Other research suggests that AA is quite a bit better than receiving no help. In 2006 psychologist Rudolf H. Moos of the Department of Veterans Affairs and Stanford University and Bernice S. Moos published results from a 16-year study of problem drinkers who had tried to quit on their own or who had sought help from AA, professional therapists or, in some cases, both. Of those who attended at least 27 weeks of AA meetings during the first year, 67 percent were abstinent at the 16-year follow-up, compared with 34 percent of those who did not participate in AA. Of the subjects who got therapy for the same time period, 56 percent were abstinent versus 39 percent of those who did not see a therapist—an indication that seeing a professional is also beneficial.
These findings might not apply to all problem drinkers or AA programs, however. Because this study was “naturalistic,” that is, an investigation of people who chose their path on their own (rather than as part of the study), the researchers could not control the precise makeup of the meetings or treatments. Furthermore, the abstinence rates reported might apply only to those with less severe alcohol problems, because the scientists chose people who sought help for the first time, excluding others who had done so in the past. Various studies have found that a combination of professional treatment and AA yields better outcomes than either approach alone.
Constructive Combination
Taken as a whole, the data suggest that AA may be helpful, especially in conjunction with professional treatment, for many people who are addicted to alcohol. We do not know, however, whether AA might occasionally be harmful. When a group is highly confrontational, for example, alcoholics may become resistant to change [see “The Advice Trap,” by Hal Arkowitz and Scott O. Lilienfeld; Scientific American Mind, September/October 2010]. Nevertheless, in light of the evidence supporting the program, the wide availability of meetings and the lack of expense, AA is worth considering for many problem drinkers.
This article was originally published with the title Does Alcoholics Anonymous Work?.
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64 Comments
Add CommentAt least one study found a statistically significant correlation between continued abstinence and BEING a sponsor of another alcoholic. A sponsor is someone who helps another member of AA "work" the steps. This finding supports one of the primary principles of AA involvement - being of service to others. It's also nearly impossible to sponsor another without having a sponsor yourself, so that sponsors are, in effect, always "working the steps." As to confrontation, there is little of that in most AA meetings where members are encourage to share their own experience rather than their opinions and are asked not to "cross talk," i.e., respond to other member's "shares" in any way other than to thank them for sharing or calling attention to an experience similar to the one shared. Anthropologists who have studied AA groups call the process "folk healing" the AA a "mutual aid" society rather than a "self help" program. There are a fair number of scholarly articles on how AA works for the people for whom it works. I personally don't believe I'd be sober without it. More importantly, I do not believe I would have achieved the degree of emotional health that I have managed to achieve without learning and "working" those simple steps.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe root of addition is in the brain's biochemistry. For the majority of people for who AA does not work, consider fighting fire with fire. Ask your doctor about naltrexone and the Sinclair method. This treatment deserves wider attention.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisor ibogamine
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHey, wait a minute!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIf 40% of AA attendees drop out in the first year, then the program as already failed for 40%. You can't just arbitrarily exclude these people from the survey. The 16-year abstinence for 67% of the remaining people is actually only 40.2% of the original set, NOT a 67% overall success rate. This 40% success is a much lower rate than the 56% for therapy alone.
"For those attending at least 27 weeks of AA meetings during the first year...." If you exclude those who did NOT attend at least 27 weeks, you are fudging the data. The program has failed for those people. They must be included in the statistics for the conclusions to be valid.
My opinion: people drink in excess due to loneliness, boredom and/or escapism. The body evenually aclimates to the alchohol, and physical addiction sets in. A dedicated close friend or close relative can help by eliminating the underlying causes. AA groups and therapists are just weak substitutes.
AA has for a large number of people provided a culture to support sobriety in a society which substantially promotes addiction to sex, drugs & alcohol, sugar, entertainment, and a number of other products and activities.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIMHO, a focus of AA is honesty. Honesty which can come about only through humility and integrity against intellectualization, rationalization, and all of the mind's defenses against self awareness.
It is though, up to the individual to put in the work necessary to outpower the neurotic or psychotic tendency to avoid reality.
I have two problems with AA. First, the alcoholic declares that he/she is helpless and therefore must rely upon a higher power. Second, the presumption is that total abstinence is the only cure for problem drinking. I'm sure that AA works for some people, primarily those who respond readily to group and individual support and believe that celestial entities--God, good angels, or whatever--play a role in individual lives. But I am sure that some self-motivated problem drinkers can discipline themselves to enjoy an occasional drink. Of course, individuals vary. Some people have quit smoking cold turkey, while others cannot stop despite patches, gimmicks, and hypnotism!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSocial science studies lack scientific rigor, therefore it should be unsurprising that the studies are inconclusive.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThose not afflicted with alcoholism or drug addiction cannot subjectively understand the nature of the malady, so much of what they opine is pure speculation, much as the opinion of a blind person regarding vision.
The 12 steps of AA, as described in the first 164 pages of the Big Book, describe only one of many possible solutions for the suffering alcoholic. The authors, who were more than 100 men and women who had found some level of success while applying the 12 step program to their own alcoholism, were careful to say that they "know only a little," and that while their method seemed to work for those willing to honestly and rigorously work the steps, there was no guarantee it would work for everyone.
For the alcoholic, the aim of the 12 step program can be simply described as coming to trust a god OF YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING, cleaning up the wreckage of your past, and continuing to grow spititually under the guidance of the god of your understanding. There is nothing in the 12 steps and the first 164 pages of the Big Book about sponsorship or structured meetings.
The authors describe alcoholism as a disease, but claim that alcoholic drinking is only a symptom of extreme selfishness. The 12 steps are designed to lead the alcoholic away from selfishness and toward a more altruistic life.
The 12 steps describe how most alcoholics are powerless over their egocentrism and attendant drinking. They also posit that no human power can relieve the alcoholic of his problem, and therefore the alcoholic must come to rely on a power greater than themselves or another human. While they call this power god, they describe it as a universal spirit which underlies the totality of the universe.
As for myself, I am an alcoholic who has become recovered from the malady through the 12 step program. I am not a christian, nor do I participate in any religion or religious activities. I've been sober and increasingly successful in life for more than 12 years. I have seen others recover through the 12 step program, but I have seen many more who have not recovered.
There can be a dark side to AA. There are AA cults where vulnerable people are preyed upon. There are groups which are actively harmful to themselves and others.
But in my experience, the vast majority of groups are helpful to alcoholics, the families of alcoholics, and to their communities.
