A Twelve-step program is a set of guiding principles for recovery from addictive, compulsive, or other behavioral problems, originally developed by the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous ("A.A.") to guide recovery from alcoholism.^[1] The twelve steps were first published in the text Alcoholics Anonymous ("The Big Book").^[2] This method has been adapted as the foundation of other twelve-step programs such as Narcotics Anonymous, Overeaters Anonymous, Marijuana Anonymous, Crystal Meth Anonymous, Co-Dependents Anonymous and Emotions Anonymous. Mandated court involvement with 12-step fellowships is a controversial practice of some governments; as stated in the Twelve Traditions, Twelve-step fellowships have no opinion as a group on issues other than personal recovery. As summarized by the American Psychological Association, working the Twelve Steps involves the following.^[1] Look up addiction in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For other things named OCD, see OCD (disambiguation). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Logo for AA Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an informal society for recovering alcoholics. ... Alcoholism is the consumption of, or preoccupation with, alcoholic beverages to the extent that this behavior interferes with the drinkers normal personal, family, social, or work life, and may lead to physical or mental harm. ... This article is about the 12-step program of Narcotics Anonymous (NA). ... Overeaters Anonymous (OA) is a Twelve Step program for people identifying themselves as powerless over food including, but not limited to, compulsive overeaters, those with binge eating disorder, bulimics and anorexics. ... Marijuana Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength, and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others recover from marijuana addiction. ... Crystal Meth Anonymous (CMA) is a fellowship of people for whom crystal meth has become a serious problem. ... Co-Dependents Anonymous (CoDA) is a twelve-step program the members of which strive for healthy relationships from a point of departure of codependence. ... Emotions Anonymous Logo Emotions Anonymous (EA) is a Twelve Step program similar to Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), but is for those suffering from depression or other mental illnesses who are seeking to improve their mental and emotional health. ... The Twelve Traditions of Twelve-step programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous define the appropriate relationships between an AA group and its members, other groups, AA as a whole, and society at large. ... The American Psychological Association (APA) is a professional organization representing psychology in the US. It has around 150,000 members and an annual budget of around $70m. ...

• admitting that one cannot control one's addiction or compulsion;
• recognising a spiritual higher power that can give strength;
• examining past errors with the help of a sponsor (experienced member);
• making amends for these errors;
• learning to live a new life with a new code of behaviour;
• helping others that suffer from the same addictions or compulsions.

Overview of Twelve-Step Programs

The way of life outlined in the 12-steps has been adapted widely. The effects of A.A. recovery within the family unit providing improved quality of life resulted in fellowships like Al-Anon; substance-dependent people who did not relate to the specifics of alcohol dependency started meeting together as Narcotics Anonymous^[3]; similar groups were formed for sufferers of cocaine addiction, crystal meth addiction and many other behavioral problems. Behavioral issues such as compulsion and/or addiction with sex, food, and gambling were found to be solved for some people with the daily application of the 12-steps in such fellowships as Sexual Compulsives Anonymous, Overeaters Anonymous and Emotions Anonymous. Other groups addressing problems with certain types of behaviors include Clutterers Anonymous, Debtors Anonymous and Gamblers Anonymous. Over 50 fellowships composed of millions of recovery members, all based in the same principles, are found around the world. Look up AA in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Aa or AA may stand for: Aa Aa, a genus of orchid. ... Recovery is the first e-book and seventh installment of The New Jedi Order series set in the Star Wars galaxy. ... The well-being or quality of life of a population is an important concern in economics and political science. ... Al-Anon Family Groups is a twelve-step program for relatives and friends of alcoholics. ... This article needs cleanup. ... This article is about the 12-step program of Narcotics Anonymous (NA). ... Cocaine is a crystalline alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. ... Methamphetamine is a synthetic stimulant drug which induces a strong feeling of euphoria and is highly psychologically addictive. ... Sexual Compulsives Anonymous (SCA) is a twelve-step program to help people recover from sexual compulsion. ... Overeaters Anonymous (OA) is a Twelve Step program for people identifying themselves as powerless over food including, but not limited to, compulsive overeaters, those with binge eating disorder, bulimics and anorexics. ... Emotions Anonymous Logo Emotions Anonymous (EA) is a Twelve Step program similar to Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), but is for those suffering from depression or other mental illnesses who are seeking to improve their mental and emotional health. ... Clutterers Anonymous (CLA) is a Twelve-step program for people who share a common problem with accumulation of clutter. ... Debtors Anonymous (DA) is a Twelve Step program for people who share a common inability to maintain financial solvency. ... Gamblers Anonymous (GA) is Twelve Step program for problem gamblers. ... An incomplete list of 12-Step-Groups: AA Alcoholics Anonymous ACOA - Adult Children of Alcoholics [1] ADD-Anonymous - for people suffering from ADD [2] Al-Anon/Alateen AAA - All Addictions Anonymous [3] Anti-Nutrient*Addicts Anonymous [4] BA - Borderliners Anonymous [5] CA - Cocaine Anonymous CDA - Chemically Dependent Anonymous [6] CEA...

