Alcoholics Anonymous PDF
Alcoholics Anonymous PDF
AA meeting sign
The Traditions recommend that members and groups AA sprang from The Oxford Group, a nonremain anonymous in public media, altruistically help- denominational movement modeled after rst-century
ing other alcoholics and avoiding ocial aliations with Christianity,.[13] Some members found the Group to
1
Wilson felt with Thacher a kinship of common suering andwhile drunkattended his rst Group gathering. Within days, Wilson admitted himself to the Charles
B. Towns Hospital, but not before drinking four beers
on the waythe last time Wilson drank alcohol. Under the care of Dr. William Duncan Silkworth (an early
benefactor of AA), Wilsons detox included the deliriant
belladonna.[16] At the hospital in a state of despair, Wilson experienced a bright ash of light, which he felt to be
God revealing himself.[17]
Following his hospital discharge Wilson joined the Oxford Group and recruited other alcoholics to the Group.
Wilsons early eorts to help others become sober were
ineective, prompting Dr. Silkworth to suggest that Wilson place less stress on religion and more on the science of treating alcoholism. Wilsons rst success came
during a business trip to Akron, Ohio, where he was introduced to Dr. Robert Smith, a surgeon and Oxford
Group member who was unable to stay sober. After
thirty days of working with Wilson, Smith drank his last
drink on June 10, 1935, the date marked by AA for its
anniversaries.[17][18]
While Wilson and Smith credited their sobriety to working with alcoholics under the auspices of the Oxford
Group, a Group associate pastor sermonized against Wilson and his alcoholic Groupers for forming a secret,
ashamed sub-group engaged in divergent works.[18] By
1937, Wilson separated from the Oxford Group. AA Historian Ernest Kurtz described the split:[19]
...more and more, Bill discovered that new
adherents could get sober by believing in each
other and in the strength of this group. Men
[no women were members yet] who had proven
over and over again, by extremely painful experience, that they could not get sober on their
own had somehow become more powerful when
two or three of them worked on their common
problem. This, thenwhatever it was that occurred among themwas what they could accept as a power greater than themselves. They
did not need the Oxford Group.
In 1955, Wilson acknowledged AAs debt, saying The
Oxford Groupers had clearly shown us what to do. And
just as importantly, we learned from them what not to
do." Among the Oxford Group practices that AA retained were informal gatherings, a changed-life developed through stages, and working with others for no
material gain, AAs analogs for these are meetings, the
steps, and sponsorship. AAs tradition of anonymity was
4 Program
See also: Twelve-step program: The Twelve Steps
it to avoid many of the pitfalls that political and religious AAs program is an inheritor of Counter-Enlightenment
institutions have encountered since it was established here philosophy. AA shares the view that acceptance of ones
in 1946.[26]
inherent limitations is critical to nding ones proper
In 2006, AA counted 1,867,212 members and 106,202 place among other humans and God. Such ideas are
AA groups worldwide.[24] The Twelve Traditions infor- described as Counter-Enlightenment because they are
mally guide how individual AA groups function, and the contrary to the Enlightenment's ideal that humans have
Twelve Concepts for World Service guide how the orga- the capacity to make their lives and societies a heaven on
earth using their own power and reason.[31] After evalunization is structured globally.[27]
ating AAs literature and observing AA meetings for sixA member who accepts a service position or an orgateen months, sociologists David R. Rudy and Arthur L.
nizing role is a trusted servant with terms rotating and
Greil found that for an AA member to remain sober a
limited, typically lasting three months to two years and
high level of commitment is necessary. This commitment
determined by group vote and the nature of the posiis facilitated by a change in the members worldview. To
tion. Each group is a self-governing entity with AA
help members stay sober AA must, they argue, provide an
World Services acting only in an advisory capacity. AA
all-encompassing worldview while creating and sustainis served entirely by alcoholics, except for seven nonaling an atmosphere of transcendence in the organization.
coholic friends of the fellowship of the 21-member AA
To be all-encompassing AAs ideology places an emphaBoard of Trustees.[24]
sis on tolerance rather than on a narrow religious worldAA groups are self-supporting, relying on voluntary do- view that could make the organization unpalatable to ponations from members to cover expenses.[24] The AA tential members and thereby limit its eectiveness. AAs
General Service Oce (GSO) limits contributions to emphasis on the spiritual nature of its program, however,
US$3,000 a year.[28] Above the group level, AA may hire is necessary to institutionalize a feeling of transcendence.
outside professionals for services that require specialized A tension results from the risk that the necessity of tranexpertise or full-time responsibilities.[5]
scendence, if taken too literally, would compromise AAs
AA receives proceeds from books and literature that con- eorts to maintain a broad appeal. As this tension is an
AA is best
stitute more than 50% of the income for its General Ser- integral part of AA, Rudy and Greil argue that
[38]
described
as
a
quasi-religious
organization.