There are open meetings where anyone can experience an AA meeting. I've never experienced meetings where people are "preyed upon". There are many groups and people can go where they like the format and people the most. I've been sober and active in AA for nearly 26 years and I've gravitated to "young people" meetings because of their joy of life. There IS a provision that comments and the article miss: It works if you work it... And there's a lot to be said for social lives enhanced by doing things with other sober people, so there's a lot of life to live, whereas those who pride themselves in doing it alone, don't have as much fun so are more prone to relapse.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisGood comment... thanks.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt isn't "helpless" it is "powerless over alcohol" not even "powerless", although sometimes we can extend that to "powerless over people, places and things" i.e. I cannot control others, but I CAN control myself from picking up a drink with the help of others and as I choose a higher power. But it isn't HELPLESS.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisPracticing law as a young criminal lawyer I was often faced with a Judge ordering my client to attend AA after involvement in an Alcohol related offence. After a year or so of this, and now representing a client who objected to this probationary condition on the basis of its religious overtones, I pointed out to the Judge that many of my past clients who had attended AA were repeat offenders, primarily again involved with Alcohol related offences. I asked instead that my client be ordered to attend private counselling, to which the Judge agreed. It was the last time AA attendance was forced upon any of my clients.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisPersonally, I object to the 'higher power' BS subscribed to by its proponents. While this may work for some, it weakens others making them feel disempowered.
24 years sober going on 25 by turning my life & will over to the care of GOD everyday. You cannot speak of Alcoholism unless you are one. The bulk of the comments come from people who do not know anything of the disease!!!!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHow does one capture human statistics of alcohol recovery programs? A friend of mine joined AA and got drunk 100 more times until he achieved 30 days sobriety, whereupon he stayed sober (and drug free) for the rest of his life. What is his success rate? Maybe 1%, 100%?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYears ago I read a report that said that the public conception of recovery success is to stay sober for long periods of time with an occasional “slip” (temporary return to drinking). AA’s notion of success is 100% sober forever after. Many in AA have very long periods of sobriety punctuated by short periods of inebriation. Many people in AA have unbroken decades of sobriety. No other program can compare to that record; they simply have not been around long enough.
Many non-AA programs consider “success” to be when the person is 30-days sober and seems to be stable and attends AA meetings.
Other popular recovery programs claim success rates that are certainly bogus, and many of these are based on pure hand-waving claims. Some are based upon phone interviews after some period of time. Are the people interviewed about their sobriety to be believed?
Mayflower and U-Haul depend on 20% of Americans moving every year. This makes tracking people in recovery challenging--especially being “anonymous”. Furthermore, people who join AA are somewhat older than people in drug rehab, and tend to die sooner than the average population.
One AA study records the purchase of anniversary coins to determine statistics of recovery. But the longer the AA person stays sober, the less likely he is to worry about getting an anniversary coin, or he just gives it back for re-use.
In summary…Tracking AA statistics is nearly impossible, but in my experience, an AA member who “works the steps” stays sober…period…. The most frequent cause of death seems to be smoking.
One of the dumbest articles I have ever read. The only requirement of membership is the desire to stop drinking, and most people who go to AA do it to try to keep out of trouble with the law or their families. They don't have the desire, so they don't make it.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisA few of them get the desire when they see how good life can be without booze.
If someone did a study of people with the desire to stop drinking who could not succeed, I believe they would find that those people have post-traumatic stress disorder and feel so crazy when they stop, they would rather be drunk, (so I wrote a pamphlet "An Explanation of PTSD for 12 Steppers: When I get sober I feel crazy." which you can get on Amazon). However PTSD treatment won't cure alcoholism.
There is no requirement to believe in god. Sometimes the power greater than yourself that can help you with your drinking is simply a group of people who succeed in a life without alcohol.
I have to admit that the idea that you need professional help makes me laugh. Having someone who doesn't understand an addiction from having it try to help you? Hahaha. As Clancy I. used to say, "If you have a problem with alcohol, I have a solution for you, DON'T DRINK. But if you have this thing called alcoholism, you're gonna have to take those steps."
So they do not have the one requirement for membership, the DESIRE to stop drinking. Of course it does not work for them. They see religious overtones because they don't want to stop. You can use a doorknob as your higher power...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisListening to a court-ordered drunk's perception of AA is like listening to a convicted felon talk about his lawyer...
ekittredge -- thank you! I am not a member of AA but many years ago spent several years with AlAnon, which helped me deal with a loved one's alcoholism. The process is identical and it saved my sanity and changed my life in ways I remember every single day.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe group listens, but does not encourage or even permit anyone to blame, scream or rage to the group. A sponsor privately will listen to help individuals get all that stuff off their chest, which is necessary for healing.
At meetings, members are gently but consistently urged to a)acknowledge that they are in quite a difficult situation and cannot fix it themselves b) resolve their own issues c) take responsibility for the situation in which they find themselves d) stop blaming others for the mess they're in, and help them to understand how they help perpetuate it since e) be a responsible adult, perhaps for the first time in their lives f) know they are human and fallible, but worthy and capable of growth.
It is a difficult process, but I never was told I was "helpless," just powerless to handle a brutal situation myself or else what was I doing there? I was never harassed, or criticized and certainly never was "preyed upon."
Those with a great deal of experience served as models for those of us just stumbling in the door, heartbroken and dispirited. Those new to AA and Al Anon served as models to those who had moved ahead, reminding them of where they once were and how far they had come -- this provoked much gratitude and healing over time. We helped one another through dark nights of the soul with clear, concise advice and sincere concern for one another. And laughter for our foibles and missed steps. We served as compasses pointing the way through fearful moments. At any time, some are ready to follow the compass, some can't yet turn over their fear and fury and trust others. Someday they may be. Live and let live. Who were we to judge; we, who ourselves were so recently broken and didn't know what to do?
No one criticizes, no one forces; we let one another be who we are, where we are and how we are at the moment, but are available for help if anyone want to take even one small step forward.
That is why these programs work to mend broken hearts, bodies and spirits. Twelve step programs are perhaps like small, supportive communities in which all humans once lived. Not everyone stays, but I have never seen anyone hurt many grow. I am one of them. A hand was extended. I had the strength to grasp it. I have extended my own hand ever since.
AA works!!! 10 years ago I was a twisted human being consumed with genetically passed traits of alcoholism, drugs, food and a huge tobacco addiction and today I am an addiction free, peaceful and productive citizen. My family and friends are amazed but this transformation is 100% from working HARD on the 12 Steps of AA and passing it to other addicts. And one would think "normal" people would work the 12 Steps and get this peace but unfortunately only addicts are desperate enough, it's hard work, with incredible results. Passing it on to other addicts is the best and perhaps only way to keep it for this alcoholic.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisTrust God, Clean House, Help Others and the love and joy is the real McCoy!
