By now, everyone knows—at least, on the most basic level—what the 12 steps are. The basis of almost every traditional drug and alcohol rehab, it is an approach to recovery that requires the person struggling with addiction to begin by admitting that they are powerless over their addiction and continue through another 11 steps until they are prepared to pass along what they have learned to others. Some attend 12-step meetings for just a little while at the beginning of their recovery. Others stay “in the rooms” for decades, even the rest of their lives, working on the principle that since it seems to be working, why change it?

Some, however, find the 12 steps overwhelming just because of the sheer number of steps in the process. So John Cloud at Time.com poses the question: are 12 steps too many?

12 Step Drug Addiction Recovery Approach: The Basics

Alcoholics Anonymous was the first and over the last century this has evolved into a number of spin-off groups, not only for different drugs of addiction but for other addictions and still other groups for the friends and family members of people who are addicted. Each group shares the same idea: addiction is a medical disease with a spiritual solution, one that is achieved by “working” the steps with a sponsor or mentor who shares the same disease and has already worked the steps.

Some say, however, that the spiritual steps in the 12 steps are unnecessary. Without them, the program would be far more streamlined and more effective.

Spiritual Versus Secular Drug Rehab Approaches

Research has shown that when groups who undergo secular psychotherapy or non-spiritual 12 step are compared to spiritually-based therapy or 12 steps there are differences in outcome according to Cloud’s Time.com article:

“While both groups eventually benefited relatively equally from their treatment — abusing substances on fewer days — it took longer to see improvement among those in the spiritual group. What’s more, those who received spiritual guidance reported being significantly more anxious and depressed after four months than those who got secular help. Those problems abated at about the eight-month point, but because substance abusers are at high risk for suicide, some worry that it may not be a good idea to put them through demanding spiritual calisthenics in the early months of their recovery.”

How To Stop Drinking and Using Drugs

The studies say that about one in five people or 20 percent of those who have a problem drinking can stop without alcohol addiction treatment. For those who have tried to do this and failed and for those addicted to other drugs, the other 80 percent, is the 12 step model of treatment the most effective? Is a spiritual component to treatment the most beneficial for a long lasting abstinence? So far, it looks like just a medical detox alone or a solely spiritual regimen will not work for long. Cloud says, “The answer almost certainly lies deeper inside ourselves.” The combination of self discovery and self discipline with medical treatment and a spiritual development still seems to be the best way to a life without drugs and alcohol.

Depending upon your first experience with 12 step treatment, you may or may not be a little bit weary. Many feel that they couldn’t stay clean without it while others feel uncomfortable with the lingo and open sharing that often happens at meetings. No matter how you feel about it, if you are headed into drug rehab, you’ll most likely experience some form of 12 step treatment whether it’s through support groups at the facility or required outside meetings. One huge benefit: 12 step meetings are one thing that can go with you when you return home from drug rehab, allowing you a measure of comfort and structure that may be the very thing that comes between you and drug and alcohol relapse.

The 12 Steps

If you decide to fully involve yourself in the 12 step program inside or outside of drug treatment, you can get a sponsor of another member of 12 steps to help you “work the steps” or talk about and apply them to your life. The following are the original Twelve Steps as published by Alcoholics Anonymous:

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 Experts on 12 Step Treatment and Drug Rehab

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse and their online Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment: A Research Based Guide:

“Self-help groups can complement and extend the effects of professional treatment. The most prominent self-help groups are those affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), Narcotics Anonymous (NA), and Cocaine Anonymous (CA), all of which are based on the 12-step model, and Smart Recovery®. Most drug addiction treatment programs encourage patients to participate in a self-help group during and after formal treatment.”

12 Steps and Drug Addiction Treatment at The Canyon

At The Canyon, we combine traditional 12 step groups with alternative therapies so that everyone who comes to stay with us will benefit from a well-rounded treatment program.

Do you go to 12 step meetings?