How Alcoholics Anonymous AA and Narcotics Anonymous NA Work: Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives PMC

That number how do you know you got roofied is sure to have increased since then. We are people who have discovered and admitted that we cannot control alcohol. We have learned that we must live without it to live normal, happy lives.

A recent but limited study indicates it may be as effective as the 12-step model. If you like the idea of a structured group meeting but find that 12-step groups don’t feel like a great fit, SMART Recovery may be a great alternative. In Marlon’s first year of recovery, he left his job, got a divorce, and moved. All three major life changes could have triggered him to start drinking again.

In addition to some differences in philosophy, both AA and NA each have their own literature. Both organizations how to recover from being roofied also use the 12-step framework that guides members through their recovery. This pamphlet answers many of the common questions people have about alcoholism and A.A. It also contains stories written by the co-founders and stories from a wide range of members who have found recovery in A.A. A.A.’s Twelve Steps are a set of spiritual principles. When practiced as a way of life, they can expel the obsession to drink and enable the sufferer to recover from alcoholism.

Does Narcotics Anonymous Work?

A.A.’s primary purpose is to help alcoholics to achieve sobriety. Even if someone doesn’t put it in your treatment plan, Patterson advises people to try a few different options, including CBT and SMART Recovery, at least once if possible. Unlike AA, it doesn’t ask people to admit they’re powerless. There aren’t any higher powers involved, and addiction tends to be considered a habit rather than a disease.

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We know our own sobriety depends on connecting with other alcoholics. Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of people who come together to solve their drinking problem. There are no age or education requirements to participate. Membership is open to anyone who wants to do something about their drinking problem. Sometimes, Patterson notes, you may meet someone at a 12-step or SMART meeting who is simply attending these meetings and not getting professional treatment.

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Clients rated the helpfulness of 12-Step programs 8.02 on a 10-point scale with high scores indicating high levels of helpfulness. Clients stated that their top two reasons for attending AA and NA were to (1) promote recovery/sobriety and to (2) find support, acceptance, and friendship. A series of analyses identified which specific elements of 12-Step involvement were responsible for positive outcomes and whether these elements varied by gender. Women were significantly more likely than men to sustain abstinence over 3 years although genders did not differ significantly at baseline. For men only, being a sponsor was predictive of sustained abstinence over 3 years. For men and women, doing service and having a home group was predictive of sustained abstinence over 3 years.

This has proven to be a very effective model for treating alcoholism because people can draw upon each other for the support they need. In the study sample, 12-Step participation was common and intensive after inpatient treatment but fell off over time. However, despite declining attendance, early posttreatment attendance, even in relatively small amounts, predicted long-term helpful outcomes.

Alexandre B. Laudet

1. If you’re relatively new to the idea of getting treatment for your addiction to drugs and/or alcohol, you’ve probably wondered about whether you need AA vs NA.
2. Recovery works through one alcoholic sharing their experience with another.
3. Participants were drawn from two similar treatment programs with the key difference between them being that one held a weekly 12-Step meeting on-site and the other one did not.
4. Or, you might decide that you need to focus on your addiction (to alcohol or to another substance) as a whole and concentrate on yourself as an individual first.

First, Laudet examined the role of 12-Step affiliation—meeting attendance and involvement in 12-Step suggested activities—as predictors of abstinence sustained continuously over one or more years. Attending 12-Step meetings, considering one’s self a member of a 12-Step fellowship, and working the steps activities for substance abuse groups at baseline were predictive of sustained abstinence over one year. Continuous 12-Step attendance (weekly or more frequent) over 3 years predicted sustained abstinence over three years. Across recovery stages, individuals were 4.1 to 8.6 times more likely to achieve sustained abstinence by continuous 12-Step meeting attendance and involvement.

You might hear about Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous and wonder what the difference is between the two, for example. In this article, we’ll talk about some of those differences, but we’ll also discuss some of the similarities. First, let’s go over some basic background behind each of these addiction treatment programs. Study participants mentioned several qualities of the AA fellowship and the AA program as helpful, such as identifying with other alcoholics, sharing, talking, and telling stories; having a sponsor, and working the steps. Those who said AA was not helpful said they couldn’t relate to others in AA groups, found there was too much negativity and complaining, or felt they could handle the problem on their own. For a more detailed description of this work, please see Robinson, Price, Kurtz, and Brower (2009).

You might be an alcoholic who is more comfortable with healing your addiction than blaming alcohol. If that is how you feel, Narcotics Anonymous might be the better option for you. In looking at the key differences between these two groups, you can find the right one for you. Here at Northpoint Recovery, we recognize the fact that AA and NA are both important. Both of these organizations have been instrumental in people’s lives. In fact, there are many people who feel they could never have recovered from their addictions without them.