Why would anyone choose a 12 step program for treating alcoholims?

A friend of mine is a reformed alcoholic. Bill has been sober for 10 years now. He would tell you that he’s not reformed but rather a recovering alcoholic. In his view, no one’s ever cured. This is more than a quibble. Whether alcoholism is a chronic disease with no cure or a condition which can be permanently alleviated is a question answered differently by different programs. And it is a question you need to have answered for you before choosing a program to treat alcoholism for you or a loved one.

As any reformed addict will tell you, quitting is far easier than staying sober. Bill quit drinking a number of times, but relapsed in each case until he did a 12 step program.

Naturally, my friend is a big advocate of the 12 step approach. When I asked him about the relapse rate among graduates of his program, I expected the number to be relatively small. After all, Bill is a regular guy blessed I assumed with no more self discipline and resolve than the next guy.
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But I must have been wrong. You see, Bill told me that few permanently quit drinking after going through a 12 step program. Just 5% make it to long term sobriety. Most relapse and once again become alcoholics.

With a relapse rate of 95%, why would anyone pick a 12 step program to treat their drinking problem? Two explanations come to mind:

First, most people have no idea of the high relapse rate of such programs and even if they do, they don’t have an effective alternative; and
Second, most people have come to believe that alcoholism is a chronic disease. As such, they have low expectations.

Having helped many alcoholics find effect treatment for their condition, I can attest that alcoholism is not a chronic disease. One can recover permanently. One program we regularly refer our Clients to boasts a long term sobriety rate of 70%. Twelve fold the rate of success of my friend’s 12 step program.

I know of no case where ignorance is bliss, even less so when it comes to treating alcoholism or finding effective drug rehab in Georgia.

Fritz Alders