12-Step Based Treatment

According to Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA), 74% of treatment centers a 12-step philosophy for addiction recovery.  Since the foundation of the first 12-step program for addiction, this method has grown in popularity and has a track record of success.

What is the 12-Step Treatment Program?

The founders of Alcoholics Anonymous created the 12 steps as a guideline to overcome addiction. The foundation for the 12-step program is rooted in community-based support and yielding your addiction to a higher power. While it was originally written for just recovering Alcoholics, many have adapted these 12 steps and now programs like Cocaine Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous are also in existence and using the same 12 steps.

Even though many of the 12-steps contain spiritual references or surrendering to a higher-power, the 12-step program is not tied to any particular religion and can be interpreted in many ways. Also, many non-religious people have found success using these guidelines.

What are the 12-steps?

The 12-steps can be adapted to best fit an individual’s needs. There is no right or wrong way to interpret them. The 12-steps are outlined in the “Big Book”, which is the core of Alcoholics Anonymous. In addition to the 12-steps, this book also has motivating success stories of recovered alcoholics among other resources.

According to Alcoholics Anonymous, the 12-Steps are:

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—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 alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

The 12 Steps in Practice

The 12-step treatment for substance abuse gives recovering addicts a framework to overcome their addiction and move forward with healthier habits. With support groups based on the 12-steps, individuals can overcome addiction together and rely on each other when things are good or bad. Through meetings, they can share experiences to people who truly understand their struggles. While people use the 12-steps during their battle with addiction, these steps can be used for a total life transformation.

According to an article published by Psych Central, the fact that the 12-steps are listed in a liner fashion is “misleading because the 12-steps are actually experienced both simultaneously and in a circular manner.” Through this cycle, individuals will learn how to face and admit to a problem, surrender to the fact this is an addiction, make a decision for change, and also learn self-observation and self-acceptance. The tools from a 12-step program can be used throughout the rest of one’s life.