[29]
vice Oce. Unlike individual groups, the GSO is not
self-supporting and maintains a small salaried sta. It
also maintains service centers, which coordinate activities such as printing literature, responding to public inquiries, and organizing conferences. They are funded by
local members and are responsible to the AA groups they
represent. Other International General Service Oces
(Australia, Costa Rica, Russia, etc.) are independent of
AA World Services in New York.[30]
4.1 Meetings
AA meetings are quasi-ritualized therapeutic sessions
run by and for, alcoholics.[39] They are usually informal
and often feature discussions. Local AA directories list a
variety of weekly meetings. Those listed as closed are
4.2
Condentiality
US courts have not extended the status of privileged communication, such as that enjoyed by clergy and lawyers,
to AA related communications between members.[44][45]
Spirituality
A study found an association between an increase in attendance to AA meetings with increased spirituality and
a decrease in the frequency and intensity of alcohol use.
The research also found that AA was eective at helping
agnostics and atheists become sober. The authors concluded that though spirituality was an important mechanism of behavioral change for some alcoholics, it was not
the only eective mechanism.[46] Since the mid-1970s,
a number of 'agnostic' or 'no-prayer' AA groups have
begun across the U.S., Canada, and other parts of the
world, which hold meetings that adhere to a tradition allowing alcoholics to freely express their doubts or disbelief that spirituality will help their recovery, and forgo use
of opening or closing prayers.[47][48] There are online resources listing AA meetings for atheists and agnostics.[49]
8.3
taking the survey were allowed to select multiple answers the MRI scans of their brains conrmed that there was a
for what motivated them to join AA.[7]
dierent reaction.
Eectiveness
8.1
Research limitations
AA tends to polarize observers into believers and nonbelievers,[56] and discussion of AA often creates controversy rather than objective reection.[57] Moreover, a
randomized study of AA is dicult: AA members are
not randomly selected from the population of chronic alcoholics; they are instead self-selected or mandated by
courts to attend AA meetings.[58] There are two opposing types of self-selection bias: (1) drinkers may be motivated to stop drinking before they participate in AA; (2)
AA may attract the more severe and dicult cases.[59]
8.2
Studies
Studies of AAs ecacy have produced inconsistent results. While some studies have suggested an association between AA attendance and increased abstinence
or other positive outcomes,[60][61][62][63][64] other studies
have not.[65][66]
The 2006 Cochrane Review of eight studies (the studies
reviewed were done between 1967 and 2005) measuring
the eectiveness of AA found no signicant dierence
between the results of AA and twelve-step participation
compared to other treatments, stating that experimental
studies have on the whole failed to demonstrate their effectiveness in reducing alcohol dependence or drinking
problems when compared to other interventions.[67]
8.3
10 CRITICISM
with other alcoholics.[79] Bill Wilson visited Towns Hospital in New York City in an attempt to help the alcoholics
who were patients there in 1934. At St. Thomas Hospital
in Akron, Ohio, Smith worked with still more alcoholics.
In 1939, a New York mental institution, Rockland State
Hospital, was one of the rst institutions to allow AA hospital groups. Service to corrections and treatment facilities used to be combined until the General Service Conference, in 1977, voted to dissolve its Institutions Committee and form two separate committees, one for treatment facilities, and one for correctional facilities.[80]
9.2
10 Criticism
See also: Twelve-step program
Prisons
9.4
9.5
13.2
10.4
Other criticisms
7
When Love Is Not Enough: The Lois Wilson Story
a 2010 lm about the wife of founder Bill Wilson,
and the beginnings of Alcoholics Anonymous and
Al-Anon.
11
Literature
12
AA in music
13
13.1
AA in lm
Films about Alcoholic Anonymous
15 NOTES
Smashed a 2012 drama lm starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead. An elementary school teachers
drinking begins to interfere with her job, so she attempts to get sober. Despite stumbling, she manages
to use the tools of sponsorship and AA meetings to
stay sober one year.
14
See also
Recovery model
Substance abuse
Washingtonian movement
15
Notes
[1] http://www.aa.org/assets/en_US/smf-92_en.pdf
[23] Pass It On 1984, p. 359
[2] Michael Gross (2010). American Journal of Public Health
(December 1, 2010).
[3] AA.org
[4] Mkel 1996, p. 3
[5] The Twelve Traditions. The AA Grapevine. Alcoholics
Anonymous. 6 (6). November 1949. ISSN 0362-2584.
OCLC 50379271.
[6] Chappel, JN; Dupont, RL (1999).
Twelve-Step
and Mutual-Help Programs for Addictive Disorders.
Psychiatric Clinics of North America. 22 (2): 425
doi:10.1016/S0193-953X(05)70085-X. PMID
46.
10385942.
[7] Alcoholics Anonymous 2014 Membership Survey
(PDF). A.A. World Services. 2014.
[8] Anonymous (1939). Alcoholics Anonymous. New York:
Works Publishing Company. p. Original Manuscript p.
217.
[24] AA Fact File (PDF). General Service Oce of Alcoholics Anonymous. 2007.
