Finding True Recovery With Non 12 Step Drug Rehabs

For over 70 years the traditional type treatment has been the adopted standard for drug and alcohol rehabilitation. This philosophy is used in local AA or NA meetings and many inpatient rehab facilities across America. While the original intent for these twelve-steps may have meant well, statistics prove that this type of treatment is extremely ineffective and doesn't provide someone who is struggling with addiction the tools necessary for living a sober life.

Why is it that even proponents of the twelve-step program can't deny that fewer than 10% of people that attend 12-step programs achieve long-term success? There are a number of problems with this method of treatment that stand out:

12 Step Programs Use Group Therapy:
The first major problem with this treatment is the focus on the 'group.' Everything in this type of program is built around the collective. New users are immediately told that they can't possibly hope to battle addiction unless they admit that the only thing standing between them and relapse is the unity of the group. However, within a group setting it is virtually impossible to get to the underlying issues of an addiction. Group sessions spread the focus around at a time when the individual needs all the help they can get in order to battle their addiction.

Another problematic aspect is that sitting in a group setting and talking about the past can work almost like 'swapping war stories.' This means that these stories may provide a trigger that would lead to one of the patients wanting to use again. Non-12 step drug rehab centers don't use group therapy methods in order to avoid these issues. Every individual needs a treatment that is tailored to his or her own needs; a tailored approach can't be achieved in group therapy.

12 Step Uses Heavy Indoctrination:
The twelve step process requires the person to believe they have a disease, and that it is an illness which they are powerless against. Something they will have to fight every day for the rest of their life; with relapse being an inevitable part of recovery. These are not comforting words. This only promotes the idea that without the group, without these frequent meetings that somehow magically renew your strength, you are doomed to fail. It should come as no surprise to anyone that this attitude can make the person feel even more hopeless than before. The result is an even lower sense of self which propels most individuals further down the spiral of addiction; often producing the outcome of more drug or alcohol use than before. Non 12 step rehabs do not instill in a person the idea that they are diseased or incurable in any way.

12 Step Enforces Only a Higher Power Can Help:
The teachings of these traditional programs place heavy emphasis on the idea that you must fully submit to a Higher Power to continue fighting what they have labeled a disease. While there is nothing wrong with finding strength in spirituality or religion, forcing someone to accept this as fact alienates a great number of people. Non-12 step treatments believe that the power to overcome addiction comes from within the person. That is why a non-faith based rehab experience is provided. If someone wants to rely on spirituality or an ascribed Deity for comfort and support, they can do that. However, it is not mandatory when it comes to successfully completing their treatment. This allows people to seek treatment without judgment and start working towards self-empowerment to regain control of their life.

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Damaging Effects From AA / NA Meetings

Even though we have made breakthrough discoveries in the field of addiction, the truth is the '12 steps' were introduced decades ago and has not seen drastic changes since its inception. There is no doubt the intention of going to regular AA or NA meetings to get support from other addicts and get help 'working the steps'. That would be fine except that what actually happens is usually something far less productive than that. There are many reasons that attending these meetings is sometimes referred to as being 'worse than doing nothing at all'. Ask anyone who has been to such meetings and they will tell you that they often feel worse after a meeting and it often leads them to having the urge to drink or use drugs immediately following.

There are a number of reasons this may occur but the most common negatives include:

• The participants sit around in a circle and talk about the past and how bad things are in life. While it may be nice to have others listen to your story so you don't feel alone in your struggle, this does not help to resolve personal issues in relation to your addiction. As a result, people often hear stories about other attendees failing which leaves many feeling even more hopeless about life in general and a further sense of depression sets in.
• When telling stories of disease and relapse it instills a belief within the participants that relapse is acceptable because it is considered part of the process. While no one should be chastised for relapsing, describing it as inevitable does not make a great deal of sense either. This makes long-term sobriety seem unrealistic and unattainable for most.
• Even though finding support in AA or NA may be somewhat beneficial, it again comes down to relying on the group. Anyone struggling with addiction needs to be careful to avoid certain triggers that may increase their desire to use. Being around likeminded individuals may lead to a trigger if an individual doesn't take their rehab seriously.
• Drug dealers are keenly aware of the fact that twelve steppers are 'turned on' with sensation and cravings as a result of what is discussed in such meetings. For this reason it is very common to find dealers attending meetings under the guise of being in treatment or to run into dealers in the parking lot on the way out.
• The program never adjusts to the person. If a person fails once, twice, or a dozen times, the approach of the program doesn't change. According to the rules, the patient needs to change to accommodate the program instead of it being the other way around.

Meetings that include these and other negative elements can have a destructive effect on a person's ability to get over an addiction. If someone is constantly reliving the horrors of addiction, they can never really become free from it. Such elements cause people to feel trapped, sad, unhappy and in a state of emotional pain. The result is the desire to use drugs or alcohol to block this pain and not have to confront it.

Non 12 step rehab programs work to unstick someone from the past so they can resolve and move on from issues that are causing them to want to drink or use drugs. They also believe that support groups are best created post rehab. These often include family, friends and those that care most about the person - but in a way that furthers constructive goals and purposes to succeed in life after treatment.

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