and practical practices that the 12-Step program promotes. This results in an encompassing model of care designed to support clients through rehab and to give tools that they can use after treatment to maintain their recovery for the long-term. The 12-step program aims to help people attain abstinence from substance use disorders or make a behavioral change through peer support.

SMF-121 The Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous

Each group has but one primary purpose–to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers. There is limited research into its effectiveness, but one drawback is that it relies on people effectively surrendering themselves to a higher power. People who are not religious or spiritual may struggle with this concept. Alcoholics Anonymous developed the first 12-step program, but such programs now exist in many different forms. One study also critiqued the 12-step program for being too inflexible and marginalizing and for including nonnegotiable beliefs and ideologies. John C. Umhau, MD, MPH, CPE is board-certified in addiction medicine and preventative medicine.

• They also address questions related to financing the group and managing public relations.
• At the very least, the 12-Step model provides support, encouragement and accountability for people who genuinely want to overcome their addiction.
• We admitted we were powerless over alcohol — that our lives had become unmanageable.
• They prioritize and work to manifest values of faith, community, abstinence, acceptance, and ongoing self-improvement in their members.
• Medicare and Medicaid are federal and state-funded health insurance programs that offer alcohol treatment assistance to those in need.
• Whether this program includes 12-Step aspects, is based on the 12-Step concept, or is an alternative to this original model of addiction treatment, it’s important that care is customized to the individual.

While the 12 steps in use today are based on the same ideas written by the founders of AA in the 1930s, the understanding of the term “God” has since broadened to refer to any “higher power” that a person believes in. There are many program alternatives to the 12-step treatment offered by peer support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous. Some people don’t like or are not interested in the 12-Step model, even with the variations above or through organizations that facilitate the 12-Step model. Some people don’t like basing their recovery on the idea that they cannot control their addiction, when there is evidence that there are ways of practicing internal control over the recovery process. Because of the anonymity of the program and lack of formal research available, it’s hard to tell just how effective the 12-Step model is. However, the prominence of this type of treatment as well as success stories from those in recovery suggest it is effective.

Other similar organizations and program

You can also contact local community centers, churches, or healthcare facilities for more information on AA and other 12-Step meetings near you. Are you interested in finding a 12-Step program that could help you beat your addiction? With more than 50,000 Alcoholics Anonymous groups nationwide (and thousands of other Anonymous groups for various addictions), you’re bound to find one that works for you. Get professional help from an online addiction and mental health counselor from BetterHelp.