"After a while I began to wonder why I was not [happy] ... I decided to strive for my own spiritual growth. I used the same principles [Bill] did to learn how to change my attitudes. ... We began to learn that ...the partner of the alcoholic also needed to live by a spiritual program."

– "Lois's Story" in the Al-Anon "Big Book", a typical story of a sufferer finding fulfillment through application of the 12 steps^[4]

The Twelve Steps

These are the original Twelve Steps as defined by Alcoholics Anonymous:^[5]

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His Will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Other twelve-step groups have adapted these steps of Alcoholics Anonymous as guiding principles for problems other than alcoholism; in some cases the steps have been altered to emphasize particular principles important to those fellowships^[6][7][8]. This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... Moral Inventory is a fact-finding and fact-facing process taken as a part of twelve-step programs in order to get down to causes and conditions of ones way of life. ... A spiritual awakening is a religious experience involving a realization or opening to a sacred dimension of reality. ... Logo for AA Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an informal society for recovering alcoholics. ... Alcoholism is the consumption of, or preoccupation with, alcoholic beverages to the extent that this behavior interferes with the drinkers normal personal, family, social, or work life, and may lead to physical or mental harm. ...

History

The first such program was Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.), which was begun in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith, known to A.A. members as "Bill W." and "Dr. Bob", in Akron, Ohio. They established the tradition within the "anonymous" Twelve-step programs of using only first names. The Twelve Steps were originally written by Wilson and represented Wilson's incorporation of the teachings of Rev. Sam Shoemaker about the Oxford Group's life-changing program. Logo for AA Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an informal society for recovering alcoholics. ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar). ... William Griffith Wilson (commonly known as Bill Wilson or Bill W.), was a co-founder of the self-help group Alcoholics Anonymous. ... Bob Smith (Robert Holbrook Smith, b. ... // Dr. Sam Shoemaker, DD, STD, (1893-1963) an Episcopal priest that was instrumental in the Oxford Group and founding principles of AA Alcoholics Anonymous. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ...

As Alcoholics Anonymous was growing in the 1930s and 1940s and definite guiding principles began to emerge as the 12 traditions, a singleness of purpose emerged as tradition five: "Each group has but one primary purpose to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers." ^[9] Consequently, drug addicts who do not suffer from the specifics of alcoholism involved in Alcoholics Anonymous hoping for recovery technically are not welcome in 'closed' meetings for alcoholics only^[10]. The reason for such emphasis on alcoholism as the problem is to overcome denial and distraction^[11]. Thus the principles of Alcoholics Anonymous have been used to form many numbers of other fellowships for those recovering from various pathologies, each of which in term emphasizes recovery from the specific malady which brought the sufferer into the fellowship. Logo for AA Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an informal society for recovering alcoholics. ... Drug addiction, or dependency is the compulsive use of drugs, to the point where the user has no effective choice but to continue use. ... Alcoholism is the consumption of, or preoccupation with, alcoholic beverages to the extent that this behavior interferes with the drinkers normal personal, family, social, or work life, and may lead to physical or mental harm. ... Logo for AA Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an informal society for recovering alcoholics. ... Logo for AA Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an informal society for recovering alcoholics. ... Pathology (from Greek pathos, feeling, pain, suffering; and logos, study of; see also -ology) is the study of the processes underlying disease and other forms of illness, harmful abnormality, or dysfunction. ... Recovery is the first e-book and seventh installment of The New Jedi Order series set in the Star Wars galaxy. ...

See Also Alcoholics Anonymous History

Logo for AA Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an informal society for recovering alcoholics. ...

