Introduction
What are the Most Common 12 Step Programs?
AA Meetings
NA Meetings
What are the 12 steps?
AA
- We admitted we were powerless over alcohol – that our lives had become unmanageable
- Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity
- Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him
- Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves
- Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs
- Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character
- Humbly ask Him to remove our shortcomings
- Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all
- Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others
- Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it
- 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
- 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
NA
- We admitted that we were powerless over our addiction, that our lives had become unmanageable
- We can believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity
- We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him
- We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves
- We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs
- We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character
- We humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings
- We made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all
- We made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others
- We continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it
- We 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
- Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to addicts and to practice these principles in all our affairs
Programs for Friends and Family
Al-Anon
Al-Anon has their own 12 step program that aims to provide therapeutic benefits to those who have been affected by alcoholism in their family. Al-Anon meetings can be beneficial in being able to share and learn from others who have had similar experiences.
Nar-Anon
Nar-Anon is for people who have loved ones that have struggled with narcotic addiction. Nar-Anon aims to let people know that they aren’t alone and tries to provide a safe space for people to express how these things have affected them.
Alateen
Alateen is similar to Al-Anon, but it’s focused on younger people who have been affected by alcoholism in family members or friends. Watching someone struggle with alcoholism can affect someone who is young greatly and it's beneficial for them to have a safe space where they can talk about it.
What are the Main Alternatives to 12 Step Programs?
SMART Recovery
Point 1 – Build and Maintain Motivation
Point 2 – Cope with Urges
Point 3 – Manage Thoughts, Feelings, and Behavior
Point 4 – Live a Balanced Life
Rational Recovery
Rational Recovery is described by its members as the opposite of AA. There are several ways it differs from AA. There aren’t any religious or spiritual elements, the label recovering alcoholic isn’t used, there is less emphasis on recovery groups, and recovery is viewed as an event, not a process. This program uses a technique called AVRT (Addictive Voice Recognition Technique). It focuses on recognizing the voice inside your head that drives you to drink and diverting those thoughts to more positive areas and creating better behavioral patterns.
Secular Organizations for Sobriety
Secular Organizations for Sobriety is a program that is focused on developing self-reliance and self-respect when it comes to recovery. Rather than having to submit to a higher power like in most 12 step programs, this program focuses on making recovery more of a personal decision to improve your life, health, and well-being.
LifeRing Recovery
LifeRing Recovery is a program that tries to focus on the present, not the past. This program wants you to connect with your “sober self” and the positives that sobriety brings rather than focusing on your past actions. LifeRing tries to make their program less structured and instead lets you determine what areas you think you need to focus on to maintain sobriety.
Narconon Controversy
Narconon is a program that is for helping people who have been affected by addiction. However, there are controversial opinions about Narconon because of its affiliation with the Church of Scientology. Narconon has denied that its administrators are directly associated with the Church of Scientology or that its methods are based on the teachings of Scientology in any way.
