Where Do 12-Step Programmes Fit Into Addiction Treatment?
In order to treat the disease of addiction successfully, it is crucial to address the root causes of addiction. Treating the symptoms is not adequate. Working through of the psychological problems underlying addictive behaviour is necessary in order to affect the fundamental lifestyle changes needed to overcome addiction.
Addiction cannot be cured, but it can be managed. A 12-Step Programme has been demonstrated to give addicts the tools they need to manage their addiction on a day-to-day basis. No less important, experience shows that 12-Step Programmes reduce the likelihood of relapse.
Combining professional counselling with a 12-Step Programme is therefore recommended for managing addiction in the medium and long-term.
While there is no cure for addiction, it is possible for addicts to manage their addiction and live healthy and productive lives. However, this is not a simple process and requires intensive treatment. Furthermore, even following a successful programme of treatment, relapse remains a possibility. It is therefore essential addiction recovery programmes provide addicts with the tools to cope with their daily lives and manage stressful situations without resorting to drugs, alcohol or compulsive behaviours.
This is the 12-Step programme and recovery is always ‘one day at a time’. This programme is used in organisations such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous, as well as in rehabilitation centres around the world.
The 12-Step programme based on the Minnesota Model of treatment emphasises helping addicts to create a stable foundation from which to re-build their lives once they have left treatment.
The 12-Step programme assists addicts to take control of their lives where possible, and to come to terms with that which they are unable to control. The programme includes meetings with peers, written work, lectures and workshops.
In addition, the programme encourages members to admit to and be accountable for any wrong-doing or harm caused to others as a result of their behaviour, and teaches addicts to manage their daily lives in a more healthy and productive manner.
The Twelve Steps are regularly used as part of recovery in rehabilitation centres as they offer a continued source of support, maintenance and change.
A key part of an addict working a 12-Step recovery programme is for addicts to adopt a power higher than themselves. For this reason, it is sometimes assumed that 12-Step programmes are religious in nature. In reality, they are simply a blueprint for a more structured way of life; a life that encourages the adoption of key spiritual principles for overcoming addiction such as honesty and open-mindedness.
Addicts are at greater risk of experiencing a relapse if self-esteem issues and other psychological problems are not thoroughly and professionally confronted. Low self-esteem and other negative emotions may be behind much of an addict’s destructive behaviour. Through working a 12-Step programme on a day-by-day basis, addicts are empowered to see themselves in a more positive light and to make daily self-affirming choices that are designed to assist addicts to cope with the realities of life.
That is why counselling in conjunction with a 12-Step programme and a healthy lifestyle have been proven to help addicts maintain sobriety and live a more positive life.
Oasis Counselling Centre is an addiction treatment centre in Plettenberg Bay, South Africa. Oasis provides professional in-patient addiction treatment incorporating a 12 Step Recovery Programme overseen by specialised addiction counsellors.
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