Individuals need to prepare themselves for the possibility of recidivism. They need to be assured that a failure is not the end of the world.
It should be noted that the most successful treatment program is the Alcoholics Anonymous philosophy and the 12-step program.
The original 12-step of Alcoholics Anonymous are as follows:
1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol, and that our lives have 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 Him.
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. We are entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we have harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people whenever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continue 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 him, praying only for knowledge of his will for us, and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we try to carry this message to alcoholics and practice these principles in all of our affairs.
These 12 steps are reprinted with permission of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
It should be noted that other programs have adopted the 12-step program. For example, narcotics anonymous and marijuana anonymous both have at least a 12-step program, but the steps are of course specific to the particular drug to which the person is addicted.
Some programs refer to a “higher power” instead of specifically using God’s name. This makes it more acceptable to a wider range of individuals.
From a psychologist’s point of view, there must be a cognitive understanding and acceptance by the individual that he is indeed addicted to a substance, and he has to relinquish some of this power over to something else. But there has to be an acknowledgement that they are giving up their power to another source. This other power may even be a particular family member who helps the individual through the process. We will talk about this more in group therapy.
Individuals must allow others to help them. If that does not take place, the addiction has a much higher rate of recidivism. The paddling the canoe analogy is key here. Trying to paddle a canoe by yourself is very difficult. With two people, it is much more proficient.
Individuals must understand that the will be drug tested periodically, and need to voluntarily submit to testing. Unwillingness to do so is an admission of failure.
Family members must be involved. Everyone living in the home of the individual who is being treated should be involved in group therapy and family therapy. What is not focused on enough in treatment are post-treatment issues; that is, individuals are different after therapy than prior to, and they must now reassess who they are, both at home and in the workplace, as well as in social situations. The individual must relearn who he is, as he is beginning life as a new person in a way, without the aid of a foreign substance.
Treatment lasts a lifetime. An individual will always be in treatment. That is not to say they are in formal treatment, but every day they wake up, they are performing their own treatment and treatment assessment.
