Anonymous alcoholics

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Alcoholics Anonymous logo
Guide to a contact point in Ingolstadt
AA medals are awarded for a certain number of months without drinking alcohol; on the back is the serenity prayer . The purple medal is awarded for 9 months without alcohol.

Alcoholics Anonymous ( AA ) ( English Alcoholics Anonymous ) are in the United States resulting, global self-help organization for combating alcoholism . According to the AA, alcoholism is a disease that the individual cannot conquer by himself, but only with the help of a spiritual experience.

AA are organized into a large number of local groups, whose members meet regularly with the aim of finding support in abstaining from alcohol consumption . They are based on the so-called twelve-step program and usually do not work with other organizations. Your central guide is the so-called Blue Book .

history

According to the founding myth of the AA, the first AA group was constituted on June 10, 1935 in Akron , Ohio, by the self-identified alcoholics William Griffith Wilson (AA internally: "Bill W."), a New York stockbroker , and Robert Holbrook Smith ("Dr. Bob"), a local doctor. Wilson tried to persuade Smith to abstain from alcohol, using techniques from the Oxford group .

Foundation phase

As a result, the two founded the first AA groups in Akron and New York and a foundation in New York. From 1937 onwards, AA distanced itself from the Oxford Group, mainly because they rejected its missionary goals and practices.

In 1938 AA had about a hundred followers. They wrote reports about their experiences with alcohol and about their previous abstinence. These reports eventually led to the publication of the book Alcoholics Anonymous. Wilson contributed his own life story and, after the rights to the work had been transferred to him, took over the sale and promotion of the complete book.

expansion

In the wake of favorable public reporting, including an article in the Saturday Evening Post , the number of followers grew rapidly in the early 1940s, without an adequate formal organization in place. An all-group conference was established in the second half of the 1940s, but the local groups retained their autonomy.

In 1949, Narcotics Anonymous , a self-help organization against the abuse of mind-altering substances, was founded on the model of AA. AA itself expanded globally. In 1953 the first German-speaking group was initiated in Munich. The " 12 Traditions " were confirmed at the first international conference in Cleveland in 1950 .

AA's number of followers grew from 10,000 people in 300 groups in 1944 to 90,000 people in 3,000 groups in 1950 to 200,000 people in 7000 groups, of which 15,000 in 710 groups outside the USA in 1957. According to AA, there were 350,000 members in 13,000 groups in 1968.

At the AA 20th Anniversary Convention, the General Service Conference was officially authorized to succeed the Founders and act on behalf of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Worldview

The starting point of the AA worldview is the diagnosis of alcoholism as a chronic disease . The fight against alcoholism is outlined in the Twelve-Step Program , AA's most important programmatic writings. Other core elements of the AA program are anonymity , volunteering and spirituality .

Because AA aims to change the way individuals act and does not strive for social change , the group is not part of a social movement in the narrower sense and, in particular, does not belong to the abstinence movement . As an identity-transforming organization, AA can therefore be analyzed using theories of collective behavior .

Alcoholism as a disease

As part of the popular medicalization of Devianz in the first half of the 20th century , AA defined alcoholism as a chronic disease - if left untreated - fatal .

Twelve-step program

The reorientation towards abstinence, which bears traits of religious conversion , is based on the twelve-step program . In the course of the program, an identity transformation takes place: AA supporters see themselves as alcoholics and reinterpret their past in this light.

The first three steps of the twelve-step program address control and power issues , with the thesis that alcohol consumption would lead to a loss of control in alcoholics . The following six steps include suggestions for dealing with this loss of control openly and spiritually; Particular emphasis is placed on maintaining interpersonal relationships. The last three steps are then aimed at stabilizing moral conversion and abstinence behavior.

Identity Constructions

In the wake of the Twelve Steps, metanarratives have become established that AA supporters “learn” in discussion groups to construct their identity as alcoholics through imitation , without these narratives being explicitly carried out or openly sanctioned. One element of these narratives is the return to AA at a time when the person concerned is in a deep life crisis, typical examples are job loss, serious family problems, serious accidents.