AA works!!! 10 years ago I was a twisted human being consumed with genetically and environmentally passed traits of alcohol, drugs, food and tobacco addiction and today I am an addiction free, peaceful and highly productive citizen. My family and friends are amazed but this transformation is 100% from working HARD on the 12 Steps of AA and passing it to other addicts. And one would think "normal" people would work the 12 Steps and get peace but unfortunately only addicts are desperate enough, it's hard work, with incredible results. Passing it on to other addicts is the best and perhaps only way to keep it for this alcoholic. Trust God, Clean House Help Others and the love and joy is the real McCoy!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis article is absolute nonsense. If its writers had bothered to check, they would have found previous research that shows up AA as being little more than a cult whose claims are pure fiction. Previous research has shown repeated that AA's rate of effectiveness is exactly equal to no treatment at all, which means that its rate of effectiveness is exactly zero. AA is the embodiment of junk science. Its underpinnings are a hodgepodge of faith-based bilgewater laced with erronious, junk-science claims and "statistics". AA itself is an unhealthy cult that replaces one form of addiction with another- itself.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAA uses the terms "denial" and "higher power" a lot. "Denial" is a born-again Christian term which, at its root, means "denial of God's existence". This is meant to tie in nicely with the "higher power" (meaning God) idea, which in turn is used to suck people into the religion itself. In other words, it's a process of indoctrination and brainwashing, of transferring dependence from alcohol to religion.
The truth about "denial" is that this is what lies at the heart of religion itself. "Denial" is what religion is all about- denial that one day we're all going to die, and that there is no afterlife. It is part of the Judeo-Christian tradition to concoct claims that are the reverse of reality. We all die becomes we all live in the hereafter. Good things like indulgence, sex and fun become sinful because they distract people from concentrating on religion. In other words, the only true denial going on is denial as a tool of indoctrination.
The claim that a person who quits drinking has become a "dry drunk"- a favourite idea of AA- has its analogue in NA (narcotics anonymous) and CA (cocain anonymous). This claim means that the person in question will always be an alcoholic and/or drug-addict. We've all seen how people buy into this nonsense in the form of characters on tv shows apeing the dogma in the form of "I've been clean and sober for exactly five years, eleven hours and twenty-eight minutes" or endless variations thereof. Speaking as a former alcoholic and heroin-addict, who also quit smoking around the same time, I can't tell you exactly when I quit, not to the year, month, day or hour. Nor can anyone else I know who like myself quit on their own.
Everyone I know who quit did so on their own. We also know a key thing about addictions: when you really want to quit, you simply quit. That said, it helps greatly to quit the people, lifestyle and collections of habits involved as well, as they are part of the real problem.
Gsmonks, thank you for providing a voice of well-reasoned common sense.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAlcoholics Anonymous does not work for anyone. Instead, this program only offers a method, a pathway to recovery. It is the alcoholic who has to do the work.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI’m not playing with semantics. The point is extremely important and completely overlooked by many. Too many people come into AA (and just about any kind of therapy) expecting that it will “cure” them. It won’t. We must “cure” ourselves and that is hard work. AA provides proven tools. Those who are not willing or able to put in the effort; the almost literal “blood, sweat, and tears” are not going to recover and then they will say “that didn’t work for me” Sorry, you got it the wrong way around. It should be “I didn’t work hard enough or want it badly enough”.
Recovery from addiction is not a part time effort. You have to want it so badly that you will do anything to get it. You have to work at it every minute of every day just as hard as you worked at the addiction for at least five years before you can began to have confidence that you are making real progress.
It is interesting that many of the ideas expressed in AA when I first joined more than 40 years ago have been verified by current research. As an addictions counselor and dept. chair of an addictions counseling college degree program I came to appreciate the strengths and weaknesses of many treatment programs. 12 step programs still have the best track record for the most people throughout the world but others have value as well.
One other misconception: sobriety itself is not recovery, it is the precursor to recovery. Once sober, the addict can begin to learn to live in a positive manner; what some might call a “normal” life. That’s recovery and it is neither easy to get there nor to maintain.
AA, and other programs may offer the tools and a map but the addict herself or himself must travel the road. And it’s uphill and full of potholes.
A final observation: I am an atheist. I have been since I was maybe 10 or 12. I don’t make an issue of it, it’s just who I am. The religious overtones of AA did not impede my desire to get sober and I learned quickly that I could believe whatever I wanted. The program was my higher power because with it I was able to do things that I simply could not do myself. The “to much religion” argument is a great way to cop out and place the blame for “failure” elsewhere.
For anyone reading this who wants to recover you can, in almost any program, if you put your heart, soul, and every fiber of your being into it and never, ever pick up a drink or a drug again.
AA: Many postings here criticize AA, but a brief overview that might calm some fears.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAA is simply a good "Social Model" of recovery. The basic premise is that it is far easier to get sober in a group whose purpose is to stay sober. Its lingo and shorthand phrases might be off-putting to some, but these things develop in groups over time.
AA was created by a small group of people who found that certain principles seemed common to those who achieve sobriety. These ideas have been around for millennia. AA's 12 Steps were not handed down from God on stone tablets, they are just commonsense. You could make up you own and start another program. It might work better, and AA members would just drift over to yours. No problem there.
AA is not a religion, but it accepts that prayer and mediation helps. On the other hand agnostics and atheists are common in AA. The "AA Big Book" (more lingo), does not mention the words Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, or any other religious figure. It does not mention any religion either with one exception: Christianity is mention only once in a negative context. The AA Big Book is not actually big.
AA took much from Buddhism and other spiritual traditions, and has borrowed extensively from psychology, philosophy, and whatever it thought relevant to the problem. Blended with folksy 1930's American wisdom, too.
AA a cult? Absurd! Consider: AA's funding is almost zero. Putting a dollar into the basket to pay for coffee and rent has been common for decades. If you die and leave AA a fortune in your will, they will refuse it (except for a small amount). If you try to give AA money but are not an AA member...they won't take it. There are really no AA "leaders". Who's in charge?...essentially nobody is.
Remarkably, NOBODY wants your money, name, address, phone number, picture, social security number. And they keep virtually no records of you. And they don't even make money selling books and literature. And they own NO property, no treatment centers, no hospitals or spin-drys.
One final reason to know that AA is not anything like a cult (or religion) is that the "founders" of AA are accorded very little acclaim nor special recognition. Cult?...Hardly!
