12 Step Drug Rehab

When you speak of a twelve-step drug rehab program, this is a program which attempts to implement the basic principles of Alcoholics Anonymous. Basically there are a set 12 steps to follow which are deigned to be guiding principles for recovery from addictive, compulsive, or behavioral problems.  

Entering a 12 step Drug Rehab

The twelve steps were first developed for Alcoholics Anonymous in what is known as  ("The Big Book").

This method of drug rehab has become wide spread not only in the U.S. but in many other countries as well. Even a good number of court systems in the U.S. demand that defendants in cases of DUI or DWI and other criminal offenses become involved with 12-Step meetings and in some cases 12 step programs. This doesn’t mean that all courts and legal branches support the 12 steps because by in large they don’t. It does mean that 12 step drug rehab programs have become very popular, even in the legal arena.

The basics of a 12 step drug rehab program:

The key things a person attending a 12 step drug rehab program would be trying to achieve would be:

• Admitting that one has a serious, uncontrollable problem
• Recognizing that outside power could help
• Conscious reliance upon that power
• Inventorying and admitting character defects
• Seeking deliverance from these defects
• Making amends to those one has harmed
• Helping others with the same problem

The original Twelve Steps as defined by Alcoholics Anonymous Are:

1. We admitted we were powerless over our addiction—that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His Will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to those addicted, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Over the years different 12 step groups have formed and the original steps listed above have been changed to better fit addictions other than addiction to alcohol.

12 step Meetings
One of the most widely-recognized characteristics of twelve-step drug rehab programs is the automatic referral of the individual attending the program to group meetings whereby the individual is required to focus on the admission that they "have a problem". In this spirit, many members open their address to the group along the lines of, "Hi, I'm Pam and I'm an alcoholic" — a catchphrase now widely identified with support groups.

Attendees at group meetings share their experiences, challenges, successes and failures, and provide peer support for each other. Many people who have joined these groups report they found success that previously eluded them, while others — including some ex-members — criticize their efficacy or universal applicability. This varied success rate, along with the fact that twelve-step programs have been associated with the belief in a higher power -- a belief often associated with religion -- has caused some controversy.

Acceptance of a Higher Power
A fundamental focus of 12-step drug rehab programs requires a member to surrender willful self-reliance (a purported characteristic of afflicted persons), to adopt the practice of reliance on God, or another "Higher Power" of the member's own understanding. Proponents of twelve-step programs allege that agnostics and even atheists can be helped by the program, as a member’s concept of a Higher Power may originate (and/or remain) with the 12-step group itself. With time, any other entity, thing(s) or object(s) that aid a member in accepting their powerlessness over their problem, are claimed to become the Higher Power that will help them to recover.

Some critics state that 12-step groups are religious in nature. The only authorized literature in most 12-step groups is their own publications, as these groups claim no outside affiliation. The members of 12-step groups make the distinction that the groups are spiritual, and not religious; members of 12-step groups are also members of a wide variety of religious bodies.

One of the founders of Alcoholics Anonymous  Bill Wilson stated upon the death of his co-founder Dr. Bob that the success rate for AA was closer to 5%. Its adherents said they felt the answer to their problems was in the "Good Book" (as they called the Bible).

In psychotherapy and related fields, Twelve-step has sometimes been critiqued as essentially "religious" in nature; however, many therapists report practical success with the method or similar methods. Therapy-oriented organizations like Re-evaluation Counseling that have policies on addictive behavior do not always agree with 12-step methods.

Regardless of the supporters and detractors of 12 step type programs they are still a driving force in the drug rehab solution arena and present themselves frequently as an option. If you are deciding on a 12 step drug rehab or any other type of methodology let us help point you to the best choice of programs.