12-Step Groups: Significant Strategy for Achieving Sobriety

12-Step Groups: A Significant Strategy for Achieving Sobriety

Alcoholics Anonymous

History and Evolution

According to Kurtz (2014), Alcoholism Anonymous began in the state of Ohio in 1935. It was an outcome of a meeting between two individuals. They were a New York stoke broker known as Bill W, and a surgeon in Akron, Dr. Bob. The two were hopeless alcoholics and prior to this meeting they were members of a non-alcoholic fellowship referred to as Oxford Group. The American group was headed by a clergyman, and thus they emphasized universal spiritual values as a guide in their daily lives. The spiritual influence in Oxford Group had enabled Bill to gain recovery from alcoholism. He became sober and strengthened himself through working with other alcoholics. On the contrary, Dr. Bob’s membership in the group did not yield positive results in his struggle with alcoholism. When the two met, Bill made it clear to Dr. Bob that alcoholism was a disease of the mind, body and emotions, information he learned from Dr. William D. Silkworth while he was his patient. Dr, Bob being a physician could not accept that alcoholism is a disease and as they argued further, Bills ideas became convincing, and he would later become sober and permanently quit drinking.

Beyond the meeting between Dr. Bob and Bill, the concept of God has been a part of the process. Reinhold Niebuhr’s Serenity Prayer became a very significant part of Alcoholism anonymous in their meeting. Over the years, the prayer was shortened with the first few standards recited in the AA meetings. With the indoctrination of Dr. Bob and Bill, another AA group was opened in Cleveland. More partners like the Rockefeller would also join and allow their name to be publicly associated with it. Around 1940 more groups were opened in other towns like Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Washington. By 1941, AA had grown and occupied all the major states in the US including Texas, and New York. From less than 100 members in 1941, by 1942, they had more than 9,000 in membership. 

Process

The process of Alcoholism Anonymous involves 12 steps since the recovery process. The process involves the following 12 steps: in the first step, the alcoholic makes an admission surrendering and declaring they are powerless over alcohol and consequently their lives have become unmanageable. Secondly, the come to the realization and belief that a greater power, not themselves, could offer restoration into sanity. Thirdly, they decide to turn to God to care for their lives fully. Fourthly, they make a searching as well as a fearless moral inventory of themselves. The fifth is an admission to themselves, man and God the nature of wrongs they have done. Sixth, they surrender to God to remove the character defects in the. The seventh is to ask him (God) to remove their shortcomings. The eighth step involves making a list of individuals that one had wronged and made a decision to amends. The ninth is actual amends with the individuals unless such an action would cause harm to an individual. The tenth step, an individual, continues to take inventory of his actions and makes amends whenever wrong. The tenth involves seeking through prayer as well as meditation to improve one’s conscious with God as they continue to understand Him by praying for knowledge and the command to carry it out. The twelfth step states that having received the spiritual emerging from the 11 steps, they should carry the message to other alcoholic and practice the principles throughout their lives.

Effectiveness

Various studies have investigated the effectiveness of Alcoholism Anonymous. However, most of the studies do not show much about its effectiveness. In many cases, the process has been found to be only effective for a minority of people with alcoholism or drug problem. 

Criticism

Critics of alcoholism anonymous have argued that the process is nothing but a cult that pegs its hope on God for restoration. 

Al-Anon

History and Evolution

As per Johnson and Cicchetti, (2013), the Al-Anon family group began top form in 1939. Two individuals Lois W, wife to the AA founder Bill W and her fellow Ann B came together to found Al-Anon. As such they opened the first world service in New York to administer the group. The office provided services to 87 groups that were located in different parts of the world which included Canada, Ireland in Europe and Australia and South Africa. In 1955, they established their first hardcover book titled Al-Anon Group. In 1957, a group called Alateen was started in Pasadena, California. In 1968, their first daily reader was published and sold over 5 million copies. In 1972, the group produced a video story about Lois, the founder of the group. In 1985, Al-Anon held its first international convention in Montreal, Canada. In 1994, Al-Anon published the first adult children book titled from survival to recovery. In 1996, the group’s world service office relocated from New York to Virginia with 56 members of staff. In 1998, Al-Anon held its third international convention in Salt Lake City together with AA members. In 2001, Al-Anon celebrated its fiftieth anniversary. As of 2001, there were a total of 21,000 registered Al-Anon groups in over 130 countries.

