Twelve-step addiction recovery programs have gained a vast amount of interest, even within the past 5 years. The media, in particular television, has embellished the 12-step program making it appear to be the only option available for recovering addicts. Many who have gained their sobriety through these programs claim there is nothing that works as well.
To the dismay of many 12-step gurus, addicts have been offered a more liberal treatment option. The treatment is less of a program and more of a lifestyle. It is a form of recovery that is instilled with psychological therapies such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP). These therapies are most commonly known to treat mental and behavioral disorders that have not been successfully treated by medicine. It works for addiction because it deals directly with changing the addict’s emotional response to certain situations.
The following are some of the opportunities non-12 step programs have to offer.
Recovery without Religion: Most 12-step programs pride themselves on their ability to remove Religion from their programs. However, they generally ask to put your problems in a higher power (like God) and end their sessions with a prayer. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this kind of recovery and in fact it has worked for a multitude of people. There just needs to be something in place for people who are more spiritual than religious and wish to have a religion-free recovery.
Recovery without Negativity: With most 12-step programs you are supposed to take a moral inventory daily. This means that every day you analyze yourself and name all the things that you could have done differently or ways you could have acted differently in terms of your sobriety. New treatments such as CBT and NLP emphasize the importance of positive affirmations in recovery. This means that every day you start positively commenting your character and your sobriety.
Life without a label: Twelve-step programs emphasize that even after you gain sobriety, you will always be a recovering alcoholic, a label that follows you until the end of time. Modern addiction treatment allows you to lose the label. What this means is that in terms of modern treatment you are just someone with an abusive relationship with alcohol. With the help of CBT and NLP you can alter your relationship with alcohol to the extent that you are no longer using it as a coping mechanism. Some have even began to drink socially again (not that drinking again should ever be your focus in addiction recovery).
A non-12 step program offers a completely different outlook than a 12-step program; however each have their quantities of recovering addicts to prove that they work. Recovery sometimes has to be a session of trial and error and if you are still uncertain than more research will need to be done. The important thing to keep in mind is that if one program does not work, that doesn’t mean that all of them will not. Keep trying until you finally succeed!
This is the first time I’ve heard of a non-12-step program. Interesting. I do like the Recovery without Negativity.
There are lots of alternatives really. My work focuses on “After Detox”…recovery is a personal experience and although 12 Step groups help some people they are not for everyone.
Great blog! Thanks for sharing. You Can Do members are fantastic.
Thanks for sharing. New to me is non 12 step program. Appreciate the great information.
There are many alternatives in recovery, we humans cannot all fit into one ,mold, even though we all share some common characteristics:)
Thank you for sharing, I am interested to know more about this. Everyone is different, and the options of recovery is whats needed to get people to seek help. I think this alternative may be more appealing.
I think so too
Thanks for chiming in!
I love the thought of recovery without the label. Thanks!
So do I..wish it had been around years ago:)
I like leaving the label over. I stopped smoking after years of trying everything out there. I am a non-smoker now and that is how I will refer to myself !!!! thank you for sharing what you know with the people of social media Anita. This is awesome !!!
I think the program sounds really good! This is a very useful information Anita!
Hey – I recognize that green guy – I have used his image(s) often
Lifestyle changes, in my opinion, are always better than programs or steps because they result in a much more permanent solution. Anything that is finite – like a program – doesn’t lend itself easily to remaining in effect. What does one do after the program ends or they have finished the steps? Oftentimes, they revert right back to their old patterns and behaviors.
Anita, you have once again shown the value of thinking outside the box. Like many other things, there is more than just a one size fits all approach that will work.
This is definitely an interesting perspective. Thanks for sharing.
It is interesting….and not typical. I like to think ‘outside the box”…I think any program that fits should be used according to the person…I don’t think we should be boxed into going here or there because the status quo does. It has been my experience that early on in my sobriety AA was great….then I wanted more and had to look for alternative methods for answers….when I couldn’t find the “right fit”….I created one…just for me…Now I share it with other women in hopes they too will find answers…if they are looking for more that is. I really appreciate you stopping by Elise.
