Alcoholics Anonymous, or AA, is a large, international network of alcoholics helping each other through meetings and one-on-one support. The AA process is characterized by a popular 12-step program in which members gradually work through the different stages of recovery. While there are alternatives to AA, few organizations have enjoyed the long-term success of this fellowship.
Origins
While AA is among the most successful peer-based support groups in history, it is not the first. A century ago, the religious organization Oxford Group started a meeting-based process for individuals to improve their outlook and behavior. The Oxford Group was not focused on alcoholics, but it did provide all the core concepts that would later be formed into the AA fellowship. Through prayer and a close inspection of their past behavior, attendees of Oxford Group meetings would improve their relationships with those around them.
Bill Wilson
Bill Wilson was a successful Wall Street broker whose career was at risk due to alcoholism. When medical treatment failed to turn his addictions around, he sought the services of the Oxford Group, along with his wife. It proved to be the only successful intervention for his disease and he was inspired to share this approach to alcoholism treatment with the world. He started AA in 1935, incorporating elements of the Oxford Group process into therapy specific to alcoholics.
The 12 Steps
AA is characterized by 12 distinct steps that an alcoholic must work through in order to fully recover. The steps are ongoing and many AA meetings will focus on just a particular step for the benefit of all members, old and new. The first three steps deal with the process of discovery and putting an end to denial. After these three steps, the AA member has accepted he has a problem and admits to needing help. Most of the rest of the steps deal with taking "self-inventory," the process of analyzing past choices and listing those people you have harmed. This is coupled with the process of making amends directly to those who have suffered because of your alcoholism. The final two steps encourage prayer and an understanding of God in your life, with a willingness to spread the AA message to others.
Higher Power
The notion of a "higher power" is central to the AA philosophy. Many of the 12 steps mention God directly, though AA is not affiliated with any specific religion. The core philosophy of AA is that individuals are not capable of helping themselves. Only when they admit that there is a higher power who can help them do they eventually recover. This heavy emphasis on spirituality and what many interpret as religious philosophy is the prime criticism of AA. Those who are not religious may have conflict with the AA structure and be unable to adequately accept its therapy.
AA Alternatives
Due to the focus on God in AA treatment, many other organizations have developed over the decades that specifically exclude any religious notions in their treatment. They are all based on peer support, just like AA, but there is usually less formal structure. Rational Recovery (RR) and Secular Organizations for Sobriety (SOS) are two organizations that instill the idea of self-empowerment in their members. In the case of SOS, the emphasis on excluding anything spiritual is particularly noteworthy, as the organization is based on the fundamental separation between religion and recovery.
Member Comments