Non-12-Step Addiction Groups

One organization which is often confused with "Anonymous" twelve-step programs, due to the name similarities of its name — but is not one — is Narconon. Narconon is a branch of the Church of Scientology, presenting Scientology doctrine and practices as a therapy for drug abusers. Narconon does not use the Twelve Steps, and is not related to either Narcotics Anonymous (NA) or to Nar-Anon, despite the similarity of names. Narconon is not associated with Narcotics Anonymous, which is sometimes abbreviated Narcanon. Scientologys Narconon is an in-patient rehabilitation program for drug abusers in several dozen treatment centers worldwide, chiefly in the United States and western Europe. ... Scientology cross Symbol Doctrine Practices Concepts People Public groups Organization Controversy The Church of Scientology is the largest organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. ... This article is about the 12-step program of Narcotics Anonymous (NA). ...

The Twelve Traditions

Main article: Twelve traditions

The Twelve Steps are accompanied by The Twelve Traditions of group governance as developed by Alcoholics Anonymous through its early formation. Most 12-step fellowships also adopted these principles as their structural governance. In AA, the empathetic desire to save other drunks resulted in a radical emphasis on service to other sufferers only. Thus “the only requirement for AA membership is the desire to stop drinking”. Similar membership guidelines were adopted by other fellowships, with particular emphasis on freedom from alcohol because of the formative history of these traditions (note that alcohol is considered a drug in most substance-related twelve-step groups). The Twelve Traditions of Twelve-step programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous define the appropriate relationships between an AA group and its members, other groups, AA as a whole, and society at large. ...

The Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous:

1. Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon A.A. unity.
2. For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority — a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.
3. The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking.
4. Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or A.A. as a whole.
5. Each group has but one primary purpose to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers.
6. An A.A. group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the A.A. name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.
7. Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.
8. Alcoholics Anonymous should remain forever non-professional, but our service centers may employ special workers.
9. A.A., as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.
10. Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the A.A. name ought never be drawn into public controversy.
11. Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, and films.
12. Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.

The Meeting Process

One of the most widely-recognized characteristics of twelve-step groups is the requirement that members focus on the admission that they "have a problem". In this spirit, many members open their address to the group along the lines of, "Hi, I'm Pam and I'm an alcoholic" — a catchphrase now widely identified with support groups. Support groups exist to combat or legitimise conditions or behaviours. ...

Attendees at group meetings share their experiences, challenges, successes and failures, and provide peer support for each other. Many people who have joined these groups report they found success that previously eluded them, while others — including some ex-members — criticize their efficacy or universal applicability. This varied success rate, along with the fact that twelve-step programs have been associated with the belief in a higher power -- a belief often associated with religion -- has caused some controversy.

Sponsorship

In twelve-step programs, a sponsor is a more experienced person in recovery who guides the less-experienced aspirant ("sponsee") through the process of the steps as a program of personal recovery. One of the first suggestions newcomers to 12-step meetings are offered is to secure a relationship with a sponsor^[12][13]. A vast array of publications from various fellowhips emphasize that sponsorship is a "one on one" relationship of shared experiences focused on working the 12 steps^[14][15][16].

Many forms of sponsorship exist. Sponsors and sponsees participate in activities that lead to spiritual growth as defined by the twelve-step process. These may include practices such as literature discussion and study, meditation, and writing. Part of the final of the twelve steps is often interpreted to imply becoming a sponsor to newcomers in recovery. "Sponsorship, with its continuing interest in another alcoholic, often develops when the second person is willing to be helped, admits having a drinking problem, and decides to seek a way out of the trap. ^[13]." Spirituality, in a narrow sense, concerns itself with matters of the spirit. ... Old book bindings at the Merton College library. ... A large statue in Bangalore depicting Shiva meditating Meditation describes a state of concentrated attention on some object of thought or awareness. ... A twelve-step program is a self-help group whose members attempt recovery from various addictions and compulsions through the use of a plan referred to as the twelve steps. Characteristics All twelve-step programs follow some version of the twelve steps. ...

"Sponsors share their experience, strength, and hope with their sponsees... A sponsor’s role is not that of a legal advisor, a banker, a parent, a marriage counselor, or a social worker. Nor is a sponsor a therapist offering some sort of professional advice. A sponsor is simply another addict in recovery who is willing to share his or her journey through the Twelve Steps."

– from NA's Sponsorship: Revised^[17]

The personal nature of the behavioral issues that lead to seeking help in 12-step fellowships results in a strong relationship between sponsee and sponsor. As the relationship is based on spiritual principles, it is unique and not generally characterised as 'friendship'. Fundamentally, the sponsor has the single purpose of helping the sponsee recover from the behavioral problem that brought the sufferer into 12-step work^[13], which reflexively helps the sponsor recover.

