Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a global peer-led mutual aid fellowship begun in the U.S. and dedicated to abstinence-based recovery from alcoholism through their spiritually inclined twelve-step program. Besides stressing anonymity and offering membership to anyone wishing to stop drinking, AA's twelve traditions establish it as free to all, non-professional, non-denominational, apolitical and unaffiliated. In 2020 AA estimated its worldwide membership to be over two million with 75% of those in the U.S. and Canada.
Twelve-step programs are international mutual aid programs supporting recovery from substance addictions, behavioral addictions and compulsions. Developed in the 1930s, the first twelve-step program, Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), founded by Bill Wilson and Bob Smith, aided its membership to overcome alcoholism. Since that time dozens of other organizations have been derived from AA's approach to address problems as varied as drug addiction, compulsive gambling, sex, and overeating. All twelve-step programs utilize a version of AA's suggested twelve steps first published in the 1939 book Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How More Than One Hundred Men Have Recovered from Alcoholism.
Drug rehabilitation is the process of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and street drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, heroin or amphetamines. The general intent is to enable the patient to confront substance dependence, if present, and stop substance misuse to avoid the psychological, legal, financial, social, and physical consequences that can be caused.
Phoenix House is a nonprofit drug and alcohol rehabilitation organization operating in ten states with 150 programs. Programs serve individuals, families, and communities affected by substance abuse and dependency.
Sober living houses (SLHs), also called sober homes and sober living environments, are facilities that provide safe housing and supportive, structured living conditions for people exiting drug rehabilitation programs. SLHs serve as a transitional environment between such programs and mainstream society. Many SLHs also accept people who are in recovery from substance use disorders but have not recently completed a rehabilitation program.
Drug addiction recovery groups are voluntary associations of people who share a common desire to overcome their drug addiction. Different groups use different methods, ranging from completely secular to explicitly spiritual. Some programs may advocate a reduction in the use of drugs rather than outright abstention. One survey of members who found active involvement in any addiction recovery group correlates with higher chances of maintaining sobriety. Although there is not a difference in whether group or individual therapy is better for the patient, studies show that any therapy increases positive outcomes for patients with substance use disorder. The survey found group participation increased when the individual members' beliefs matched those of their primary support group. Analysis of the survey results found a significant positive correlation between the religiosity of members and their participation in twelve-step programs and to a lesser level in non-religious SMART Recovery groups, the correlation factor being three times smaller for SMART Recovery than for the twelve-step addiction recovery groups. Religiosity was inversely related to participation in Secular Organizations for Sobriety.
SMART Recovery is an international community of peer support groups that help people recover from addictive and problematic behaviors, using a self-empowering and evidence-informed program. SMART stands for Self-Management and Recovery Training. The SMART approach is secular and research-based. SMART has a global reach, with a presence established in more than 30 countries. SMART Recovery is effective with a range of addictive and problematic behaviors
Drug detoxification is variously construed or interpreted as a type of “medical” intervention or technique in regards to a physical dependence mediated by a drug; as well as the process and experience of a withdrawal syndrome or any of the treatments for acute drug overdose (toxidrome). The first definition however, in relation to substance dependence and its treatment is arguably a misnomer and even directly contradictory since withdrawal is neither contingent upon nor alleviated through biological excretion or clearance of the drug. In fact, excretion of a given drug from the body is one of the very processes that leads to withdrawal since the syndrome arises largely due to the cessation itself and the drug being absent from the body; especially the blood plasma, not from ‘leftover toxins’ or traces of the drug still being in the system.
LifeRing Secular Recovery is a secular, non-profit organization providing peer-run addiction recovery groups. The organization provides support and assistance to people seeking to recover from alcohol and drug addiction, and also assists partners, family members and friends of addicts or alcoholics. It is an abstinence-based recovery program with three fundamental principles: sobriety, secularity and self-empowerment. The motto of LifeRing is "empower your sober self."
