When 12-Step Programs Fail: Know Your Rehab Options

How Do 12-Step Programs Work?

Alcoholics Anonymous was created in 1935, and founders Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith subsequently devised the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, a set of guiding principles that rely on the spiritual and moral development of the individual to overcome compulsive behaviors, like alcoholism and drug addiction. More than 80 years later, AA remains a crucial element in substance abuse recovery, and similar support groups, like Narcotics Anonymous, have sprouted up all over the country. However, the 12-Step method’s requirement that the individual turns his life and will over to a “higher power” and admit powerlessness concerning drugs or alcohol isn’t something that resonates with everyone across the board anymore.

Why You Should Know Your Rehab Options

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to addiction recovery, and it’s silly to think there would be. Addiction is different for everyone, and while treatment facilities that apply the teachings of the 12-Step program have helped millions of Americans beat their addictions, relapse rates in the United States are growing, and the face of addiction has changed dramatically. The problem is the traditional 12-Step program that is considered the standard approach to alcohol and drug addiction treatment isn’t truly individualized, as many other rehab programs are, like A Forever Recovery. Here clients can choose from a variety of treatment tracks that suit their unique recovery needs, including faith-based, cognitive, and self-help tracks. When you know your rehab options and understand what they entail, you can make a better choice as to which one suits your individual needs best.

Are 12-Step Programs Effective?

If you’re considering seeking treatment at a 12-Step facility, it’s important to ask the question “do 12-Step programs work?” That’s not to imply that 12-step-based treatment isn’t effective; it’s simply not for everyone. After checking in to a 12-step-based rehab, you typically detox and then attend group therapy, addiction-related education lectures, and AA meetings, before being released into the real world, where you’re expected to be able to resist temptations to use. There isn’t much, or any focus on individual therapy like there is on non-12-step programs, even though experts agree that all addicts can benefit from personalized attention from an experienced substance abuse therapist. After all, there are dozens of factors that may contribute to an individual’s addiction – genetics, past trauma, self-medication, mental illness – and addressing these factors as underlying causes of addiction is the foundation of a successful recovery.