by Mark Harris

While bearing a superficial resemblance to Quaker’s meetings, or Unitarian support meetings, with Christianesque references to a higher power, or God, Twelve Step programs are not in fact a religion. While 12-Step treatment practitioners indeed often fanatically adhere to non-scientific beliefs, rather than evidence based or culturally proficient praxis, people who cannot assimilate into their particular cultural world view are often discharged as non-compliant. I myself frequently engage in repair of those treatment failures, and train others to do so also. The Twelve Steps of AA and NA were created by two well off white men in the 1930’s with addiction problems. While the Big Book of AA does have case histories featuring people of a different demographics, like black women, it is clear that Dr. Bob and Bill W, as a doctor and a stockbroker, had not experienced the violence of poverty or other survival issues, had never been sexually abused, threatened with racial violence, or experienced discrimination for their sexual orientation, or religion. This amounts to a sort of learning disability which could be termed on one hand by white writers: white male privilege, and taken to its extreme interlocking institutional discrimination in the addictions field. When white women with sexual abuse trauma driving their addictive behavior, do not have those core issues dealt with in a skillful manner, they relapse. If people of color having detoxed, raise issues of racial trauma, they are accused of defocusing from recovery and discharged. Let’s not go into the experience of black women in a local women’s treatment center discharged early. This reported by an intern of color, who also reported being racially harassed by staff there. All reported to the State, which could or would essentially do nothing. Leaving non-12 steppers to do the repair work. Which we did.

Today we know that people who experience life threatening traumas in toxic environments, without skills to deal with those environments, often self-medicate with varieties of substances and processes like gambling, spending, eating, cutting, self-mutilation, among others.
After a person has ceased “using” addictive substances, processes, and others; has gone through withdrawal and detox, and begins to have those issues are addressed in a safe environment (safe meaning the counselor acknowledges the experience of the client, and can offer real world skills for dealing with the toxic environment) then can recovery proceed. Relapse is part of the recovery process, and unless skills are utilized or developed to endure boredom (part of the brains natural physical recovery process from substances) people will engage in their particular “cures” for boredom.

Despite the near ubiquity of 12 Step programs, alternative have been developed. Charlotte Kasl Davis in her book Many Roads One Journey, details a number of variations we disseminate at Lane’s Recovery Center. The basic bottom line, is you need to stop using, and stop using by any means necessary. Period. Lawsuits about religious freedom, are specious if you can’t remain clean. I think of 12-steps as the white bread and mayonnaise approach to recovery. Some of us need more of a habanero approach. Personally I adhere to the African-American construct that Addiction is Slavery. Slavery was a state supported institution, and if budget reflects priorities, then more money is spent supporting addictive behaviors than is spent combating or treating it at the Federal level at least. Every day, legal drugs (Alcohol, tobacco, prescription) kill more people than died at 9/11. In that same period illegal drugs will kill 50 (Heroin, cocaine, meth overdoses). So clearly, my government is not always the most assiduous prevention ally, so like slaves of old, and the slaves of today, I have to free myself and free others. If my recovery framework requires an awareness of history, cultural protective strengthening factors beyond the mainstream, as well as social and economic justice, and yes, active spiritual expression as appropriate, that need is clearly not to be met within a 12-step framework. Whether or not you choose to or can conform to 12-Step culture, as many are forced to do, you still have to maintain a period of abstinence, minimally for up to three years for full brain recovery. Emancipate yourself from addictive slavery.