Program "12 steps of anonymous alcoholics": features, characteristics, principles, effectiveness

Is there salvation from alcoholism? Of course, yes, but this way often seems too complicated. To defeat an addiction is to open the way to a true self, stop lying to yourself and compensate for problems with alcoholic forgetting. The task is not simple, but quite feasible. On the other hand, the dependent person has two ways: to descend lower and lower, or to find the strength and break the vicious circle, looking into the face of life and starting his journey anew. Very good for these purposes is the "12 Steps of Anonymous Alcoholics" system.

History of anonymous alcoholics

This system did not appear today. Since ancient times, people have sought to find in society those who suffer from the same illness. Together, it is easier to bear all the hardships of treatment, and to be aware of yourself as a part of a mini-society is also much easier than being lonely and abandoned. If we talk about the program "12 steps of anonymous alcoholics", it has been working for 63 years and during this time has been recognized as one of the most effective systems to combat addiction, a trend that can be seen not only in Russia but throughout the world.

Basics of the program

Not only the specialists of the narcological centers, but also the people who once suffered dependence, confirm that the program "12 Steps of Anonymous Alcoholics" is the most effective in combating harmful habits. Counting the number of people who have passed through these groups is difficult, since the presence in them is anonymous. However, the main value is that a person does not just go through the course of lifting physical dependence, but lives a deep personal psychotherapy, during which his view of the world must radically change. This is what gives an opportunity to acquire a completely new quality of life. It is very important to understand and, most importantly, to accept.

Theoretical platform

Like all other programs for the treatment of addiction, "12 steps of anonymous alcoholics" has a certain basis. This is a harmonious theory, which is based on a complex, biopsychosocio-spiritual model of the disease. All these approaches are extremely important, and each of them carries its own load. Not having sobered the person, it is impossible to go further, only then psychologists come into the struggle for a healthy lifestyle. They can find exactly those stress points, those painful moments, which are the triggers leading to dependence. Gestalt therapy is the basic tool for such work. It is based on its principles, share their feelings and feelings of anonymous alcoholics. The "12 Steps" program includes core values, love and good, as well as faith. It was these strongholds that helped people to survive in any life situations long before the first "AA" group was organized. They did not invent anything new, but simply based on what helps people to stay and remain sober.

Faith and religion: are these concepts the same?

In fact, no, perhaps, that is why there is no disagreement between people around the world, different views and creeds. All of them are anonymous alcoholics. "12 Steps" is a book that reveals all the subtleties of this approach. The understanding of spirituality here is much broader than in every particular religion. That is why it is easily perceived by Catholics, Muslims and atheists. Despite the fact that it is called spiritually oriented, it does not carry any specific religious content. If this were the case, the program would not be of universal significance. That is, God in the program of "12 steps" is a certain higher power, which in the understanding of each person will be his own. This is the source of resources to which the patient refers. And as he calls it, Jesus, Buddha, the spirit of the ancestors or the collective consciousness, this is not the essence, the main thing is for a person to feel support in him.

freedom of choice

This is the main thing, what is the difference between the program "Alcoholics Anonymous, 12 steps". The patients' testimonies indicate that they decided to join the ranks of the members of this organization precisely because no one was compelled to do anything to them. They are free to attend meetings or not to do so. The program is really universal, it leaves behind each final choice. Simply insert in place of the words "alcohol" and "drug" the name of your problem - and get a ready solution.

Active patient position

This is absolutely necessary condition. Only by passing deeply through each of her steps, one can achieve a good result. Any problem can be solved through such training, that's why the group of anonymous alcoholics "12 steps" is the best assistant for each of you. This is a clear and well-structured model describing a program of actions that involve activity both inside and outside themselves. That is, the work is done both inside of itself and in society. It very well helps to reorient a person, to get away from fruitless wisdom. It is necessary not only to think, but also to begin to do. The theory is very useful, but you will never learn to swim, reading a book on swimming technique by brace. It is also impossible to help yourself, just by studying the contents of the "12 steps".

A Brief Algorithm, or What You Have To Do

In fact, everything is intuitively simple and understandable, it is through this that the program "12 Steps of Anonymous Alcoholics" becomes universal. Reviews say that even a person without a secondary education can quickly navigate and start working on themselves no less successfully than, for example, a psychologist with a higher education. You can view the program as an operating algorithm that helps to correct the personality and change its quality.

