Do AA and NA work? If So, How Do They work?

Addiction medicine has made great strides in adopting a strong evidence base in the past 30 years. Along the way, however, many addiction professionals have fallen under the incorrect notion that A.A. and other 12 Step programs are simple support systems that provide a gathering of individuals in recovery but have no proven mechanisms of efficacy in sustaining disease remission. This in turn leads to the incorrect assertion that A.A. is a quaint but outdated tool in addiction medicine. This prejudice, when married with limited understanding and training as to how "A.A. onboarding" is executed has led some professionals to say things like "My patients just do not want to go to A.A." and "N.A, does not work with the patients I treat." In fact, A.A. and its sister twelve-step programs provide an extremely low-cost form of treatment that complements professional care when properly executed.

The presenters will begin the session with a brief didactic, describing the research-validated mechanisms by which A.A. engenders recovery skills and encourages disease remission, focusing on the validated mechanisms of the effect. This will be followed by a "mock A.A. meeting" that utilizes a start/stop format with audience participation. Once the recovery skills are described, the audience will be polled for their real-time recognition of the aforementioned mechanisms that underlie A.A.'s effectiveness. Audience interaction with the presenters and the members of the mock 12 step will deepen understanding of this important tool. This course is geared to professionals who are unfamiliar with 12 Step programs and want to help their patients engage effectively with it.