Process

Much akin to Alcoholism anonymous, the Alateen has similar progression in steps Johnson, (D. H., & Cicchetti, 2013). They include the following: in the first step, the alcoholic makes an admission surrendering and declaring they are powerless over alcohol and consequently their lives have become unmanageable. Secondly, the come to the realization and belief that a greater power, not themselves, could offer restoration into sanity. Thirdly, they decide to turn to God to care for their lives fully. Fourthly, they make a searching as well as a fearless moral inventory of themselves. The fifth is an admission to themselves, man and God the nature of wrongs they have done. Sixth, they surrender to God to remove the character defects in the. The seventh is to ask him (God) to remove their shortcomings. The eighth step involves making a list of individuals that one had wronged and made a decision to make amends. The ninth is actual amends with the individuals unless such an action would cause harm to an individual. The tenth step, an individual, continues to take inventory of his actions and makes amends whenever wrong. The tenth involves seeking through prayer as well as meditation to enhance one’s conscious with God as they continue to comprehend him by praying for knowledge and the ability to carry it out. The twelfth step states that having received the spiritual awakening from the 11 steps, they should carry the message to other alcoholic and practice the principles throughout their lives.

Effectiveness

As a process providing recovery for alcoholics, Al-Anon is effective because it changes the alcoholic’s drinking behavior and provides social support. 

Criticism

In the same manner that Alcoholism anonymous, critics have termed Al-anon as a cultic process that undermines an individual’s effort to rational action. 

Narcotics Anonymous

History and evolution

Johnson and Cicchetti, (2013) explains that Narcotics Anonymous was instituted in 1953. Co-founded by Jimmy Kinnon, Narcotics Anonymous sprung from the AA program of the 1940s. Prior to its formation, the meetings earlier began in the 1950s in Los Angeles, California. Originally, they called it AA/NA but come 1953, Jimmy Kinnon founded the group and named it Narcotics Anonymous. After the group establishment, they formed mutually supporting fellowship groups. Most of the founding, members were originally from AA. These members debated and informed the establishment of the group’s bylaws. On September 14, 1963, AA granted A.N permission to use its steps and tradition but under the condition that they desist from using its name. Consequently, the name NA/AA was done away with, and the organization was simply referred to as Narcotics Anonymous. In 1954, the group printed its pioneer publication called little yellow booklet. The publication contained the 12 steps and other a draft of other pieces that were yet to be included in the process. Around this period, the Rockefeller drug laws had restricted meetings between drug addicts. Consequently, it became tough for them to meet and hence resorted to individual’s houses. After a long period of inconsistency in meetings, the group was restarted and held its first historic meeting in 1959. From 1960 to 2007, the group has witnessed tremendous growth with increased meetings and groups signing membership from all over the world. By 2007, the group had established its roots in 127 countries of the world.

Process

Narcotics Anonymous also follow the same 12 step process as Alcoholic Anonymous Johnson, (D. H., & Cicchetti, 2013). They include the following: in the first step, the alcoholic makes an admission surrendering and declaring they are powerless over alcohol and consequently their lives have become unmanageable. Secondly, they come to the realization and belief that a greater power, not themselves, could offer restoration into sanity. Thirdly, they decide to fully turn to God to care for their lives. Fourthly, they make a searching as well as a fearless moral inventory of themselves, and the fifth is an admission to themselves, man and God the nature of wrongs they have done. Sixth, they surrender to God to remove the character flaws in them. The seventh is to request Him (God) to eradicate their shortcomings. The eighth step involves making a list of individuals that one had wronged and made a decision to make amends. The ninth is actual amends with the individuals unless such an action would cause harm to an individual. The tenth step, an individual, continues to take inventory of his actions and makes amends whenever wrong. The tenth involves seeking through prayer as well as meditation to enhance one’s mindfulness with God as they continue to appreciate him by praying for knowledge and the command to carry it out. The twelfth step states that having received the spiritual awakening from the 11 steps, they should carry the message to other alcoholic and practice the principles throughout their lives.

