Alcoholism Treatment and The 12 Steps

Alcoholism treatment at Destination Hope involves multiple treatment modalities, such as individual therapy, group therapy and family therapy.

Each individual is given a comprehensive assessment when they come to our program, and an individualized treatment plan involving a combination of different therapeutic approaches is given to each client based on his or her individual needs. As part of the treatment program, our clients attend 12-Step community meetings.

The 12-Step program was established in 1935 for the Alcoholics Anonymous program, but its teachings have been incorporated into many alcoholism treatment programs around the country. People talk about the 12-Steps fairly regularly in recovery, but you may not be familiar with what they are, so we thought we’d share the list with our readers.

The 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous

1. 1. We admitted we were powerless over our addiction – 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 God.
   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 God 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 God, praying only for knowledge of God’s 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 other addicts, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Destination Hope and the 12 Steps

As mentioned earlier in this blog, we take our clients to 12-Step community meetings regularly during treatment. This is for several reasons. First, it allows our clients to see that they’re not alone, and experience support from their peer groups.

Second, by interacting with clients that have been in recovery for long periods of time, our clients see that recovery is possible and find inspiration from other people. Third, after finishing alcoholism treatment, 12-step community meetings are a vital part of continued recovery.

We recommend that all of our clients regularly attend 12-step meetings as part of their aftercare, and introducing them to the process during treatment helps facilitate their participation afterward.

There are 12-step meetings all over the country so finding one close to the home of a client is simple. When they return home they have an immediate support group available, including the opportunity to have a sponsor that will help mentor a recovering alcoholic to maintain their sobriety.

If you or a loved one is suffering from alcoholism, please call the counselors at Destination Hope. We are available to talk with you 24 hours a day and help you find the right program for your individual needs.