12-step programs Anonymous

Narcotics Anonymous URL http //www.na.org E-mail fsmail na.org Phone (818) 773-9999 P.O. Box 9999 Van Nuys, CA 94109 Narcotics Anonymous started in the late 1940s as an attempt to apply the successful 12-step program of Alcoholics Anonymous to narcotics abusers. Trday the organization holds more than 31,000 weekly meetings in more than 100 countries worldwide. 

Removing the drug from the user s system is only the first step in an ongoing process regardless of which technique is used. For an addict, the drug has become a part of his or her lifestyle. That lifestyle must change in order for that person to remain clean. Twelve-step programs such as Narcotics Anonymous have proven very helpful to many in the everyday battle to avoid relapse. 

The treatment of drug addiction has become big business. Private treatment centers charge thousands of dollars a week to get people off cocaine, alcohol, marijuana, narcotics, and tranquilizers Twelve-step programs modeled on Alcoholics Anonymous have proliferated m all cities, and special programs now exist to treat the relatives of dependent persons — Adult Children of Alcoholics and Codependents Anonymous, for example. Despite the boom in the treatment industry, the rate of addiction has only increased. 

Based on the twelve-step program of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), Narcotics Anonymous (NA) helps those... 

Narcotics Anonymous is an organization for recovering addicts. Members support and learn from each other in their efforts to live a clean and sober life following the 12-Step Program. Meetings are held throughout the United States and worldwide. Web site offers information, free publications, and links to local chapters. 

Twelve-step programs do not work for everyone, nor are they the only self-help groups available to provide support. As of this writing, however. Alcoholics Anonymous and those that use its model are the most widely available and time tested. Which kind of support group should people use Whichever works best for them. 

Caroll, Robert T xld. Substance Abuse Treatment. The Skeptic s Dictionary. Available online. URL http //skepdic.com/sat.html. Updated on November 11, 2003. This contrarian approach to substance abuse treatment acknowledges the good intentions of pioneers such as Charles Dederich of Synanon but argues that a number of programs violate human rights. The author questions the role and self-interest of professional interventionists who try to get substance abusers into treatment. He also argues that there is an inherent contradiction between the disease model of substance abuse and the moral approach of 12-step organizations such as Alcoholics Anonymous. 

Treatment programs based on the twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous and that encourage attendance at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings have been the most common approach used in the United States. The first Alcoholics Anonymous group was formed in Akron, Ohio in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith. Today there are approximately 99,000 groups in existence across America. 

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