Inside the black box of traditional treatment programs: clearing the air on the original literary teachings of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)

Abstract

The field of substance use disorder treatment has long been dominated by the influence of Alcoholics Anonymous’ (AA) Twelve Steps to alcohol addiction recovery. This article provides a conceptual discussion of the original teachings of AA and explores the discrepancies between these tenets and the actual way in which treatment settings use the practices and philosophy of AA. Based on an examination of relevant literature, we discuss various treatment policies and argue that current 12-Step-based treatment settings promote practices that run contrary to the spirit of AA. In highlighting these contradictions, this article hopes to encourage treatment providers to develop a better understanding of the philosophical basis and values of AA and to implement practices and policies that are better aligned with the original teachings of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Disclosure statement

All authors approve this manuscript and submission. The authors report no conflicts of interest.