Twelve-step programs are mutual aid programs supporting recovery from substance addictions, behavioral addictions and compulsions. The first, Alcoholics Anonymous, was founded in the 1930s by Bill Wilson and Bob Smith to help its membership overcome alcoholism, and dozens of other organizations have since adapted its approach to address problems including drug addiction, compulsive gambling, sex and overeating. Every twelve-step program uses a version of the twelve steps first published in the 1939 book Alcoholics Anonymous, following a process the American Psychological Association summarizes as admitting one cannot control the addiction or compulsion, coming to believe in a higher power, examining past errors with a sponsor, making amends, learning a new code of behavior, and helping others with the same struggles.
Facts
FAQs
Does the Twelve-Step Program require members to believe in a particular God?
The steps name a Power greater than ourselves and God as we understood Him, which leaves the wording to each member's own understanding.
The steps as Alcoholics Anonymous publishes them speak of a higher power in open wording. Step two refers to a Power greater than ourselves that could restore members to sanity, and step three describes turning one's will and life over to the care of God as we understood Him. The phrase as we understood Him points to each member's own understanding rather than a fixed definition. The steps still carry a spiritual tone: step twelve speaks of a spiritual awakening as the result of working them.
Sources
1. Wikipedia
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia Foundation
2. Twelve-step program (Wikipedia)
History section
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), the first twelve-step fellowship, was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve-step_program, lead section
Twelve-step programs are mutual aid programs supporting recovery from substance addictions, behavioral addictions and compulsions.
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