This church-mouse extraordinarily-loose organization seems utterly impossible, but has wisely removed any temptations that destroy other organizations.
For anyone who disliked the first group they encountered, try another. There are some groups where some blow-hard seems in-charge, but find another.
AA does not even demand that you like it.Now THAT'S amazing.
Idealy a scientifically scurpulous study: placebo-experimental treatment double-blind study is warrented to determine the efficacy or lack of efficay of the AA program. Admitedly, such a study would be most difficult to conduct. What would the population consist of (to draw the samples)? Also it would be difficult to keep the study "double-blind." So, my conclusion...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisEven if its main effect is that of a placebo, it seems unlikely to cause any harm; and, you may meet a friend or romantic engagement there.
Any outcome study that does not distinguish between mere "members" of the fellowship and those who have actually worked the twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous is inherently flawed.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe best analogy to describe the above scenario would be to do an outcomes study for a particular Cancer treatment center and then include those cancer patients who merely socialize in the waiting room along with those actually partake of the treatment offered and suggested by their physicians. Only those patients (alcoholics) who have actually had the treatment (the Twelve Steps) should be counted in the study; the patients who linger in the waiting room (fellowship) might well be said to be part of the control group, but they haven't done any measurable work towrds sobriety.
I come out of my years and decades of addiction and recognize the trail of destruction I have left in the lives of people who loved me. None of my thinking or emotional well-being has been unnaffected by my state dependent learning. Addiction is all about hiding; Recovery is all about coming out of hiding.
I have to re-learn how to form real and lasting relationships. The drinking and drugging were the solutiion to those profound feelings of otherness that have plagued me all my life. The steps provide a means to that end. Not the only means, but it is a solution that millions have tried and found success.
To be sober is not to be simply abstinent. Sobriety requires something of me. The twelve steps of AA has been and is a means by which I can learn a new way of living in the world authentically. Old relationships are repaired and new ones forged. I live a life that is rich beyond measure because I practice these principles every day.
The first line of the chapter entitled "How It Works" in the Big Book of "Alcoholics Anonymous" states: "Rarely have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly follow our path." This has been my experience.
Alcoholics Anonymous has no failure rate. It is 100% effective. Unfortunately, most alcoholics refuse to take the treatment as prescribed, and we can't blame A.A. for that. I followed the suggested program of recovery completely and my life is radically changed. I not only don't drink, I am happier than any time in my life. (I'm 70) And, it only gets better. Hundreds of thousands of men and woman have recovered from a hopeless state of mind and body, and you can be one of us.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisQuestioning the efficacy of AA is akin to questioning the efficacy of physical exercise: it matters how long you try, how hard you try, what motivates you, and how badly you feel a need to get in shape. The academic approach to evaluating AA is usually only sensible for those who have not experienced AA personally, and who have not followed the program as suggested. I realize this may sound illogical, but, then, many phenomena seem that way until investigated thoroughly. The author is correct in pointing out that the experiences of the subjects vary far too much to conclude anything definitive, in my opinion.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisRegardless of anyones opinions I sincerely hope that anyone who is seeking help will have the courage to reach their hand out. Whether it be to a doctor, clergy, a support group or a 12 step program, in this case, AA. I have lived the horror and self-hatred of alcoholism and I am thankful to be living a life free of them now. Before reaching my hand out I didn't believe I could live differently. Now I know I can live differently and I have my life back with a peace I never had before. If someone is suffering, don't give up! Keep trying!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"It is though, up to the individual to put in the work necessary to outpower the neurotic or psychotic tendency to avoid reality."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI am VERY curious as to how you would define, or what that work, would look like, in your opinion.
I have been going to alcoholics anonymous meetings for over twenty-five years and I have been sober twenty-one of those years. I have a warning however. There are groups which call the cops on individuals who try to attend aa meetings as well as aa groups which kick members out. I know that from personal experience and the actions involved is that if you are attacked verbally by another alcoholic or drug addict in the meetings and you don't submit to the abuse but instead try to resist ,you will be asked to leave or have the cops called and arrested. I agree with a previous comment on this board that There can be a dark side to AA. There are AA cults where vulnerable people are preyed upon. There are groups which are actively harmful to themselves and others. Alcoholics Anonymous misrepresents itself when it advertizes in the Big Book, nor ought money or conformity be a requirement for membership and that alcoholics anonymous states the only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. Those members who kick out others who want to recover are into controlling the members who try to attend, yet alcoholics anonymous conference approved literature states that aa does not control its members. The use of the aa logo needs to be pulled from those groups who use the aa logo to abuse and control those who try to attend an aa meeting. I am twenty -one years sober and have been arrested at an aa meeting- it took the expenses of hiring an attorney to have the false charges dropped, i have been threatened with arrest at two other aa groups and just today was told i couldn't come back to an aa group because I wouldn't silently put up with the judgemnt and criticism directed to me personally. Alcoholics Anonymous is not what it is cracked out to be.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI like this article because he is taking on the 12 step rehab evangelicals. When people ask for professional help, he is advocating for medication and/or psychotherapy.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisDr. Valiant advocates for 12 steps. Is this because he really thinks it works or because he is on the corporate board of AA? Corporate AA is organized and makes money. Followers of AA profit from 12 step rehabs and lobby Congress. I have no problem with making money. I do have problems with dishonesty and lack of disclosure.
Medication and psychotherapy worked for me. I worked very hard at my job and at my therapy. I did not find AA/NA helpful. It had nothing to do with not "being ready" or "self-will run riot". I believe in hope and empowerment and responsibility and supportive not confrontational therapy. I found the dogma of AA disempowering.
And people with and without addiction, including family, friends and colleagues, helped me greatly. No surprise there. People have been helping other people with their issues or illnesses since the beginning of time.
The AA steps come from Buchman who led the Oxford Group, a spiritual not religious, Christian group which met in homes and hotels. Wilson was a member, left the group and then added some pop psychology. One is free to read into the AA message whatever you want. However, the facts are not denied by corporate AA. http://www.aabibliography.com/oxfordsteps.html
At the individual level, I am for whatever works. I am pro-choice. I have no problem with AA/NA at the grassroots level. I just don't believe it is the only way or the way for me.
