For Addiction Help, Look Beyond Group Therapy as Your Total Solution
Most of traditional recovery is made up of group therapy.
Now those who are heavily involved with the 12 step programs will declare that AA and NA meetings are not group therapy. They distinguish a difference between the meetings and group therapy, saying that in meetings, they “share their experience, strength, and hope with each other.” They claim that this makes a 12 step meeting vastly different from group therapy.
In reality, they are not so different. From a broad perspective, 12 step meetings are one kind of group therapy.
Now this is not to say that 12 step meetings are not helpful, or that you should abandon them completely. But for real addiction help in your life, you have to look beyond group therapy and find other means by which you can push yourself to grow as a person.
Consider the fact that many people who start attending 12 step meetings eventually relapse. In fact, if you really look at the numbers, the vast majority of those who attend 12 step meetings will relapse. Even the published numbers from AA’s ten year census data shows that long term success rates cannot possibly be better than 5 percent. This is not said to discourage anyone, but merely to point out the limitations of group therapy as a recovery solution. A 12 step fellowship makes an excellent support system for early recovery, but doesn’t necessarily provide the best motivation for long term, personal growth in recovery.
I know this from personal experience because I have seen so many people relapse while trying to stick to the 12 step program. I have seen others who have branched out from the strict dogma of 12 step wisdom and found success through other means in their lives. This is not to say that you need to quit going to meetings. What I am saying is that you might want to stop depending on meetings, because that is actually a weakness that is not necessary for you to hold on to in long term recovery.
The freedom that you get from defining your own creative life in recovery is awesome. It is not so much that you are free from 12 step programs, but that you are free to live your life how you have purposefully created it in recovery, regardless of whether or not that includes participation in the fellowship. Seriously, I am not knocking the 12 step programs here. They are powerful and helpful and you should use them and participate if that is your calling. Just realize that there are limitations involved with growing in those programs, especially when you are focusing on long term, holistic growth.
To create your own life in recovery, look beyond the 12 step solution. I don’t care what you do. Go running. Wear magnetic bracelets. Take a class in nutrition. Recovery is more than just spiritual. It is holistic.
Tags: aa meetings, addiction help, group therapy