Alcoholics Anonymous AA

Second, followup protocols for AA studies should be extended. With some exceptions (e.g., Sheeren 1988; Vaillant 1983), AA studies have not conducted long-term followup. In the studies reviewed by Emrick and colleagues (1993), the average assessment time after affiliation with AA was 18 weeks. Given the lifelong commitment expected of AA members, it is doubtful whether such a short period is sufficient to detect meaningful changes. Online meetings are digital meetings held on platforms such as Zoom. Offline meetings, also called «face to face,» «brick and mortar,» or «in-person» meetings, are held in a shared physical real-world location.

• The basic spiritual framework is described in the Twelve Steps of AA, presented in Table 82-2.
• For-profit rehab facilities sprouted across the country, the beginnings of what would become a multibillion-dollar industry.
• Meetings generally begin with reading of the AA preamble and end with reading of the serenity prayer.
• Some experts worry the pressure to hide alcoholism may perpetuate internalized shame that prevents people from being treated in the first place.
• With its focus on maintaining sobriety, AA led to a shift in treatment emphasis from managing acute aspects of substance dependence to facilitating long-term sobriety in the community.

A.A.’s program of recovery is built on the simple foundation of one alcoholic sharing with another. When people participate in risky behavior or binge drinking episodes they may suffer from alcohol use disorder. AUD is a chronic disease that effects the brain and around 16 million people in the United States have it. Finland’s treatment model is based in large part on the work of an American neuroscientist named John David Sinclair. He was battling late-stage prostate cancer, and his thick white hair was cropped short in preparation for chemotherapy.

Clinics & Services

“We can provide treatment based on the stage where patients are,” Willenbring said. It’s a radical departure from issuing the same prescription to everyone. This finding indicates that men and women may respond differently to AA and that AA involvement may be less beneficial to women. One potential explanation is that women may require different treatment settings than men for optimal treatment outcome (Beckman 1994). Some studies indicate that women may prefer more one-on-one treatment (Jarvis 1992) and, consequently, may benefit less from the group-oriented AA setting. Alternatively, AA involvement may be less beneficial for women because co-occurring disorders that are more prevalent among women, such as depression, often are not addressed explicitly in AA programs.

Membership is open to anyone who wants to do something about his or her drinking problem. The person leading the meeting chooses a topic and members to take turns sharing their experience on the topic. Some AA meetings are designated for https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/what-is-alcoholics-anonymous/ a specific purpose, such as 12-step study groups or beginners’ meetings designed to teach newcomers about the basics of the program. When matching clients to AA, differences between individual AA groups also may need to be considered.

Spirituality

The model has been compared to other forms of treatment in quasi-experimental and randomized experimental designs. These studies mostly have found higher rates of abstinence, psychosocial functioning, and participation in TSOs among those who received 12-step–oriented treatment. This generalized belief allows a group/mutual connection to a transcendent power that can help in the healing and recovery process without the need for all members to share a common belief system or religion. AA works because it’s based on social interaction, Humphreys said, noting that members give one another emotional support as well as practical tips to refrain from drinking.

• “We can provide treatment based on the stage where patients are,” Willenbring said.
• AA members share their experience with anyone seeking help with a drinking problem; they give person-to-person service or «sponsorship» to the alcoholic coming to AA from any source.
• Moreover, “Many [of the original members] tended to doubt the ability of women to get sober — and some told young people to go out and come back when they’d had enough to drink” (Alcoholics Anonymous, 1999, p. 1).
• His drinking increased through college and into law school.

Following his hospital discharge, Wilson joined the Oxford Group and tried to recruit other alcoholics to the group. These early efforts to help others kept him sober, but were ineffective in getting anyone else to join the group and get sober. Dr. Silkworth suggested that Wilson place less stress on religion (as required by The Oxford Group) and more on the science of treating alcoholism.

Who Joins AA?

The history of AA is the story of how one approach to treatment took root before other options existed, inscribing itself on the national consciousness and crowding out dozens of newer methods that have since been shown to work better. Its faith-based 12-step program dominates treatment in the United States. But researchers have debunked central tenets of AA doctrine and found dozens of other treatments more effective. Because substance dependence may coexist with other religious and spiritual problems, the diagnosis Religious or Spiritual Problem should be coded as an Axis I disorder along with Substance Dependence. Stanford Medicine is an integrated academic health system comprising the Stanford School of Medicine and adult and pediatric health care delivery systems. Together, they harness the full potential of biomedicine through collaborative research, education and clinical care for patients.

In the 1970s, the couple conducted a study with a group of 20 patients in Southern California who had been diagnosed with alcohol dependence. Over the course of 17 sessions, they taught the patients how to identify their triggers, how to refuse drinks, and other strategies to help them drink safely. In a follow-up study two years later, the patients had fewer days of heavy drinking, and more days of no drinking, than did a group of 20 alcohol-dependent patients who were told to abstain from drinking entirely. (Both groups were given a standard hospital treatment, which included group therapy, AA meetings, and medications.) The Sobells published their findings in peer-reviewed journals.

Health Consequences of Alcohol Use Disorder

Clearly, faith-based programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous are not for everyone. Although millions of people claim to have found lasting recovery in AA, the spiritual aspect of the program can be a stumbling block for some who wish to stop drinking. Only those with a drinking problem may attend closed meetings or become AA members. People with problems other than alcoholism are eligible for AA membership only if they have a drinking problem, too. According to AA traditions, the only qualification for membership is a desire to stop drinking. Third, factors promoting AA involvement must be better identified and understood.

An inpatient rehabilitation facility offers a battery of treatment services for addicted persons judged to require intensive treatment. The 12-step approach of AA provided a treatment model that could be adopted by other programs. As news about AA spread and chapters formed in more cities, additional 12-step–based treatment programs surfaced in general hospitals and other settings (e.g. private, free-standing facilities, public psychiatric hospitals, and prisons). The additional programs tended to extend and expand on the original model established in Akron and New York City, delivering more services through a longer length of stay. Cross et al.86 showed that 91% of sponsors had maintained their abstinence from alcohol after 10 years.

John C. Umhau, MD, MPH, CPE is board-certified in addiction medicine and preventative medicine. He is the medical director at Alcohol Recovery Medicine. For over 20 years Dr. Umhau was a senior clinical investigator at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It also contains stories written by the co-founders and stories from a wide range of members who have found recovery in A.A. The LA Central Office bookstore is now open in person and online! Whether you need Twelve and Twelves shipped to your home, a foreign language Big Book delivered anywhere in the world, or a chip mailed so a sponsee can celebrate a sobriety milestone, we’ve got you covered.