Community ideology

Based on the Twelve Steps, Twelve Traditions have developed for the community level .

anonymity

Anonymity is a foundation of community and should always be a reminder to put principles above people. Anonymity in this context is an essential and defining part of the twelve traditions that govern the life of the AA community. It has three main reasons:

  • The anonymity is intended to protect the individual from his affiliation to AA becoming known to the public.
  • The anonymity avoids addressing social differences within the groups.
  • The anonymity is intended to ensure in public that individual members do not appear with their full identity in order not to endanger the spiritual basis of the AA.

spirituality

Spirituality and transcendence are important but controversial elements of the AA ideology. These elements are often used to demonstrate the religious character of AA. AA sees itself as non-denominational, but AA's traditions are rooted in Christian Protestantism ; AA is particularly successful in traditionally Protestant countries.

Some AA observers go so far as to suggest that AA is a religion. AA only denies this for utilitarian reasons, so as not to deter atheists and agnostics. In another study, little evidence was found for comparing the AA with religious cults.

Volunteering

Today AA is an established network of self-help groups in the nonprofit sector . Marc Galanter and his colleagues see the foundation for the largely voluntary work in an early fundraising attempt by Bill Wilson, who in 1938 asked John D. Rockefeller, Jr. for $ 50,000 financial aid for AA, but received only $ 5,000 to rent church rooms, and thus one prevented early professionalization .

organization

Beer mat of the Munich AA

AA has no formal membership; Formal hierarchical roles, such as that of a meeting secretary, are usually only filled in for a short time. Overall, AA is shaped by an ideology of egalitarianism , which gives local groups as well as individuals strong autonomy .

Structure of membership

Due to the informality of the membership, exact membership numbers cannot be ascertained; In 2006 it was estimated to have around two million members. AA itself does not speak internally of members, but of members: everyone who wishes to stop drinking is a member; he does not need to be abstinent for this.

There are surveys , but their representativeness is questionable. Based on these surveys, z. B. assumed a proportion of women of about 1/3.

Structure of the services

Schematic representation of the organizational structure of twelve-step groups

In principle, each group is autonomous. For things that also affect other groups or all groups, supraregional groups and services are formed. Each group can choose people they trust who take on certain services for the individual group (e.g. locksmith and treasurer). The individual group is represented externally by its “group spokesperson”.

Depending on the number of groups, the group spokespersons meet in so-called "regional groups", the regional representatives (or regional spokespersons) meet at regular intervals for an "intergroup meeting". The “intergroups” elect “intergroup spokespersons” as well as other shop stewards and clerks from among their number. Because the service of the "intergroup speaker" is a special position of trust, the "intergroup speaker" represents the respective intergroup at the Joint Service Committee (GDA). The Joint Service Committee (GDA), thus consisting of particularly trustworthy persons, forms an association that is a legal person.

The number of intermediate steps depends on how many groups or intergroups there are. As a rule, there should be no more than 20 group speakers in an intergroup to avoid inefficiency.

In the Joint Service Conference (GDK), which meets annually, the Joint Service Representatives meet; they reflect the opinions, concerns and main topics of the groups. These service representatives also enjoy the special trust of their members in AA.

No service holder has power or authority over any member. All committees can only make recommendations to their members.

The clubs

Many GDAs within a country maintain a national association. The clubs and the AA groups are formally separate and independent of one another. The legal form varies from country to country: in the United Kingdom AA is a "Ltd."; in America an "Inc.", ie AAWS Inc.

In practice, the services of the associations are chosen in their own meetings, which usually meet three to four times a year. Then the elected are formally accepted into the association (in a further election of the association). Those admitted in this way lose their anonymity and become (to the outside world) from “affected” to “relatives of affected”. According to their statutes, the associations have the task of managing the business of the AA and representing it legally.

Formally, the annual meeting of the Joint Service Conference, the legislature, the associations - executive - is not authorized to issue instructions. Should it actually happen that an association does not act in the interests of "Alcoholics Anonymous as a whole", there would be a series of sanctions.

  • The annual meeting of the Joint Service Conference (GDK) would make a motion of no confidence against the “association” with the aim of removing it from the services; Furthermore, they would recommend to their members not to pass on their donations to the association and thereby let it "starve".
  • A case of breach of trust (by the public prosecutor).
  • Resignation of their elected representatives and possibly founding of a new one.

With Alcoholics Anonymous, two terms must be kept apart from one another in organizational terms. On the one hand: Joint Service Conference (GDK), same: annual meeting of the group stewards, same: group conscience, same: legislature. On the other hand: Joint Service Committee (GDA), same as: Association (or in other countries GmbH or Inc.); executive body; business meeting several times a year, executive.