I think you have to have different strokes for different folks, as it were. We are all individuals, so it only makes sense that there are different methods of recovery and some will work better than others depending on your individual makeup.
I especially love your idea of living without the label. I’m a big fan of letting go, and it seems to me that if you continue to define yourself with a label after you’ve outgrown it, then you’re not really letting go and moving on with your life.
Great article Anita! I appreciate your insight.
That is what I have experienced too
While I’m happy there’s no need for an addiction recovery program in my life (and don’t plan to ever have one), this sounds like a wonderful alternative. Everyone is different and responds differently to treatments and programs. It’s good to know there are alternatives, especially positive ones.
Hi Anita! I love visiting your site because I always learn something new. I didn’t realize there were different 12 step programs…thanks so much for sharing.
There are no actual different “12 Step Programs”…There are many programs that can be created to help women beyond recovery. It is my experience that recovery should be just as personal as we are unique:) I appreciate you chiming in, thank you!
Hmmm… Thinking outside the box – love it. (-_-) Hey! If it works, go for it…
Norma Doiron @The LEARNED Preneur ╰☆╮
Whats works is individual help…we are all unique and have been painted with the same brush for too long:) So glad you dropped by:)
hey,
loved this… i know of a few people who have tried cbt. i’d love to find a program like this to help with anxiety and panic attacks!! let me know!! waving from our social media group!
shelley
Waving back
I’m not sure about anxiety but I bet if you asked some of the folks in our group they could help….I know there are gals who know lots about Yoga, holistic and other alternative approaches…Oh and BTW….I love lavender 
I really liked your post today!!
I like the idea of a non-twelve step approach and can see the value in a recovery process that focuses on the reason behind the disease rather than just the disease itself. In many kinds of counseling and even group counseling initiatives, the power to change comes from within the person who has to do the changing. It makes sense to find a way for them to assess themselves from first a positive perspective and without a deeply or even surface-level religious element – if they aren’t religious. I wonder if this would be a more valid approach for those who have tried and failed to reach sobriety using traditional 12-step methodology.
I think more people will accept the non-label program because there is not a stigma tied to it! Great post!
I love this, especially the part on Life without a Label. It’s interesting how we label ourselves. You are such an inspiration to so many. You give them hope. Thank you, for such an inspiring article
Anita, I am familiar with the 12 step programs and I agree they have helped millions but having another component to address the emotional behaviors associated with addictions makes sense …and further it is not addressed in the duly addicted focuses either. Great News!!
I don’t know much about 12 step programs, but I certainly like the idea of leaving religion out of it and being able to lose the label. I never understood why people identify themselves so much with being a “Recovering alcoholic” – it seems to me they are focusing on the label and their story rather than moving past that. CBT and NLP seem like valid methods to lose the desire AND the label.
Religion is a personal choice, and although it has helped many recover….many have turned away because its not an option for them. Recovery from any addiction is personal….there should be no criteria other than human beings helping each other…
Anita,
What an interesting article! Thanks for going over the various options available to those who need this type of program. Honestly haven’t though much about these programs but I know they have saved lives.
Anita,
Anyone who has tried a recovery program knows an important answer: “Did it work for me?” If not, they could ask their doctor to recommend good alternative therapy. But consider, when physicians themselves become addicted, their Medical Boards (in my state) require compulsory participation a 12-step recovery. That’s a pretty strong vote of confidence.
That is a pretty strong vote of confidence for certain. I do not believe that addiction recovery is ‘one size fits all”…it’s personal
Just my experience is all and I know people that 12 steps Recovery has worked for and for some it didn’t…and yet others like me it was a stepping stone to advanced recovery. If a person believes it will work for them….then it will 