Wilson projects his “character defects” onto all alcoholics. Many people who struggle with addiction do not have elevated egos and are not grandiose. Many people with substance use disorders are polite, good citizens and may need tools that build self-love and increase self-esteem. Unlike Wilson who suffered from a narcissistic personality disorder, their egos do not need to be smashed.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI am against the 12 steps as medical treatment or as the dominant paradigm. They are one type of peer support group that may or may not be helpful for some people. And since some people who attribute their success to AA/NA have dominated the conversation- see their 12 step
Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs. http://www.aa.org/en_pdfs/smf-121_en.pdf-
I see a need for an anti 12 step rehab patient advocate movement. I am unofficially a member.
My 6 month association with AA/NA was a neutral to negative experience. I have read the AA bible and the NA bible. I will be kind by simply saying they added nothing significant to my recovery.
I was told at one AA meeting to stop taking my medications. Of course, I didn't listen. I was also told things like: you can make your doorknob your higher power....but then you have to pray to the doorknob to relieve you of your insanity and character defects and surrender your will to the doorknob......on a daily basis... and just maybe the doorknob will grant you sobriety.
At least the God of the church of my childhood could remove the desire to drink and use for good. All one had to do was have the elders pray over you, sing gospel music and read a few scriptures-talk about a simple program. And yes, it works and has been around longer than AA. I have seen it work for many people!
And if self-help and/or the spiritual program of your choice don’t work, try
HAMS is a peer-led and free-of-charge support and informational group Harm reduction, Abstinence, and Moderation Support. http://hamsnetwork.org/
or cognitive-behavioral techniques http://www.smartrecovery.org/resources/toolchest.htm
I am against using tax dollars to force someone to have a religious/spiritual conversion. I am delighted to see a psychiatrist taking back the treatment of addiction as a mental illness. Once the professional treatment of substance use disorders is done by licensed, well-trained professionals, then I would suggest that we provide treatment at the level necessary. Inpatient worked for me; the 90 days was very useful for my mood disorder, overkill for my substance use disorder.
I also advocate for not forcing people with physical or mental disorders to have a disease/illness identity. As the author of The Soloist was told by the Lamp mental health providers: he is a violin player with a severe mental illness, not a mentally ill violin player.
http://www.soloistmovie.com/main.html
AA stresses "Rigorous honesty ".
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisCheck out the Big Book.
Yet I & every member I've known in the past 25 years here in Montreal has been told that the reason we shouldn't tell people/public we're "in AA"is that if we should "slip", then people will think that AA doesn't work.
Rigorous honesty would mean admitting that AA works some of the time, for some people a lot of the time,for many not at all.
Rigorous honesty means not hiding from reality, surely?
I can't believe such a sloppy piece of propaganda made its way into Scientific American. I was sucked in 12 step programs and experienced a non-stop assault on my character. I was told atheism was the root of all my problems and whenever their program didn't work, which it doesn't, it was my atheism that was to blame. I have yet to see AA work for anyone. What it is good at is turning people into religious crazies who think they aren't religious. There have been plenty of studies linking AA with higher suicide rates, more numerous binge-relapses, sexual predation, and all forms of rationalization. Half the people there think God talks to them...but they're not religious.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAnd to talk about harm--telling people they must change their beliefs and tell their deepest darkest secrets to some untrustworthy sponsor religious nutcase is their only hope or they will die? This is what the wonderful Big Book espouses.
Why not just print an article that says holy water helps people not vote Republican next?
There is no magical, invisible force that will cure alcoholism. And making a group of people who believe in a magical, invisible force into your higher power is insanity, especially when they've admitted they can't manage their own lives. If they can't, why are they trying to manage yours?
This article needs a follow-up. Big time.
Why don't you just put "In God We Trust" underneath the title of your magazine next?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNo mention of Jesus,Bouddha,Mohammed - that's true.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAnd Step 2 speaks of "A Power greater than ourselves."
All well & good.
How then to explain the HUGE leap to "God " & "HIM" in Step 3? That's not my conception of a Higher Power.
Another thing - "rigorous honesty".Yet I've been told that "We don't mention we're in AA because we might slip, & then people will think that AA doesn't work".But it doesn't always work,does it? So much for "rigorous honesty" - hide the facts,be devious.
Not sure about this idea of AA being a cult. My experience has been that one absolutely can come and go as one pleases in AA...there is no pressure to stay. Quite the opposite of the general cult idea. In AA in my experience, help is offered and available if one wishes and asks for it. Period.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAs to being powerless...any alcoholic who's been in the deep throes of absolutely living only to drink has little doubt that alcohol has mastered them. In my own experience, I was utterly defeated by alcohol, and tried every kind of therapy and self help I could find before choosing to practice the AA 12 steps; none worked. At all. Every single last time I picked up a drink, disastrous results followed.
In the end, through AA, I've been sober for several years now. My life is indescribably better, and my friends and family would attest to the fact that I'm a much better man for it. I've actually turned into a useful, fairly happy, and responsible adult (long overdue). And I've got a support network second to none, in my opinion.
No treatment option offers anything even close to 100% success. Alcoholism is a tough tough disease to deal with, and I suspect always will be. Perhaps AA is not for everyone, but contempt prior to investigation dooms one who might be helped. It has worked for me, and for lots of others. I believe it to absolutely be worth a try, and personally have no wish to trade my current life for my old one. Best of luck to all!
HELLO, THIS IS NOT ABOUT THE FELLOWSHIP, AND IF IT WORKS, THIS IS ABOUT THE PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMS ACTUALLY STATING THEY ARE 12 STEP BASED PROGRAM!. Sorry about the caps. AA is not treatment, period. It is ludicrous to compare a self help group to treatment as usual when the TAU, is 12 step based!!!!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisCounselors in these 12 step rehabs (Bill W. is turning in his grave, after his emphasis on "forever non-professional) are responsible for INFORMED CONSENT, when they prepare patients for discharge, they are responsible for an accurate and unbiased description of
ALL self help GROUPS ( NOT JUST OTHER 12 STEP BUT SMART REC., SOS ETC) then the patients right to choose is encouraged. If anyone can refute this point please respond. Is it unbiased when 95$ of rehabs, have the 12 and 12 posters in most rooms, all literature given is only 12 step, only 12 step meetings are offered at night and last is the self disclosing of the counselors, who cannot tell the difference between their own personal value systems and the their ethical code of conduct that frames what they do for a living. Like I said if you have a valid argument that says I am falsely presenting this issue, then please have the courage to dialogue like we are able to.