Polysubstance dependence refers to a type of substance use disorder in which an individual uses at least three different classes of substances indiscriminately and does not have a favorite substance that qualifies for dependence on its own. Although any combination of three substances can be used, studies have shown that alcohol is commonly used with another substance. This is supported by one study on polysubstance use that separated participants who used multiple substances into groups based on their preferred substance. The results of a longitudinal study on substance use led the researchers to observe that excessively using or relying on one substance increased the probability of excessively using or relying on another substance.
Brighton Hospital is one of the oldest alcoholism and addiction treatment centers in North America.
Recovery coaching is a form of strengths-based support for people with addictions or in recovery from alcohol, other drugs, codependency, or other addictive behaviors. There are multiple models, with some programs using self-identified peers who draw from their own lived experience with substance use and recovery and some utilizing people who have no lived experience but some training in support, depending on local standards and availability. They help clients find ways to stop addiction (abstinence) or reduce harm associated with addictive behaviors. These coaches can help a client find resources for harm reduction, detox, treatment, family support and education, local or online support groups; or help a client create a change plan to recover on their own.
The Psychiatric Institute of Washington (PIW) is an acute psychiatric hospital in Washington, D.C. Opened in 1967, PIW is a short-term, private hospital. It offers behavioral healthcare to patients with mental and addictive illnesses, including children, adolescents, adults and the elderly. Services offered by PIW include inpatient, partial and intensive outpatient hospitalization, and group treatment programs for substance abuse and addiction.
About 1 in 7 Americans suffer from active addiction to a particular substance. Addiction can cause physical, psychological, and emotional harm to those who are affected by it. The American Society of Addiction Medicine defines addiction as "a treatable, chronic medical disease involving complex interactions among brain circuits, genetics, the environment, and an individual's life experiences. People with addiction use substances or engage in behaviors that become compulsive and often continue despite harmful consequences." In the world of psychology and medicine, there are two models that are commonly used in understanding the psychology behind addiction itself. One model is referred to as the disease model of addiction. The disease model suggests that addiction is a diagnosable disease similar to cancer or diabetes. This model attributes addiction to a chemical imbalance in an individual's brain that could be caused by genetics or environmental factors. The second model is the choice model of addiction, which holds that addiction is a result of voluntary actions rather than some dysfunction of the brain. Through this model, addiction is viewed as a choice and is studied through components of the brain such as reward, stress, and memory. Substance addictions relate to drugs, alcohol, and smoking. Process addictions relate to non-substance-related behaviors such as gambling, spending money, sexual activity, gaming, spending time on the internet, and eating.
The Cabin Rehab is a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The center has offered treatment for alcohol, drug and behavioral addiction since 2009. The center is a noted medical tourism location for international patients from countries such as the United States, U.K., Singapore, India, Oman, Bangladesh, and Australia.
Community reinforcement approach and family training (CRAFT) is a behavior therapy approach in psychotherapy for treating addiction developed by Robert J. Meyers in the late 1970s. Meyers worked with Nathan Azrin in the early 1970s whilst he was developing his own community reinforcement approach (CRA) which uses operant conditioning techniques to help people learn to reduce the power of their addictions and enjoy healthy living. Meyers adapted CRA to create CRAFT, which he described as CRA that "works through family members." CRAFT combines CRA with family training to equip concerned significant others (CSOs) of addicts with supportive techniques to encourage their loved ones to begin and continue treatment and provides them with defences against addiction's damaging effects on themselves.
North American gambling treatment centers are intended to treat gambling addiction. In general, gambling addiction treatment is considered an add-on to other addiction treatments. All three treatment centers that offer gambling addiction treatment in North America treat gambling in addition to alcohol addiction and other substances addictions.
The Malvern Institute for Psychiatric and Alcohol Studies, known as the Malvern Institute, is a drug and alcohol abuse treatment center in Malvern, Pennsylvania, with campuses throughout Pennsylvania. It was the first private facility of its kind in the United States.
John F. Kelly is an American-based researcher and professor of addiction medicine at Harvard Medical School. He is the Founder and Director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Recovery Research Institute, Associate Director of the MGH Center for Addiction Medicine, and Program Director of the MGH Addiction Recovery Management Service.
