Expert Help for Alcohol Drug Problems Addictions Counseling Online: February 2008Expert Help for Alcohol Drug Problems Addictions Counseling Online

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

"I can't, God can, I think I'll let him/her": This statement is a short translation of Steps 1-3 of the Twelve Steps of Recovery in AA or NA, meaning, I admit I am powerless over alcohol/drugs, I've come to believe that there is a source of spiritual strength that can restore me to sanity, and I've made a decision to turn my will and my life over to the care of that source of spiritual strength. It's a nice shorthand way to think about the first three Steps.

Some Basic Information about Twelve Step Programs

Let's talk for a while here about the Twelve Step Programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. These self-help fellowships are autonomous organizations that are not affiliated with any outside enterprises, including churches or treatment programs. They are based on the profoundly powerful but simple concept that human beings with drug or alcohol addiction are uniquely suited to helping others suffering from the same problem through sharing and applying spiritual principles. A saying often heard in these programs is: "We can do together what I cannot do alone." Newcomers to AA or NA and recovery who often are leery of talk about God, Higher Power, or spirituality, can be comfortable with the support that is available from a group of recovering individuals or addicts.

The best way to prepare yourself for attending your first Twelve Step meeting is to have an open mind, setting aside any negative ideas you may have about these groups. Remember that AA or NA meetings are run by their members who are not professional therapists but individuals from all walks of life who attend meetings to help themselves and others to stay away from alcohol or other drugs. Also know that members of these self-help groups consider newcomers not to be people who have to prove themselves before they are accepted, but as 'the most important people at the meetings." Recovering alcoholics and addicts who have been clean and sober for a period of time truly welcome the opportunity to help persons new to recovery because, as it is often said in AA and NA, "in order to keep my sobriety, I have to give it away" (by helping the new person).

Powerlessness in Recovery from Addiction

Here are some thoughts about the Twelve Step Program's approach to recovery from addiction, namely, the requirement that the individual admit "powerlessness" over addiction as the threshold condition for successful recovery (Step One of AA and NA).

There are researchers who do not accept the Twelve Step approach; they do not support the concept that a person must internalize a complete lack of efficacy over the ability to control alcohol or drugs. These researchers maintain this absolute powerlessness (or lack of self-efficacy) approach dooms the addict or alcoholic who relapses to take the relapse to a point as severe as the point at which the person began recovery. These researchers distingush between a "lapse" and a "relapse", the former being a minor slip that does not progress to a full, severe relapse.

In my view, these researchers are mistaken and do not understand the power of addiction or the alcoholic or addict mind set. To indicate to a recovering person that one can have a lapse and quickly return to abstinence though development of self-efficacy skills, as these researchers suggest, would be to open the door to use. Every alcoholic and addict would dearly love to find a way to use with just a minor degree of problems (a lapse) and then return to abstinence.

In my experience it would be dangerous to recovery for a person to "lapse" and NOT experience serious consequences; the addicted mind would then conclude, "they (those people in AA and NA) were wrong; I CAN use without serious problems", and then plan the next "lapse." So, for me, it IS an all or nothing proposition for the addicted person: he/she must internalize that he/she has no control over the use of any amount of drugs or alcohol, that is, that he/she is POWERLESS over alcohol or other drugs.

How Powerful Is Addiction?

Addiction, whether to drugs or the drug alcohol, is a disease that is more powerful than an individual's love for a significant other, loyalty to a job or friendships, morals, or religion. Chronic use of alcohol or other drugs causes damage to the brain's neurochemistry that sets up strong cravings that can overpower the ability of the judgment portion of the brain to make good decisions about drug or alcohol use.

Alcoholism and other drug addictions are devastating disorders which negatively impact affected individuals and all who care about them, physically, emotionally and mentally, and spiritually. For persons diagnosed with full blown addiction, I favor an abstinence based treatment model, meaning a model whose basic ultimate (it may take a while to get there) goal is abstinence from use of alcohol or other drugs. This model should include education, cognitive behavioral counseling, and use of Twelve Step (for ex., AA) spiritually based principles.

Online addiction treatment can be helpful in itself and/or as part of a comprehensive treatment program that includes traditional face-to-face counseling and other treatment interventions.

For persons whose alcohol or other drug use has not yet reached the severity of an addiction diagnosis, but indicates problem use or abuse, I favor interventions aimed at educating the individual about addiction, about his/her risk factors for developing addiction, and at helping the person to see if he/she can control drug or alcohol use. Online interventions such as those offered here on this site can be helpful at this stage.

Expert Help for Alcohol Drug Problems Addictions Counseling Online

Jan Williams MS, JD, LCADC

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Wednesday, February 06, 2008

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