[25] AA Comes Of Age, p. 225
[26] Carroll, Steven (2010-03-03). Group avoids politics of
alcohol author. http://www.irishtimes.com/. Retrieved
2010-03-30. External link in |publisher= (help)
[27] Wilson, Bill. The A.A. Service Manual Combined with
Twelve Concepts for World Services. Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. Archived from the original
(PDF) on 2009-12-12. Retrieved 2009-12-12.
[28] A.A. GSO Guidelines: Finances. Alcoholics Anonymous General Service Oce. Archived from the original
(PDF) on 2009-12-12. Retrieved 2009-12-12.
[29] GSO 2007 Operating Results. Alcoholics Anonymous
General Services Oce. Archived from the original on
2009-12-12. Retrieved 2009-12-12. Gross Prot from
Literature ~8,6M (57%), Contributions ~$6.5M (43%)
[48] Freedman, Samuel (Feb 21, 2014). Alcoholics Anonymous, Without the Religion. The New York Times. Retrieved 2014-02-26.
[50] Rush, Benjamin (1805). Inquiry into the Eects of Ardent Spirits upon the Human Body and Mind. Philadelphia:
Bartam.
[34] AA.org
[51] AA.org
[52] BHRM.org
[37] Zemore, S. E.; Kaskutas, L. A. & Ammon, L. N. (August 2004). In 12-step groups, helping helps the helper.
Addiction. 99 (8): 10151023. doi:10.1111/j.13600443.2004.00782.x. PMID 15265098.
[38] Rudy, David R.; Greil, Arthur L. (1989). Is Alcoholics Anonymous a Religious Organization?: Meditations on Marginality. Sociological Analysis. 50 (1): 41
51. doi:10.2307/3710917. JSTOR 3710917.
[39] Leach, Barry; Norris, John L.; Dancey, Travis; Bissell,
Leclair (1969). Dimensions of Alcoholics Anonymous:
19351965. Substance Use & Misuse. 4 (4): 509.
doi:10.3109/10826086909062033.
[40] The A.A. Group (PDF). Alcoholics Anonymous World
Services, Inc. 1990. p. 13.
[41] The A.A. Group. Archived from the original (PDF) on
2009-12-12. Retrieved 2009-12-12.
[42] Suggestions For Leading Beginners Meetings. Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. Archived from
the original (PDF) on 2009-12-12. Retrieved 2009-1212.
[43] Mkel 1996, p. 149150
[44] Coleman, Phyllis (December 2005). Privilege and Condentiality in 12-Step Self-Help Programs: Believing
The Promises Could Be Hazardous to an Addicts Freedom. The Journal of Legal Medicine. 26 (4): 435
474. doi:10.1080/01947640500364713. ISSN 01947648. OCLC 4997813. PMID 16303734.
[45] Homan, Jan (15 June 1994). Faith in Condentiality of
Therapy Is Shaken. New York Times. Retrieved 200810-23.
[46] Kelly, John F. et al. Spirituality in Recovery: A Lagged
Mediational Analysis of Alcoholics Anonymous Principal Theoretical Mechanism of Behavior Change Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research Vol. 35, No.
3 March 2011 pp. 110
10
15 NOTES
11
[100]
[85] Honeymar (1997). Alcoholics Anonymous As a Condition of Drunk Driving Probation: When Does It Amount
to Establishment of Religion. Columbia Law Review. 97
[101]
(2): 437472. doi:10.2307/1123367. JSTOR 1123367.
[86] Egelko, Bob (8 September 2007). Appeals court says
requirement to attend AA unconstitutional. San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2009-1212. Retrieved 2007-10-08.
16 References
Bill W. (1955). Alcoholics Anonymous: the story
of how many thousands of men and women have
recovered from alcoholism (2nd ed.). New York,
New York: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services.
OCLC 269381
Bill W. (2002). Alcoholics Anonymous: the story
of how many thousands of men and women have
recovered from alcoholism (4th ed.). New York,
New York: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services.
ISBN 1-893007-16-2. OCLC 408888189.
Edwards, Grith (April 2002). Alcohol: The
Worlds Favorite Drug (1st ed.). Thomas Dunne
Books. ISBN 0-312-28387-3. OCLC 48176740.
Klaus Mkel; World Health Organization. Regional Oce for Europe; et al. (1996). Alcoholics Anonymous as a mutual-help movement: a
study in eight societies. Madison, Wis: University
of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 0-299-15000-3. OCLC
33242907.
Mitchel, Dale (2002). Silkworth: the little doctor
who loved drunks. Center City, Minn: Hazelden.
ISBN 1-56838-794-6. OCLC 51063745.
Pass It on: The Story of Bill Wilson and how the
A.A. Message Reached the World. New York, NY:
Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. December 1984. ISBN 978-0-916856-12-0. OCLC
12308065.
Peele, Stanton (1999). The Diseasing of America: how we allowed recovery zealots and the treatment industry to convince us we are out of control.
12
17
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. ISBN 0-7879-4643-5.
OCLC 39605271.
17
External links
AA ocial website
A History of Agnostic Groups in AA
Alcoholics Anonymous FBI le on the Internet
Archive
EXTERNAL LINKS
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