Forms of action

Meetings

The most important therapeutic form of action AAs are the so-called meetings , regular meetings of local groups. They are characterized by longer monologues between the opening and closing rituals , in which participants describe their personal experiences with alcohol consumption. These narratives strengthen one's own identity as an abstinent (or abstinent) alcoholic.

According to a qualitative study , the monologues are mostly affirmatively related to the previous speakers. Verbalized dissent is rare but important in order to resolve biographically based cognitive dissonances . The affirmation is important in order to strengthen the collective individualities and thus promote solidarity . Dissent, on the other hand, would only be brought forward carefully and mostly indirectly.

In addition, there are over 30 German-language mail and chat meetings in which alcoholics can exchange ideas based on the sequence of personal meetings (such an offer is also available in many other languages).

public relation

In public relations , e.g. B. in schools and clinics, offer Alcoholics Anonymous to describe their personal recovery path. These services are carried out on a voluntary basis, whereby great importance is always attached to the anonymity of the members. Contacts are available through the local Alcoholics Anonymous contact points and through the event announcements in the local press . In addition, many cities in industrialized countries have the option of contacting AA by telephone.

Clinics

Several psychosomatic clinics are based on the "12 steps" and work according to the Bad Herrenalber model by Walther H. Lechler . They encourage their patients to participate in the self-help groups, but they have no direct connection and are not part of AA, which do not receive financial support for using the "12 steps".

In addition to these clinics (around 5 nationwide), almost all clinics that treat addicts recommend visiting self-help groups such as AA. Information meetings are held in the respective institutions, which are intended to provide an insight into the AA's approach.

Critics of the twelve-step clinics point out that new patients are being recruited from the AA pool and other twelve-step groups for commercial interests by adopting the alcoholism model of the disease. The "Hazelden" clinics in the USA, which were founded by two AA members, are an obvious model for this type of patient recruitment.

Family disease

Relatives and close friends of alcoholics are often regarded as ill as well in the sense of AA. They align their own lives with that of the alcoholic. Alcohol consumption is downplayed towards third parties and inappropriate behavior is excused. The addict is relieved of obligations and consequences are spared as far as possible.

Groups for the relatives ( Al-Anon ) and the children ( Alateen ) of alcoholics were formed very quickly . These groups work on the same principle as AA, they use the same twelve-step program. In May 1951, Lois W. (the wife of AA co-founder Bill) and Anne B. and several other relatives founded the "Al-Anon Family Groups" in New York before the first wife came to AA.

When asked whether the alcoholic disease is hereditary, a distinction is made between genetic and social inheritance. Statistics show heredity.

rating

Efficiency

About half of all new members leave AA after a few meetings; two thirds of the remaining members remain permanently abstinent. With this, AA has earned a reputation as the most successful abstinence program, although there are no representative comparative studies between different programs against alcoholism.

A meta- study published in 2020 found that Alcoholics Anonymous’s Twelve-Step Program and its system of support groups help more participants achieve sustained abstinence than other forms of therapy. However, the study is based on data from the USA. The result may therefore possibly not be fully transferable to other countries.

Alternatives

AA is particularly unpopular among clinical practitioners for its spiritual components.

There are a number of other self-help groups with a focus on alcoholism with other approaches such as the Blue Cross , Guttempler-Orden , Kreuzbund or Freundeskreis für addict help .

literature

  • Mel Ash: The Zen of Recovery. Spiritual and therapeutic techniques on the way from addiction to freedom . Chapter: An Interpretation of the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, page 101-147, original edition: The Zen of Recovery 1993, from the American by Malte Heim , Knaur Munich 1997, ISBN 3-426-86047-3 .
  • Simone Bell-D'Avis: Does God Help Against Addiction? A fundamental theological foundation of addiction pastoral care . Chapter 9: Addiction as a Life Theme. Addiction self-help using the example of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). LIT, Münster 2004, ISBN 3-8258-8812-6 .
  • Horst Zocker: concerns: Alcoholics Anonymous. Self-help against addiction. CH Beck, Munich 1997, ISBN 3-406-42783-9

