A Brief History Of The 12 Step Movement

The first 12 Step program was Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), which was formed in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith.  (shown in sidebar to the left)  The 12 Steps were originally written by Wilson and other early members of A.A. to document and codify the process that they felt had worked for them personally. The 12 steps were essentially a rewriting of the 6 steps of the Oxford Group, with whom Bill Wilson had previous contact.

The resulting book called "Alcoholics Anonymous" (shown in the sidebar to the left) is often referred to as the "Big Book" by members.  As we mentioned, one of the products available in our Products & Programs section is a dictionary for the "Big Book," appropriately titled "The Big Words In The Big Book."  This dictionary was compiled because among other things, the "Big Book" was written in 1939 and contains a great many terms that are virtually unrecognizable to someone under the age of twenty or twenty-five.

At any rate, the actual 12 steps of A.A. are contained within the "Big Book" in Chapter Five entitled "How It Works,." and we've shown them a little further down.  It's on these "steps" and the principles and concepts within the steps that the entire 12 step philosophy is based on.

Eventually, the 12 Steps gave birth to The Twelve Traditions, which are a set of guidelines for running individual groups and AA as a whole.  Alcoholics Anonymous spawned many other "Anonymous" type groups who modified AA's original 12 steps to better suit their particular needs.  Cocaine Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous are the two largest of these off-shoots of AA.

One organization "Narconon," is often mistaken for "Narcotics Anonymous." Narcotics Anonymous is a legitimate 12 step fellowship.  Narconon is not a 12 step based group, it's affiliated with the Church Of Scientology.  As a result, it uses the Scientology doctrine and their practices as a therapy for drug abusers. Narconon does not use the 12 steps, and is not related to Narcotics Anonymous.

The 12 Step Philosophy

The 12 Steps outline what the founding members felt were required for someone to achieve and maintain sobriety.  Where the most people have the most difficulty in dealing with the 12 Step philosophy is the mere mention of the word "God."  For those who have negative feelings about organized religion, this can be a problem.

Although A.A. stresses that you have to develop reliance on a "God of your understanding," or stated even more generically, "A Higher Power," some people just can't get around that.  At any rate, it's all just metaphors to us, but if you've really got a problem in that area, you'll have to resolve that before jumping in head first to a 12 step type group.

So here are the 12 Steps, which are found in the "Big Book" of Alcoholics Anonymous, Chapter 5, entitled "How It Works."

The 12 Steps Of Alcoholics Anonymous

1.   We admitted we were powerless over alcohol - that our lives had become unmanageable.

2.   Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

3.   Made a decision to to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

4.   Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

5.   Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being, the exact nature of our wrongs.

6.   Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

7.   Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

8.   Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.

9.   Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him,

       praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics,

       and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

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