Why We Don't Use the 12-Steps in Our Recovery Efforts

A cool response to a hot-button issue

People often ask me why we don’t incorporate Alcoholics Anonymous’s 12 steps into our recovery work. I have yet to find a good way to answer that question. Most of the time, I ramble for a few minutes, wishing I was talking about something else.

This post is my attempt to develop a better answer.

I have reasons—lots of solid and scientifically valid reasons for not using the 12 Steps. in my work with people in recovery. Three and half years of a research-intensive graduate program have taught me how to sift through scientific journals and weigh the evidence for and against programs of any type. If I were so inclined, I could dismantle the 12-step cult by providing week after week of posts filled with valid and compelling reasons why the claims of AA are exaggerated and should be viewed with skepticism.

But reason, logic, and evidence aren’t that helpful in this situation.

They can turn the conversation into a debate and cause me to feel about my conversation partner the way Spock feels about having to work closely with humans. Spock, “I find humanity’s illogic and emotions to be a constant irritant.”

It’s not a good look. And it is not how I want to approach fellow travelers in the recovery world.

A Marketing Approach

Rory Southerland’s brand of creative thinking feels more comfortable to me. Before I attended graduate school, I was a creative weirdo rather than a scientist. And the land of creativity continues to be my native soil.

When I put on my Rory Southerland cap, I think of Resilient Recovery operating in a marketplace rather than a scientific journal. My Rory cap also triggers something else that is very useful when describing why Resilient Recovery doesn’t use the 12 steps: The Jack of All Trades Bias.

The Jack of all trades bias

According to Rory, we are turned off by products and services that try to do too much. It’s as if we instinctually know that being a master of something requires single-minded devotion and sacrifice. So, when we see a place that tries to do everything, we naturally think, “I bet they’re at best competent at those things, but there is no way they are superb at any of them.”

Sony Walkman

Rory feels the success of the Sony Walkman is a remarkable example of the Jack of All Trades bias working FOR a company. It turns out that when designing the Sony Walkman the chief designer argued against adding a record button to the device. In Rory’s mind, this was a bit of pure genius. He says that any economist or accountant would add the record button. It would have cost a dollar per device but would give the Walkman more functionality. Adding a record button is what many would call “A no-brainer.”

But Rory asks us to remember that before the Walkman was invented, no one had seen a Walkman. Today, we see people walking or jogging with headphones all the time. But, in the early 80s, walking around with headphones on was odd behavior. Thus, the Walkman needed to communicate its function so clearly that even a caveman could grasp its function immediately upon picking it up. If it had a record button, the Walkman’s purpose would have been watered down, and the fad would not have taken off like it did.

Chick-fil-A

I would make the same argument for Chick-fil-A. One of the best qualities of Chick-fil-A is that they DO NOT sell burgers. It would be perfectly logical for them to offer at least one cow-based sandwich. Then, when people at the office are deciding where to eat lunch, Chic-fil-A could capture a few more customers because if someone says, “I don’t feel like chicken today,” the group could still go to Chick-fil-A and make everyone happy. But they don’t sell burgers.

What business prognosticators might have perceived as Chick-fil-A’s weakness is actually its biggest asset. Less [menu items] is more, in this case.

So why don’t we use the twelve steps?

We don’t use the 12 steps for the same reason the Walkman didn’t have a record button, and Chick-fil-A doesn’t sell burgers. The 12 steps would detract from our focus. We don’t aspire to meet every need an addict has. We don’t have tips and suggestions for every challenge. We haven’t solved the problem of addiction.

We are a Bible study on the topic of addiction. That’s it.

People in recovery have unique spiritual needs, and our goal is to address them through bread-and-butter Christianity. We discuss light and darkness, cleanliness and stains, along with little children, seeds, and sowers. We (re)introduce people to Marys and Marthas, Peters and Pauls, and tax collectors and Pharisees. Regardless of our topic, the cross is central to everything we do. It is the flex point of our faith and its central image.

We're not taking AA's menu and adding a Christian twist; we're striving to construct something thoroughly Christian, built from the vernacular materials of our faith tradition.

To say it less triumphantly, we can’t outstep the 12 steps just like Chick-fil-A won’t ever outcompete McDonald’s, and the Walkman will never be a great audio recorder. And that’s OK. Without any ill feelings toward the 12 steps, we’re fine being nothing more than a Bible study on addiction.