Effectiveness

The process is effective since it enables members to accept their condition. In a healing process acceptance offers an opportunity for an individual to commence the journey towards change and thus enables the addicts to fully commit to restoration. 

Criticism

Many individuals who oppose the concept have sited the spirituality in the group as a major discomfort. Secondly, some people claim just like with the AA that the 12 steps are cultic and thus making members to replace their addiction with another. 

Gamblers Anonymous

History and evolution

Donovan, & Daley, (2015) discusses Gambler Anonymous as a fellowship that came up as an outgrowth of a meeting of two individuals in January 1957. The two individuals had a shocking history of record of trouble and misery resulting from gambling obsession. After sharing, they began constantly meeting and after some time discovered that none of them had actually gone for gambling. Consequently, to conclusively decide to prevent a relapse, they needed a character change between themselves. They, therefore, opted for a spiritual guide that had been used by various other individuals who were recovering from other types of compulsive behavior. Additionally, they found it prudent to carry the message of hope to other addicted gamblers as a way of helping themselves in maintaining their own abstinence. On September 19th, 1957, the group held its first meeting in the city of Los Angeles in California. Since then, the group has widened in scope recruiting more members. 

Process

The process of gambler anonymous is also spiritual and similar step by step to the other three aforementioned. They include the following: in the first step, the alcoholic makes an admission surrendering and declaring they are powerless over alcohol and consequently their lives have become unmanageable. Secondly, the come to the realization and belief that a greater power, not themselves, could offer restoration into sanity. Thirdly, they decide to turn to God to care for their lives fully. Fourthly, they make a searching as well as a fearless moral inventory of themselves. The fifth is an admission to themselves, man and God the nature of wrongs they have done. Sixth, they surrender to God to eliminate the character faults in them. The seventh is to ask him (God) to eradicate their inadequacies. The eighth step includes a preparation of a list of individuals that one had wronged and made a decision to make amends. The ninth is actual amends with the individuals unless such an action would cause harm to an individual. The tenth step, an individual, continues to take inventory of his actions and makes amends whenever wrong. The tenth involves seeking through prayer as well as contemplation to develop one’s cognizant with God as they continue to understand him, and praying for knowledge and the power to carry it out. The last step states that having received the spiritual awakening from the 11 steps, they should carry the message to other alcoholic and practice the principles throughout their lives.

Effectiveness

Through the practices, it is effective since it enables one to avoid relapse through offering an opportunity to talk to other people struggling with gambling addiction ( Andó, Álmos, Németh, Kovács, Fehér-Csókás, Demeter, & Janka2015) .

Criticism

The criticism that the concepts attracts is same as those of Alcoholism anonymous. Some people find it to be cultic and thus may shift an individual from gambling addition to spirituality addiction.

2. Flight.

In the movie flight, the main character William "Whip" Whitaker real name Denzel Washington is an alcoholic who drinks to his fill overnight but remains drunk till the next morning. However, he has the assignment to fly a plane into Georgia. The flight ends up into a tailspin and whip crash lands saving six lives. Whip is a celebrated hero until a toxicology report comes out showing evidence of drunk flying. In this film, the character Whip struggles with alcohol addiction. He manages to conceal his addiction through putting up a façade. He ends up valuing his drinking more than anything else. However, his alcoholism ends up costing him his marriage. Additionally, he loses respect from his son. A friend even offers to take him to AA meetings, but he does not like the idea. Whip is an individual who is an alcoholic. His addiction has taken a toll on him, but he still is in denial. It is the denial that causes him to turn down the AA meetings. However, the alcohol is costing him his job and family. Consequently, it is prudent to conclude that the first step in the 12 step concept is necessary for ones needs to accept that they are powerless over alcohol to begin the restoration process. If Whip ceased to be in denial over his alcoholism, he would have brought the idea to stick in the AA meetings, and his alcoholism would have been addressed.

