An Open Letter To Our Friends
At Alcoholics Anonymous

At Assisted Recovery, we have come to believe that alcohol (and other drug) dependence is primarily a bio-chemical condition, with definite psychological and social implications. Our meetings are focused on a cognitive behavioral approach to resolving that dependence. This does not mean, in any way, that we are anti-AA and the other 12-step programs. In fact, I still occasionally attend AA and NA meetings myself.

Quite the contrary, we recognize the fact that many people are helped by the 12-step programs to achieve their goal of abstinence from the use of alcohol and drugs. We believe that any tool that helps an individual to recover from active addiction is welcome, and should be utilized as fully as possible.

However, we also recognized that there were a great many individuals for whom the "spiritual" approach to recovery was simply not enough for them to achieve long-term, quality sobriety. We knew many others who did not like, or feel comfortable with, the 12-steps and the "Higher Power" aspect of AA. We looked, and longed, for an effective alternative; a new tool that would be of help to these people. Nothing we found seemed to work.

In January of 1995, my friend Lloyd Vacovsky read a small article in the newspaper, which told about a new medication, called naltrexone, which had just been approved by the FDA for the treatment of alcoholism. Excited about the prospect of a new tool, Lloyd asked me what I thought about it, and I have to admit that I was extremely skeptical. But I had to agree with his two main arguments: "But what if it does work?" and "What have we got to lose?"

We tried it out on one individual, and it seemed to be very effective at eliminating his cravings for alcohol, so we decided to put it to use as part of a test program at the local homeless shelter, where Lloyd worked. These were people who were at the bottom of society, and many of them had been in AA and the various types of traditional 12-step based treatment programs many times. Most of them had a lingering negative feeling about their experience there, the result of being told that because they continued to relapse again and again, they weren't being "totally honest," or that they "weren't working the program". We knew that if we were going to be successful at helping these people, even with the help of naltrexone, we would have to use a different approach.

Over some period of time, we developed a program that addresses the bio-psycho-social components of the disease of alcoholism. The medication naltrexone, is very effective at eliminating the physical cravings for alcohol, and also jump-starts the brain's endogenous system to begin producing endorphins normally. This happens much sooner than without the medication, and allows us to begin working on the psychological and social components of recovery, utilizing cognitive behavior therapy. We emphasize techniques for enhancing motivation to remain abstinent, setting and achieving goals, and learning to develop a positive, balanced and healthy lifestyle in sobriety.

Clients who are inclined to add a "spiritual" component to their recovery are encouraged to attend AA, or the church of their choice. These resources are already plentiful in the community at large, for those who wish to use them. But we neither promote nor discourage this; we feel that it is a choice that is best left up to the individual. Although we encourage clients to express their feelings and emotions freely at our meetings, we discourage "AA-bashing" (which some are inclined to do in the beginning) because it is negative in nature, counter-productive, and inconsiderate of the rights of others.

One last thing I feel the need to say. There are ten to fifteen million alcoholics in the United States. If you are one of those people who believes that the 12-steps are the "only way" to recovery, you have developed a "one-size-fits-all" mentality, and we'd suggest that you need re-examine some of your beliefs. Think about all those hopeful newcomers whose faces you've seen at meetings for a couple of weeks or months, only to disappear again forever. Whatever happened to them? Can you be hopeful that at least some of them found another way to recover? Even if it was not the same path that you found?

After all, it was over 65 years ago that Dr. Bob wrote: "Science may one day accomplish this, but it hasn't done so yet."

Contact Assisted Recovery today at
(602) 264-7897 or toll free (800) 527-5344