All the best,
Andrew Park LCSW
Does the 12-step approach cause deeper addiction?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishttp://mergingpaths.com/2012/03/12-steps-programs-create-deeper-addictive-behaviors/
Even though the word 'sponsor' is not used-I think if you read page 100 of the 'Big Book' you will find some pretty heavy 'sponsorship' discussion going on in the chapter 'Working With Others'.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAnyone else notice a lack of numbers? It's all % statistics in this study. 16 years only 40% are abstinent compared to the major competition... doing nothing. If AA is so good why not compare it to the % recovery and abstinence against prescription medications and see if the courts should start prescribing meds instead of sending people to religious AA meetings. In 1989, they had a 95% chance of losing a member in the first 3 months. I use this statistic because despite AA's so called success, which it doesn't have, they never publish their numbers and this is one that was published. If only 5% of members stay on another month or 2, for the benefit of the doubt, they only still have a 40% chance of being abstinent in 16 years. Anyone else see problems with this? 12 stepping is against the constitution as it is a religious cult that the government forces on people with no real successful evidence. If you want to run the chances of 12 stepping against anything close to doing nothing run it against people who are alcoholics and hang out with the same people once in a while over a long period of time without the 12 steps where you degrade yourself into a victim's standpoint. Anything that says you need to believe in GOD, is not science, it's religion. When you get the will power to finally quit, they say God helped you do it, not your will, which is the thing that made you an alcoholic to begin with.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe fact that people think that they CAN control drinking is a sever misconception especially if you are an alcoholic of the nature Bill wrote about. Powerless, means that you are going to drink no matter what. In "There Is A Solution", the authors make it very clear. For reasons yet unknown we have no choice IN drink (if you be a real alcoholic. "In" meaning before (the mental obsession) and after (the physical craving) the drink. If I am truly powerless, I have reached the point in which I have no choice, no mental defense, so notions such as "dont drink and goto meetings" can kill real alcoholics. Or "Keep it green", when the thought of the last drink will NEVER pop into my mind before i start drinking...look at pg. 24 of Big Book, squigly words
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisA.A. doesn't have a great success rate for people who are forced by courts or family etc. but it's getting better.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisA.A. WORKS 100%! A.A. works for people who have the capacity to be HONEST and drop their all of their B.S. and wholeheartedly take suggestions and actually WORK THE PROGRAM with the same vigor they used to drink.
About 20% of those who go to 12 step programs because THEY want rid of their addictions are successful on the very first try with or without treatment. Others don't do as well, but if they don't give up on themselves, they do have a very good measure of success.
The trick to addiction is understanding that once one is stricken with the disease of addiction, they are dealing with a disease that cannot be cured (as yet) but can be arrested and put into remission. When one fully understands this, and has enough motivation to live a good life....they heal.
Right on!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisRight on!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis is an old article and I did not read all the responses to see if anyone has already mentioned that the statement about professionals such as Doctors and Psychologists being unable to attend meetings unless they themselves are alcoholics, is only true if it is a "closed" AA meeting. In my community, the majority of meetings are "open meetings" that visitors may attend. The only doctors I know who regularly attend meetings are members who touch on their profession only ln asides. Most professionals (Doctors, Lawyers, Law Enforcement) in this county have their own meetings which are not in our regular meeting schedules. Some Alcoholics do need professional help in addition to regular meeting attendance, but in my experience (22 years) most do quite well by following the suggestions of: getting a Sponsor, working the 12 Steps, prayer and meditation, working with others (being of service)and continuous meetings. It's a fair trade after years of surrendering all control to the bottle amd/or other substances, to give a little time out of your day to recovery instead of all of it to the compulsive, obsessive, selfish desire to be oblivious.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBasically you're saying AA works 100 percent of the time and if it doesn't it's your fault.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThat's called "blaming the victim."
No one can prove or disprove this, of course, because you'll just say anyone who "gets it" is proof of the 100 percent effectiveness and anyone who doesn't is proof of that person's dishonesty.
If you were honest, you wouldn't be saying this, in other words. Therefore, is AA works for you, it works for dishonest people.
My personal experience after spending about eighteen years in and out of the program is that AA can cause more harm than good.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI suffered from abuse and was also tramitized as a young child. I used alcohol to deal with the hell that was surrounding me. I was forced into AA by the courts. AA continued to tell me I had to find my part in everything bad that happened in my life. They told me I was diseased and the only cure was god. They told me I needed to admit all of my faults and always be on the lookout for defects of character. They told me I was a sinner.
So what happened? I never delt with and recovered from the abuse and trauma I suffered as a young child. I never delt with the root causes of my destructive behavior. Luckily for me, I became VERY resentful towards AA and spoke out inside the meetings and to my friends in the program. I was not liked in the meetings, I know that for a fact.
Here I sit, seven years sober on Jan 15th. I do not take medication nor do I use substances. I continue to see a counselor and it has helped me a lot. My biggest weakness is being able to trust others. The childhood abuse shattered that and I am learning to regain that in adulthood. I no longer attend meetings and I threw those beliefs out of the window. I no longer fear that one day I will drink and die. I have come to accept AA as a program that works for 'some' BUT not for all. I stand firm with my beliefs and experiences and I do not tolerate people that try to push their beliefs on me. I can honestly say I am becoming more and more grateful for my life everyday.
Mike
First of all, you can't count people who don't commit to a program. AA is a program of recovery. If you go to a meeting, decide the program isn't for you... then you can't blame the program for not working. Also, some people are court ordered to attend AA. You can't seriously count them if they really don't want to be there. No, AA doesn't always work. I am in AA and some people can't make it. Finally, in response to a comment below... willpower has nothing to do with it. I can't will myself not to be addicted. The person's point about brain chemistry is right. Yes, I have gone cold turkey for years outside of AA... but always was obsessed with drinking and always returned to drinking. I am relieved of the obsession and compulsion to drink today. I also know that one drink will lead to hundreds more. So, to clarify... yes, it is willpower for me not to have the first drink. That is in my control. But willpower goes out the window after that.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI know plenty of atheists in AA. My closest friend in AA is one. if that is keeping you or someone you know outside of the program, then think again.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI have never heard the word "denial " in AA.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAlso, everyone I know who has quit drinking has done it through AA. People who try to do it on their own are less successful. I tried many, many times to moderate and even stop my drinking. The writer is right about one thing, people, places and things do contribute to drinking. Hanging out in bars on a regular basis is a bad idea. Though I have gone to bars with buddies on occasion to watch games and have no problem not picking up.
I am surprised that a magazine like Scientific American would publish such a bad piece of propaganda. Using Rudolf Moos of Stanford University as a source of information on Alcoholics Anonymous is especially bad.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHe is nothing but a professional propagandist for the 12-Step quackery racket.