3. Field Research or My Path to Recovery

On the 10th of November 2016, I attended Spring to Life, an organization that offers a spiritual restoration process for addicts in Chicago. During my visit, an Al-Anon meeting was due, and it kicked off at around 9:30 am. In the room were 11 men and seven women all battling alcoholism. The speaker, a motivational speaker from Chicago by the name Curl Johnsons talked about the need for one to accept their condition. He emphasized the role of acceptance in a person’s healing process asserting that it is the most important of all. Indeed, I felt for most of the alcoholics. Most of them looked hopeless and tired of their situation. However, I found the speaker’s points to be valid. Because just like in the film, Whip did not accept his condition that he was an alcoholic. Consequently, he went on concealing the behavior but silently destroying his relationships, family and career. I noted with concern that indeed, it is paramount that one accepts their condition if they need to be helped. It is through accepting that one opens themselves for solutions. The organization uses Christian doctrines which are basically the 12 step process in achieving a restoration for alcohol addiction among its clients. 

4. Conclusion

Alcohol, drug or any other form of addiction like gambling can have very miserable outcomes in an individual. As people all over the world struggle with the challenges, various options exist to enable them to free themselves of the baggage. The essay has discussed history, evolution, process, effectiveness, criticism of all the four groups: alcoholism Anonymous, Narcotic Anonymous, Al-Anon and gambler anonymous. Based on the discussion, the essay has found out that, all the four use a similar four-step process that is spiritual and consistent throughout the four. Secondly, four groups all suffer similar criticism based on their spirituality where critics claim they replace substance or behavior addiction with spiritual addiction. Moreover, some consider them to be cultic. Further, the essay conducted an analysis of the character in the film Flight. Through the analysis, the findings involve an alcoholic individual (whip) who is in denial and conceals his alcoholism through a façade. The implication is a refusal to undergo a recovery procedure at an AA and subsequent loss of job, family, and risk of losing his life and that of his passengers. Finally, the essay gives a brief discussion of my visit to Spring-to-Life, an organization that offers a spiritual restoration process for addicts in Chicago. My experience during the visit which involved an Al-Anon meeting has been an important subject discussed in the essay. The essay also includes my experience of the speaker’s topic of discussion where he emphasized the role of acceptance in a person’s healing process asserting that it is the most important of all. Finally, the essay explains my feelings regarding the alcoholics at the organization where I found most of them looking hopeless and tired of their situation. Despite various critics, the four groups indeed offer solutions to different forms of addiction and affected individuals should take the initiative to subscribe to them.

References

Andó, B., Álmos, P. Z., Németh, V. L., Kovács, I., Fehér-Csókás, A., Demeter, I., ... & Janka, Z. (2015). Spirituality mediates state anxiety but not trait anxiety and depression in alcohol recovery.  Journal of Substance Use , 1-5.

Kurtz, E. (2014). Alcoholics Anonymous and the Disease Concept of Alcoholism.  Alcohol Problems in the United States: Twenty Years of Treatment Perspective , 5.

Donovan, D. M., & Daley, D. C. (2015). Twelve step facilitation as behavioural approach in addiction treatment.  Textbook of Addiction Treatment: International Perspectives , 857-872.

Johnson, D. H., & Cicchetti, A. (2013). Review of Narcotics Anonymous Chronology, Vol. 1, 1892-1976, and “Narcotics Anonymous: Its History and Culture,” Selected Papers of William L. White.  Journal of Groups in Addiction & Recovery ,  8 (4), 329-332.

Young, L. B., & Timko, C. (2015). Benefits and costs of alcoholic relationships and recovery through Al-Anon.  Substance use & misuse ,  50 (1), 62-71.