Author: tearj3rker
Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2011 1:03 am
| Diary of a Quitter wrote: |
| Anyway, that brings me to another reason why the 12-step groups persist as the go-to treatment for addiction: They Are Free. Many addicts seeking treatment are poor, have no health insurance or their health insurance doesn’t cover addiction treament. Therapy is expensive and even if you have access to a low-cost or free mental health center the waiting list for an appointment can be really long. Lots of addicts also have co-occuring disorders which just puts another hurdle in place when trying to navigate the system and seek treatment. But NA and AA are free and really accessible to just about anyone.
So that’s my two cents on the subject. |
That’s one of the things that kept me coming back. Not so much the idea that it was free. Moreso the fact it’s based on a real idealistic concept of one addict helping another, of being a non-profit fellowship. It’s really fantastic. When coming out of addiction, where everyone wants to rip each other off… it was a real breath of fresh air. And I believed in it for some time.
What’s been good to see, and it gives me some real hope. Is that same non-profit idealism is being transposed to other peer-support programs. New Life, SMART … Have been inspired by 12-step groups to be run off donations as well. Maybe one day, an addict seeking recovery will have options to choose from many different programs, no one greater than another. I’m hoping. 