<a href="orange-letters247.html#Clark_M" target="_blank">
The <i>International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction</i> totally discredited the faked Humphries-Moos study that supposedly showed that A.A. works better than Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.</a>
See:
http://www.orange-papers.org/orange-letters247.html#Clark_M
A.A. does not work. Better researchers have found that A.A. has really harmful effects, including:
increasing the rate of binge drinking
increasing the rate of rearrests
increasing the costs of hospitalization
and increasing the death rate in alcoholics.
It's all documented here:
http://www.orange-papers.org/orange-effectiveness.html
I believe an important consideration that AA ignores is sobriety. Short of total abstinence, sobriety means not getting drunk, socially obnoxious, or arrested, or doing anything that might cause trouble in the family or at work. A drink or two at dinnertime? Why not?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisLet's remember, the title and subtitle of this article is, "Does Alcoholics Anonymous Work? For some heavy drinkers, the answer is a tentative yes". I could not come up with a weaker statement in support of AA if I tried, and while I did not read the whole list of comments, a sampling was sufficient to show that many folks are debating some other thesis. AA works for some people, and that's about it. For some of the rest, many of whom would die trying to make 12-step work, there are other support groups like LifeRing or Smart that are more-or-less diametrically opposed to religion-based recovery like AA. Harm reduction groups may benefit some others who cannot go abstinent but may reduce the negative consequences of their drug of choice by switching to another. What galls me the most about AA is the attitude that it has all the answers, and if you can't make it work, oh well, you're just one of those "unfortunates" and might as well just die.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIf you can have a couple of drinks with dinner and leave it at that, go for it; you don't belong in AA. If you only want to learn how to cut down on your drinking, AA is not for you either. If, on the other hand, you have no idea how you're going to live your life without drinking, AA can offer you some ideas. It's for people who want it, not people who need it. Anyone else, including court-ordered offenders whose only plan is get their papers signed before they head for the bar, can feel free to get help elsewhere, and don't let the door hit you in the butt on the way out.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this16 years and counting.
I am very late joining this discussion, but I have a contribution to make based on 37 years of sobriety in AA. There is a fundamental misunderstanding of how and why AA works in the article itself, and many of the posters here are woefully misinformed about AA's real success rate. To suggest, for example, as the article does, that it "may" work "tentatively" with "some" hard drinkers is risible to begin with. AA has been around for 76 years and has grown exponentially to include well over 2 million members worldwide in 115,000 groups. How it can be described as a "maybe it works" program is beyond silly. Had it not worked for countless thousands (likely millions) of alcoholics it would have disappeared without a trace many years ago.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe fundamental misunderstanding about AA is the necessity of compliance with the very specific treatment plan AA offers. Suggesting, as one poster did, that the 40% who "drop out" of AA should be considered failures of AA makes no sense whatever. If a diabetic refuses to take his medicine, alter his diet and exercise regularly, the treatment regimen didn't fail, he did. If a cancer patient refuses chemotherapy, he cannot be considered a failure of the chemotherapy itself. So it is with AA.
Measurements of success or failure must be confined to a specific subset of those who enter AA: the alcoholics who are fully compliant with the treatment program. AA makes this very clear in its "instruction manual," the Big Book, in statements like these: "Rarely have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path," and "If you want what we have and are willing to go to any length to get it, then you are ready to take certain steps." And this further warning: "With all the earnestness at our command, we beg of you to be fearless and thorough from the very start. Some of us have tried to hold on to our old ideas, and the result was nil until we let go absolutely. . ." And this: "Half measures availed us nothing; we stood at the turning point. . ."
So, compliance with treatment is the key, and AA makes it abundantly clear that without rigorous adherence to the program success is not guaranteed. Surprisingly, however, even AA dropouts have a 37% abstinence rate, while those who remain in AA and work the program have a 64% abstinence rate. Compare this to a 15% abstinence rate among all other alcoholics, treated or untreated (NIAAA longitudional study, 1992)and then ask the question "Does AA work?" The answer is a resounding "yes."
Good on you. I was thinking that, as I read the first bit of the article. The parameters they used for thier study autoMATICALLY made thier study NOT a study of people doing the AA program. Because they got a professional to 'take them through' the steps. i guess what occurs to me her, is that the spirit of the AA program is something that people miss, who are not involved. And they think, thus, that they can mimic it under laboratory conditions. The issue of BEING a sponsor- being of service- as being of the essence of the healing, is lost on the researchers. So Im glad you put up that comment. Interestingly, those who did those steps with a professional, still got some sobriety results. I wonder just WHAT the professional could have have shared- how they helped the alcoholics through thier FIRST step, by sharing thier OWN experience of it- ha! Anyway, good on ya, from Sooz
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI am very late in joining this discussion, but I find it entertaining. First, the damnation by faint praise the article engages in: "For some heavy drinkers the answer is a tentative 'yes'" is fairly humorous on its face, followed as it is by the information that AA is (now 78) years old and has 115,000 registered groups around the world. Estimated membership is difficult to find, but NIAAA estimated in 1992 that 2.4 million had attended AA in the previous year. And only a "tentative yes" for "some heavy drinkers?" Surely you jest. The article goes on to say that 40% drop out of AA in the first year. Try again. The dropout rate according to AA itself is 74%, although NIAAA estimates AA retains about 35% of first year attendees. Dropouts are no indicator of the failure of the program. AA is free, people visit for a host of reasons, find that AA doesn't suit them or that they are not alcoholics and leave. Calling this a failure of AA is akin to saying that a treatment for diabetes is a failure for persons who never took the treatment. Attending a meeting or several meetings is not "thoroughly following the path" AA demands -- that requires a lot of work and immersing oneself in the 12 step recovery program. Even dropouts benefit from what they learned before leaving: 37% remain abstinent after attending AA and dropping out. Those who continue in the program have a 64% abstinence rate. Among other gross errors in the article is the comment that members are expected to correct all their defects of character without professional help. No such thing is "expected" of members; it is the statement in Step 7, as with all of the 12 steps, of a perfect ideal that can never be accomplished perfectly. "No one has been able to maintain anything like perfect adherence to these principles" says AA's textbook. Anyone who is interested in AA, including mental health professionals, can attend open meetings, mingle with the fellowship, ask as many questions and make as many observations as they wish. Only "closed" meetings are for alcoholics only, for obvious reasons. Finally, among the more risible notions in the article is the idea that although many who remain in AA do stop drinking, there is no proof that it is the AA program that caused the outcome. What, then, did? Why not ask a sober member how they stayed sober? It's no mystery. Scientific American's readers deserve better than this poorly researched slapdash piece about the world's oldest and largest self-help group that works "tentatively" for a few heavy drinkers.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSurely you have been corrected somewhere along this thread. the dropout rate of attendees in the first year is about 74% according to AA itself. NIAAA estimates AA retains about 35% of first year attendees, for a 65% dropout rate. But dropouts are not "failures" of the AA program: they did one of three things: refused the AA treatment program; started but discontinued it before it could succeed; or learned enough to stay sober and left (37% of dropouts remain abstinent, according to an NIAAA study). Calling a dropout a failure of AA treatment is akin to calling treatment for diabetes a failure because the patient refused to take his meds, change his diet and get regular exercise.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYou are galled by something that does not exist. AA has never suggested it had "all the answers" (in fact, it humbly says "we realize we know only a little"). Further, its textbook says "Upon treatment for alcoholics we surely have no monopoly." AA also acknowledges throughout its literature that its program is designed for the "real alcoholic" -- the individual who, despite every incentive and fervent desire to do so, cannot moderate or stop their destructive drinking. AA also says repeatedly that it is aware that there are less severe stages of drinking and that even some heavy drinkers can moderate or stop drinking given the proper motivation. It is always helpful when commenting on any topic to have some idea of what you are commenting about.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"AA also acknowledges throughout its literature that its program is designed for the "real alcoholic" -- the individual who, despite every incentive and fervent desire to do so, cannot moderate or stop their destructive drinking."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis is exactly the problem, it is designed for a small fraction (perhaps 10%) of these people, the ones who are religious or are otherwise apt to willingly allow themselves to be controlled and manipulated by others and effectively join a cult. But those who have drank the kool-aide are convinced that it is designed for all of them, and your comment nicely frames my point.