Acceptance of a Higher Power

A primary tenet of 12-step recovery requires a member to surrender willful self-reliance (a characteristic of afflicted persons) and adopt a practice of reliance upon a "Higher Power" of the member's own understanding. Proponents of twelve-step programs allege that agnostics and even atheists can be helped by the program, as a member’s concept of a Higher Power may focus on the 12-step group itself. With time, any other entity, thing(s) or object(s) that aid a member in accepting their powerlessness over their problem, are claimed to become the Higher Power that will help them to recover. It is colloquially stated that any Power perceived as being greater than oneself will do, provided the power is not any other, single individual, or one's own unaided will. Alcoholics Anonymous uses the term A Power Greater Than Ourselves also referred to as The Higher Power when used by recovered alcoholics who have experienced the magic worked by the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. ... The term agnosticism and the related agnostic were coined by Thomas Henry Huxley in 1869. ... “Atheist” redirects here. ...

Literature studied in most 12-step groups is limited their own publications, as these groups claim no outside affiliation. The members of 12-step groups make the distinction that the groups are spiritual, and not religious. Some members of 12-step groups are also members of a wide variety of religious bodies. Nearly every meeting begins with the Serenity Prayer, a prayer addressed to "God." Some critics also question the idea of giving up on self-reliance, which, they argue, results in a form of idealized despair. Others acknowledge a debt to the twelve-steps movement but do not have a culture of belief in God. The Serenity Prayer is the common name for an originally untitled prayer written by the theologian Reinhold Niebuhr in the 1930s or early 1940s. ...

Court-mandated Twelve-step attendance

The success of twelve-step programs in aiding the recovery of chemically-dependent persons is an argument of significance in jurisdictions of some criminal justice systems. The criminal justice system of the United States has ordered attendance at 12-step meetings to convicted criminals as well as inmates as a condition of parole, condition of shortened sentence, or as an element of a sentence. Four courts have ruled that Alcoholics Anonymous groups are religious organizations.^[18] The New York Court of Appeals ruled in Griffin v. Coughlin, 88 N.Y.2d 674 (1996) that doing so compromises the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution on the grounds that A.A. practices and doctrine are (in the words of the district court judge who wrote the decision) "unequivocally religious". The Supreme Court of the United States denied US Legal Certiorari and allowed the New York court's decision to stand. Such a denial "imports no expression of opinion upon the merits of the case, as the bar has been told many times." Missouri v. Jenkins, 515 U.S. 70 (1995). Denial of certiorari means that no binding precedent is created, and that the lower court decision is authoritative only within its area of jurisdiction -- in this case the State of New York. However, the decision does create a persuasive precedent for other jurisdictions. Look up addiction in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The study of criminal justice traditionally revolves around three main components of the criminal justice system: police courts corrections Nowadays, it is sometimes argued that psychiatry is also a central part of the criminal justice system. ... for other uses please see Crime (disambiguation) A crime is an act that violates a political or moral law. ... It has been suggested that Medical parole be merged into this article or section. ... Logo for AA Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an informal society for recovering alcoholics. ... Religious is a term with both a technical definition and folk use. ... The first ten Amendments to the U.S. Constitution make up the Bill of Rights. ... The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the United States of America. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries  Atlas  Politics Portal      The Supreme Court of the United States (sometimes colloquially referred to by the acronym... Certiorari (pronunciation: sÉ™r-sh(Ä“-)É™-ˈrer-Ä“, -ˈrär-Ä“, -ˈra-rÄ“) is a legal term in Roman, English and American law referring to a type of writ seeking judicial review. ... Holding Federal courts have the power to order taxation by state authorities. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... In law, a binding precedent (also mandatory precedent or binding authority) is a precedent which must be followed by all lower courts. ... Precedent that is not binding on the court; but the judge may consider that it is the correct principle, so he is persuaded that he should follow it. ...

See also

• List of Twelve-Step groups
• Addiction
• Spirituality
• Overdose
• Alcohol
• Sanitarium

An incomplete list of 12-Step-Groups: AA Alcoholics Anonymous ACOA - Adult Children of Alcoholics [1] ADD-Anonymous - for people suffering from ADD [2] Al-Anon/Alateen AAA - All Addictions Anonymous [3] Anti-Nutrient*Addicts Anonymous [4] BA - Borderliners Anonymous [5] CA - Cocaine Anonymous CDA - Chemically Dependent Anonymous [6] CEA... Look up addiction in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Spirituality, in a narrow sense, concerns itself with matters of the spirit. ... A drug overdose occurs when a chemical substance (i. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... There are a few meanings of Sanitarium: A sanitarium can be a psychiatric hospital. ...

References