Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic…
Or so says the mantra that members of Alcoholics Anonymous are told they must believe in order to be free of addiction. But when scrutinized, such a notion fails logical tests. We ask if there are better ways of approaching addiction, and we will be welcoming two guests on the show, recording Tuesday, April 28th.
Dr. Hauzinger has been an addiction counselor, and has information that may astound you – and possibly help you. Randy Jones, a repeat guest, also joins us to give his personal experiences with AA, and his journey out of alcoholism.
While the 12 Steps work for some…
Many others fail, relapse, and sometimes worse. If there’s a better way, it should be explored, and promoted. If you have any questions or comments about this subject, we encourage you to chime in here before Tuesday evening and we can try to loop it into our discussion.
The episode should be airing June 5th, just 5 days before AA’s “birthday.”
Regarding the 12 step approach, I am a person in long term recovery, and now work with others with substance use disorders. Through my job I am able to sit on a panel for my counties drug court program, it is a requirement for the participants to attend a certain number of support groups throughout the week. Traditionally these are 12 step meetings, however, through the use of a handful of SAHMSA grants the behavioral health organization I work for was able to implement different types of support groups and educational and recreational groups for those with SUD, I can without a doubt tell you that implementing these programs and allowing drug court participants to use these groups we have seen a much higher graduation/success rate. 12 step programs are absolutely not one size fits all and I am grateful that I can both attend and help host these groups for others who also don’t feel that 12 steps are the right fit for them.