The first and probably the most difficult is to recognize the problem. This is a huge and most difficult step. Not for one day, but for all I have to admit my impotence before alcoholism. This step causes resistance for many newcomers, and only when time passes, they begin to understand its value.

Then there is an exit search. This is the second step, which is to come to the conviction that only a stronger force can return sanity to you.

The third step is again a trial, a decision. And it is realized by a simple and complex thesis: I am entrusting my life to God as I understand it. And at this stage prayers are very helpful. In the morning the patient asks for God's strength to remain sober, and in the evening he thanks for the given day. This is simultaneously a recognition of the presence of a higher power, greater and mightier than you, and the realization that you care about it.

Further practical lessons begin, this is self-analysis. The fourth step is to evaluate your life from a moral point of view. Group classes help the alcoholic, who sees only the bad in him, to find good traits in his personality. This is how the soul is restored, as if a person returned to his abandoned house and gradually begins to do major repairs.

The fifth step is confession, that is acknowledgment of the true nature of your errors before God and people. This is purification. It is necessary to part with the past. Working out their own shortcomings and establishing healthy social ties.

The sixth step is to prepare oneself for getting rid of all the shortcomings. This is the way of one's own growing up, the recognition that the whole way of alcoholism is to compensate for their low self-esteem. The patient in the group understands that you just need to love yourself and that he does not owe anything to anyone. In this case, every patient must admit that he has acted so far as an impulsive child.

The seventh step is humility. The patient asks for a higher power to correct his flaws. It is necessary to learn how to humbly tell about the most difficult and unpleasant moments of your life to other people. This is another brick that is not easy to lay.

The eighth step is now the patient is ready to return to the society, to his old connections, which are important for him. At the same time, the task again is difficult - to make a list of people to whom you have done evil. At this stage, the members of the group are full of the desire to make amends.

The ninth step is the continuation of the work on returning to the habitual society. Alcoholics personally reimburses damage to all those people whose list was made in the previous step.

At the tenth step, the members of the group continue their self-analysis and immediately admit their mistakes, if they admit them.

The eleventh step is the desire to become closer to God through prayer and meditation.

Finally, the final step, which can last indefinitely, is the transfer of experience, helping other alcoholics.

Work with drug addicts in St. Petersburg

This organization has been operating for many years in a row, the first center was established 14 years ago. Today, there are branches in all major cities of Russia. As the main methodology, the program "12 Steps of Anonymous Alcoholics" is used. In St. Petersburg, many people know this organization and trust the authority of its experts, as the results are really stunning. In this case, the meetings of the alcoholics themselves are only part of a large work.

The specialists of the centers take into account the individual characteristics of each client, and in addition, they carry out one more important mission, help relatives to cope with codependence. For the patients of the center and their relatives, various activities, family education, legal lectures, lectures on medical hygiene are held. The specialists of the center give a full guarantee of getting rid of all kinds of dependence when performing all the recommendations given by specialists.

What happens in the classroom?

The Society of Anonymous Alcoholics "12 Steps" is a kind of commune that is united by one single goal - to stop degrading and destroying oneself and begin a normal life. It is very important that not only doctors, professors and psychologists with sometimes incomprehensible lectures are present at the class, but the same people as the newly converted alcoholic. Very often you can hear the phrase that only those who have experienced cravings for alcohol or drugs can understand the dependent person. Here, in the group, it happens. All people with the same history gather here. The reasons for all are different, the fall is always the same. Nobody will scold or try to remake, everything is completely voluntary. It is very remarkable that there are no leaders and organizers, founders. Each lesson can be held by different people.

This makes the system even more flexible. Yes, there are those who want to leave on the first lesson. But this decision of everyone, forced hospitalization and treatment will not work either, if a person does not ask for a goal to change his life. Surprisingly, in the classroom everyone, in fact, repeats the history of the previous and next speaker. It is very valuable that people who are already in sobriety for several years admit: "I'm an alcoholic." This helps newcomers to remove the barrier and recognize their problem. From here, further treatment begins to unfold.

Let's sum up the results

The 12 Steps program is one of the best methods for the rehabilitation of dependent people. There are activists who gather a group and go far beyond the city, to a farm or just to the mountains where one can live in tents. Fresh air, physical labor and separation from the former surroundings, together with ordinary gatherings, give good results. It remains only the task of returning to the usual rhythm to avoid the temptation to return to old habits.