Web links

Commons : Alcoholics Anonymous  - Collection of images, videos, and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Harrison M. Trice: Alcoholics Anonymous . In: Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science . 315, 1958, ISSN  0002-7162 , pp. 108-116, p. 110.
  2. ↑ David R. Rudy, Arthur L. Greil: Is Alcoholics Anonymous a Religious Organization ?: Meditations on Marginality . In: Sociological Analysis . 50, No. 1, 1989, ISSN  0038-0210 , pp. 41-51, p. 44.
  3. ^ A b c d e Harrison M. Trice: Alcoholics Anonymous . In: Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science . 315, 1958, ISSN  0002-7162 , pp. 108-116, p. 111.
  4. ^ Charles Winick: Narcotics Addiction and Its Treatment . In: Law and Contemporary Problems . 22, No. 1, 1957, ISSN  0023-9186 , pp. 9-33, p. 27.
  5. ↑ Anton A Bucher: Psychology of Spirituality Handbook . Beltz, PVU, Weinheim; Basel 2007, ISBN 9783621276153 , p. 164.
  6. ^ Robert Kenneth Jones: Sectarian Characteristics of Alcoholics Anonymous . In: Sociology . 4, No. 2, 1970, pp. 181-195, p. 182. doi : 10.1177 / 003803857000400203 .
  7. ^ Harrison M. Trice: Alcoholics Anonymous . In: Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science . 315, 1958, ISSN  0002-7162 , pp. 108-116, p. 109.
  8. ↑ David R. Rudy, Arthur L. Greil: Is Alcoholics Anonymous a Religious Organization ?: Meditations on Marginality . In: Sociological Analysis . 50, No. 1, 1989, ISSN  0038-0210 , pp. 41-51, p. 48.
  9. ^ Carole Cain: Personal Stories: Identity Acquisition and Self-Understanding in Alcoholics Anonymous . In: ethos . 19, No. 2, 1991, ISSN  0091-2131 , pp. 210-253, p. 213.
  10. ^ Robert Kenneth Jones: Sectarian Characteristics of Alcoholics Anonymous . In: Sociology . 4, No. 2, 1970, pp. 181-195, p. 185. doi : 10.1177 / 003803857000400203 .
  11. ^ Carole Cain: Personal Stories: Identity Acquisition and Self-Understanding in Alcoholics Anonymous . In: ethos . 19, No. 2, 1991, ISSN  0091-2131 , pp. 210-253, p. 217.
  12. ^ A b Carole Cain: Personal Stories: Identity Acquisition and Self-Understanding in Alcoholics Anonymous . In: ethos . 19, No. 2, 1991, ISSN  0091-2131 , pp. 210-253, p. 222.
  13. ↑ a b c James M Nelson: Psychology, religion, and spirituality . Springer, New York, NY 2009, ISBN 9780387875729 , p. 371. Carole Cain: Personal Stories: Identity Acquisition and Self-Understanding in Alcoholics Anonymous . In: ethos . 19, No. 2, 1991, ISSN 0091-2131 , pp. 210-253, p. 213.
     
