Residential Addiction Treatment and the 12 Step Program Model

Residential addiction treatment centers very often base their treatment approach on a Twelve Step Model of care. These inpatient drug treatment facilities use the Twelve Step model in the treatment of various substance use disorders including alcohol treatment, opioid use disorder treatment, and cocaine rehabilitation.TheTwelve Step Model used in substance abuse programs and inpatient addiction rehabilitation centers encourages one’s acceptance of their addiction as the necessary first step in the substance abuse recovery process.

The Twelve Step Program, as used in inpatient addiction treatment, guides the individual in breaking down of the illusion that they themselves, through willpower alone, can effectively control his/her drug or alcohol abuse. A foundational principle of the Twelve Step Program is surrender. Surrender means to reach out beyond oneself and to follow the program outlined in the 12 Steps which will lead to a life of recovery. Surrender by the individual includes the acknowledgement that there is hope for recovery only by admitting that they have no longer have control of their substance abuse and are willing to relinquish that control to a power greater than themselves.

Inpatient addiction rehabilitation programs that model their treatment programs on the Twelve Step Program follow some other basic principles of addiction rehabilitation. Another basic principle followed by inpatient treatment centers is that addiction as a chronic, progressive illness, with predictable symptoms and a predictable course. The individual suffering with substance abuse disorder finds life becoming unmanageable. Although they may have tried many times on their own to stop their substance abuse, they soon find that willpower alone is not sufficient to overcome addiction.

Inpatient addiction rehabilitation centers also follow the principle that the individual is effectively powerless over his or her own compulsion to use.Theyhave permanently lost their ability to control their substance use. Acceptance of this powerlessness includes the realization that no amount of drug use is safe and will always lead to complete relapse. It is often at this point that people who abuse substances seek addiction counseling or treatment in an inpatient addiction rehabilitation center.

A third principle of the Twelve Step Program used in inpatient addiction treatment is that addiction affects all spheres of ones’ life including mind, body, and spirit.  Inpatient alcohol, opioid, or other substance abuse treatment programs endeavor to provide addiction counseling and support to enable the individual address these aspects of life to truly achieve recovery.

The Twelve Step Model sees the only viable option for individuals with substance abuse disorder as a total and lifelong abstinence from drugs or alcohol, the individual in addiction treatment begins to understand that even one single slip may lead to complete and total relapse.The individual has the greatest chance of staying sober over the long term if they accept the loss of control, accept the need to abstain permanently from all mood-altering substances and reach out to others in a 12 Step Program following their stay in an inpatient rehabilitation program.