If you have never attended a 12-Step group, you might have limited knowledge of what they do and how they work. At Cottonwood, in Tucson, Arizona, we treat a number of conditions for which 12-Step groups exist to offer support. We provide education about these groups to our patients because these groups have been found to be effective and beneficial in treating a number of disorders that involve addictions. They are even more effective when offered alongside appropriate treatment and therapy services.
How Does a 12-Step Program Work?
As you might assume from the name, a 12-Step group follows a systematic progression, whereby participants start at the first step and work forward, step by step, until they have completed all 12 steps of recovery:
- Admitting they are powerless over their addiction
- Accepting the existence of a higher power that can help
- Deciding to turn over their lives and will to their higher power
- Making a moral inventory of themselves
- Admitting to themselves, their higher power, and another person, where they have made mistakes
- Handing over control to their higher power
- Asking their higher power to remove their shortcomings
- Making a list of people they have wronged and being willing to make amends for those wrongs
- Making amends as appropriate
- Taking personal inventory on an ongoing basis and making amends as needed
- Praying and meditating to improve their connection to their higher power
- Experiencing a spiritual awakening that will allow them to help other people in recovery
Along the way, people may be encouraged to choose a sponsor, who is another person in recovery, who can offer them guidance and support based on their own lived experience.
What are 12-Step Groups?
The 12-Steps are a recovery model pioneered by Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), to help people who engaged in problematic drinking, and which has been modified to help people with a variety of different struggles, many of which aren’t substance use disorders, but all of which relate to behaviors people want to stop doing. These groups often include the word “anonymous” in their names, signifying that the groups operate without people needing to disclose their full identities and with the expectation that people who join the group keep discussions that occur there private.
There are now many different groups that practice the 12-Step recovery model, such as:
- Narcotics Anonymous
- Food Addicts Anonymous
- Co-Dependents Anonymous
- Clutterers Anonymous
- Gamblers Anonymous
- Marijuana Anonymous
- Sex Addicts Anonymous
Other groups build on the 12-Step model, but don’t specifically adhere to its principles, so they aren’t exactly 12-Step programs, but might have similarities to the programs listed above.
Recovery Groups Versus 12-Step Groups
In general, a 12-Step group could also be called a recovery group, but not all recovery groups are also 12-Step groups. Both recovery groups and 12-Step groups fall into the category of mutual aid groups, meaning that people with the same or similar struggles are helping each other voluntarily, rather than trained professionals who are paid to offer treatment.
While 12-Step programs do not require that a person be part of Christianity or another organized religion, they do require that participants recognize and lean on a higher power for support. This is not always a feature of other mutual aid or recovery groups. SMART Recovery is an example of a recovery group that does not follow the 12 steps or require that participants rely on a higher power to support their recovery. Instead, it utilizes scientific research and studies to help members find their path to recovery.
Celebrate Recovery, on the other hand, is a mutual aid group that follows a Christian-focused recovery program. It differs from most 12-Step programs in the fact that it is often led by a pastor, who may or may not have lived experience with addiction. Other alternatives to 12-Step groups include LifeRing Secular Recovery and Women for Sobriety.
At Cottonwood, in Tucson, Arizona, we recognize that recovery is different for each individual. We work with each client we serve to develop treatment plans that will meet their unique needs and facilitate their growth and well-being. We offer holistic treatment that addresses the mental, emotional, physical, social, and spiritual dimensions of each patient.