  14. ^ Carole Cain: Personal Stories: Identity Acquisition and Self-Understanding in Alcoholics Anonymous . In: ethos . 19, No. 2, 1991, ISSN  0091-2131 , pp. 210-253, pp. 222ff.
  15. ^ Carole Cain: Personal Stories: Identity Acquisition and Self-Understanding in Alcoholics Anonymous . In: ethos . 19, No. 2, 1991, ISSN  0091-2131 , pp. 210-253, p. 225.
  16. ↑ James M Nelson: Psychology, religion, and spirituality . Springer, New York, NY 2009, ISBN 9780387875729 , pp. 370f.
  17. ↑ Oliver R. Whitley: Life With Alcoholics Anonymous. The Methodist Class. Meeting as a paradigm . In: Journal of Studies on Alcohol . 38, August, pp. 831-848.
  18. ^ Robert E. Tournier: Alcoholics Anonymous as Treatment and as Ideology . In: Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs , Vol 40, Issue 03: March 1979.
  19. ^ KB Wright: Shared ideology in Alcoholics Anonymous: a grounded theory approach. In: Journal of health communication. Volume 2, Number 2, 1997 Apr-Jun, pp. 83-99, doi : 10.1080 / 108107397127806 , PMID 10977242 .
  20. ^ Thomasina Borkman: The Twelve-Step Recovery Model of AA: A voluntary mutual help association . In: Research on Alcoholics Anonymous and Spirituality in Addiction Recovery . 18, 2008, pp. 9-35, p. 9.
  21. ^ Marc Galanter, Lee Ann Kaskutas: Research on Alcoholics Anonymous and spirituality in addiction recovery . Springer, Totowa, NJ 2008, ISBN 9780387777245 , p. 45.
  22. ^ Harrison M. Trice: Alcoholics Anonymous . In: Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science . 315, 1958, ISSN  0002-7162 , pp. 108-116, p. 108.
  23. ^ Harrison M. Trice, Paul Michael Roman: Delabeling, Relabeling, and Alcoholics Anonymous . In: Social Problems . 17, No. 4, 1970, ISSN  0037-7791 , pp. 538-546, pp. 544.
    Bernard J. Gorrow: The Alcoholic in Industrial Society: A Sample Study of the Program of Alcoholics Anonymous . In: The Midwest Sociologist . 19, No. 1, 1956, ISSN  1948-1586 , pp. 28-32, pp. 30f.
  24. ^ Ilkka Arminen: Sharing Experiences: Doing Therapy with the Help of Mutual References in the Meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous . In: The Sociological Quarterly . 39, No. 3, 1998, ISSN  0038-0253 , pp. 491-515, pp. 492f.
  25. ^ A b Ilkka Arminen: Sharing Experiences: Doing Therapy with the Help of Mutual References in the Meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous . In: The Sociological Quarterly . 39, No. 3, 1998, ISSN  0038-0253 , pp. 491-515, p. 495.
  26. ^ Ilkka Arminen: Sharing Experiences: Doing Therapy with the Help of Mutual References in the Meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous . In: The Sociological Quarterly . 39, No. 3, 1998, ISSN  0038-0253 , pp. 491-515, p. 506.
    Bernard J. Gorrow: The Alcoholic in Industrial Society: A Sample Study of the Program of Alcoholics Anonymous . In: The Midwest Sociologist . 19, No. 1, 1956, ISSN  1948-1586 , pp. 28-32.
  27. ^ Ilkka Arminen: Sharing Experiences: Doing Therapy with the Help of Mutual References in the Meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous . In: The Sociological Quarterly . 39, No. 3, 1998, ISSN  0038-0253 , pp. 491-515, p. 507.
  28. ↑ Alcoholism is a family disease. Märkische Allgemeine, March 28, 2017, accessed October 31, 2017 .
  29. ↑ Al-Anon Family Groups (Ed.): Many Voices, One Journey . 1st edition. 2012, ISBN 978-0-9815017-7-2 , pp. 426 , page 9 (Annie S.) and page 18 (Anne B.) .
  30. ↑ Angela Stoll: Children of alcoholics have a significantly higher risk of addiction. Augsburger Allgemeine, October 27, 2015, accessed on October 31, 2017 .
  31. ↑ Wendy Moelker: Alcoholism and Heredity. http://web4health.info , May 15, 2015, accessed October 31, 2017 .
  32. ↑ Can alcoholism be inherited? Trokkenpresse.de, April 2016, accessed on October 31, 2017 .
  33. ↑ James M Nelson: Psychology, religion, and spirituality . Springer, New York, NY 2009, ISBN 9780387875729 , pp. 371f.
  34. ↑ Michael Winkelman: Alternative and traditional medicine approaches for substance abuse programs: a shamanic perspective . In: International Journal of Drug Policy . 12, No. 4, 2001, pp. 337-351, pp. 338. doi : 10.1016 / S0955-3959 (01) 00100-1 .
    Carole Cain: Personal Stories: Identity Acquisition and Self-Understanding in Alcoholics Anonymous . In: ethos . 19, No. 2, 1991, ISSN  0091-2131 , pp. 210-253, pp. 212f.
  35. ^ John F Kelly, Keith Humphreys, Marica Ferri: Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12-step programs for alcohol use disorder . In: Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews . March 11, 2020, doi : 10.1002 / 14651858.CD012880.pub2 , PMID 32159228 , PMC 7065341 (free full text) - ( wiley.com [accessed April 6, 2020]).
  36. ↑ James M Nelson: Psychology, religion, and spirituality . Springer, New York, NY 2009, ISBN 9780387875729 , p. 372.