The other 90% either find some other program that suits them (there are plenty, LifeRing, Smart, SOS, RR), they continue drinking and die, or they weren't that bad to start with and find some way to moderate.
Personal attacks tend not to encourage dialog, though they are the fallback for zealots. Unfortunately AA is full of these.
I agree with most everything you've written here. I have to laugh at people who view Alcoholism as something like cancer and AA as something akin to chemotherapy where you take the treatment once then if the cancer remains the treatment didn’t work. Along with the normal gaggle of irrational poorly informed AA haters you also get a lot of “scientific” researchers like the author of this article who view it this way. Obviously Alcoholism isn’t anything like cancer. Actually the American Psychiatric Association doesn’t even use the term Alcoholism anymore, it uses the terms “alcohol abuse” and “alcohol dependence”. It did this in part because of all the poorly done and misleading “research that was being done” that lumped college age kids who had done something stupid when drunk and had been referred to treatment along with 45 year olds who were clearly alcoholic by traditional measures and had lost everything to the disease. What I consider to still be the best research in this area is long-term study (60 year) of two groups of alcoholic men by George Vaillant at Harvard Medical School that concluded that "return to controlled drinking rarely persisted for much more than a decade without relapse or evolution into abstinence." Vaillant also noted that "return-to-controlled drinking, as reported in short-term studies, is often a mirage." George Vaillant has also found that at any given point in time in the U.S. of people who have had a clear diagnosis of Alcoholism and are currently abstinent 40% of them will be regular attending members of AA, and the rest will be using many of the tools suggested by AA but through other means.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhat is recovery and what are the statistics that support this recovery. The Fellowships as a model do offer recovery from addiction....can we quantify this recovery as recovery means many different things to different people...but one statistic that cannot be denied is that it has proven to work for certain people. But as already stated it does not work for everyone and how could it, like all theories and models one size does not fit all, but if you view addiction as a spiritual malady that is surrounded by negativity then the 12 steps do offer a programme that help individuals move towards positive spirituality, a place to bring people together, out of isolation towards ongoing support. The fellowships as a programme of recovery are fundamentally sound, yet it is not policed or governed so it does allow for all walks of life to join (Good and Bad). Is it harmful? Is there a slight danger of all forms of treatment harmful in some way? Possibly yes to both answers....but as a form of support for those who have suffered addiction and their families can you find another one that offers the same.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisit seems to me that whatever method/program one chooses gaining and maintaining motivation is a huge factor in ones success. AA works for those it works for. i know that sounds simple but it is that simple. i think it should be pointed out that 12 step programs are not the only options a person has for self help/ fellowship. if these other options could be accepted and become as well known as AA in the courts and treatment programs a palatable option to those who find AA unworkable, the long term outcomes might improve. my point is that whatever program or combination of programs that can help maintain motivation (without being dangerous) to pursue a healthier lifestyle can be considered a good program. mandatory attendance to anyone program seems to me to quite heavy handed.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisit is true that more scientific study into what combination of programs, professional support and possible medication usage will provide the best outcome but these studies will be difficult if not impossible to carry out in a way that will provide a "one size fits all" solution.
This is a very interesting and informative blog. I can tell you from personal experience that I have tried them all!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI can also tell you that it is very difficult to find the truth about alcoholism. It takes a tremendous amount of digging, but it can be found once you weed through the politics, greed, pharmaceutical industry, AMA, etc.
Here are some key points to know about AA and alcoholism:
- AA is not a treatment - it is a lay group that gives support to its members. The AMA and American doctors send their patients to it because they realize there is really no drug they can prescribe that will cure their so-called disease.
- The precepts and steps of AA are over 75 years old; so, it is foolish to believe that there is no other way to recover. HOWEVER, if it works for you... great!
- AA is hard-pressed to come up with a 3% success rate.
- Alcohol addiction is not a disease... it is a metabolic disorder. The home of this condition is located in the hypothalamus of the brain.
- Alcohol addiction has little to do with a person's moral fiber.
- Since 1950, several books by noted authors, physicians, psychiatrists, PhD's, etc. have been published that explain the actual cause and the cure for "alcoholism".
References:
"Seven Weeks to Sobriety" - Dr. Joan Matthews Larson
"Alcoholism – The Cause and the Cure" - Genita M. Mason H.H.P., N.C., M.H.
"The Vitamin Cure for Alcoholism" - Dr. Abram Hoffer M.D., Ph.D.
Again, if AA works for you... great. It did not work for me, so I turned to a different approach that made sense to me. Dr. Matthews' Health Recovery Center in Minnesota and Ms. Mason's Biosanctuary in Malibu, California both boast an over 70%, documented success rate. If I were a gambler, I prefer 70% odds as opposed to 3% anytime. Works like a charm!
But, don't take my word for it... find out the truth for yourself and what you know to be true.
And, please, don't shoot the messenger...
All the best!