Albert Ellis THE HAPPY HUMANIST Rational Recovery and the Addiction to 12-Step Therapies

Several alternative self-help organizations to We have considerable testimonial Alcoholics Anonymous have sprung up during evidence, therefore, that AA and other 12-step the last several years. This article will discuss programs help a good number of people. But we one of them: Rational Recovery System, which do not know whether the content of these was started in 1976 by Jack Trimpey, a licensed programs leads to their presumed benefits or social worker. Rational Recovery now has whether those benefits stem from a new belief groups in over 360 cities throughout the United system their adherents adopt. Furthermore, we States and abroad; its headquarters is in Lotus, do not know whether greater benefits would be California (Box 800, Lotus, CA 95652; 916-621- derived from alternate self-help programs. Just 2667). as soon as we acknowledge the possible While there are few data other than effectiveness of 12-step programs, we had testimonials available, attendance at AA better also recognize their serious failings and meetings and belief in 12-Step programs have lapses. probably helped great numbers of people to First of all, AA is clearly a religious overcome their harmful addictions to alcohol and organization, in spite of its allegations that its other substances and to lead happier and group members need only pray and meditate “to emotionally healthier lives. But, alas, the same improve our conscious contact with God as we thing can be said when disturbed people understand Him.” Steps 2,3,5,6,7,11, and 12 of devoutly follow various dubious groups and its 12-step program explicitly endorse God with cults, such as those promoted by the Christian a capital G, advocate allegiance to a Higher flagellants, the Moslem dervishes, the Hebrew Power (capitalized again!), or call for a “spiritual cabalists, and the Catholic Inquisition. Literally awakening.” And the other five steps, though millions of people have made themselves less they include some sensible advice to help anxious and depressed by swearing allegiance addicts, strongly hint that only dependency on to extremist religious and political gurus-ranging some supernatural entities and on Christian-like from Rasputin and Adolf Hitler to Jim Jones and salvation, atonement, and redemption will Tammy Baker-who dogmatically believed that enable one to stop and continue to desist from they could save the world for their fervent drinking. followers. Clearly, then, AA groups are no haven The point is that none of these prophets for millions of secular humanists, agnostics, had magical curative powers; nor did the sacred atheists, feminists, and other nonreligionists-nor views that they passionately promulgated to for many religionists who see that humans can hordes of gullible followers. But the faith of their help themselves without relying on any higher adherents obviously helped these troubled powers. Because AA often zealously people to change themselves and to give up all proselytizes for its endorsement of divine kinds of harmful addictions. Similarly, people’s intervention, it turns off thousands-and quite intense belief in a wide variety of implausible possibly millions- of potential adherents who creeds and nostrums frequently help them might profitably join a self-help group to combat change their dysfunctional thoughts, feelings, their harmful addictions. Almost every and actions. Witness, for example, the fervent psychotherapist and physician encounters many testimonials that innumerable people keep alcoholics who attended AA groups for a few giving for cults, superstitions, and hoaxes like sessions, only to be turned off by their religious astrology, shamanism, psychic surgery, fortune and spiritual approach, and who fought telling, channeling, witchcraft, communications vigorously against attending more meetings from ghosts, satanism, and demonism.

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even though some court or medical authority – The use of psychotropic medication by insists that they do so. addicts is wrong and almost certainly leads To make matters worse, AA subscribes to readdiction. to many rules and cannons about alcoholism – Endless cathartic confession at AA meetings that are controversial, questionable, and is the best form of treatment for alcoholism. sometimes iatrogenic. The 12-step programs strongly state or imply these dubious points: While AA subscribes to a number of questionable ideas, it has many good points and – Alcoholism is unquestionably a disease and has served hundreds of thousands of problem takes a single, invariant course which ends drinkers very well since it was founded in 1935. in total abstinence or death. Many of its tenets and practices are quite – Addicts can never stop their addictions sensible and practical and overlap with the outside of 12-step programs. rational-emotive therapy concepts that are used – Once “alcoholics: stop drinking, a single by Rational Recovery. Thus, like RET, AA drink will lead to total relapse and send them includes the following rational ideas: to skid row. – Problem drinkers need a higher power to quit – It sometimes looks for and tries to combat drinking; if they are not theists, they can use compulsive drinkers’ dysfunctional beliefs. anything (beauty, justice, an ashtray, a tree, – It uses many educational and bibliotherapy etc.) as the power to which to turn over their procedures. lives. – It advocates some nondisturbing beliefs, – Addicts can only properly be treated by other such as “Make plans but don’t think that you recovering addicts. have to plan the results and have to achieve – Children of “alcoholics,” even as adults, are them.” invariably disturbed and have to go through – It uses many coping statements, such as 12-step programs themselves in order to “Live and let live.” lead sensible, happy lives. – It follows many self-help procedures and – Spouses and close relatives of alcoholics are urges active homework. “codependents” who must be indoctrinated – It emphasizes the serenity prayer of with 12-step programs and materials. Reinhold Niebuhr: “Give me the courage – AA members, to stay off booze, must attend what I can change, the serenity to accept regular AA meetings practically forever. what I cannot change, and the wisdom to – All effective programs for addicts must have know the difference.” Whereas RET, strong religious or spiritual elements. Faith- however, uses this as a philosophy and not not reason-must prevail in these programs. as a prayer, AA uses it as an appeal to God. – “Alcoholics” who refuse to keep coming to – It believes that most conventional “past- AA meetings or who disagree with the 12- oriented” therapies do not help people to step program are seriously disturbed stop drinking and maintain abstinence and deniers. that new thinking and changed behavior can – Addicts can overcome their emotional aid these goals. disturbances with AA meetings instead of with psychotherapy. As can be seen, AA has many good (we – “Alcoholics” never really recover from their could even say rational) philosophies and addiction; they remain “recovering” addicts procedures. It never meant to coerce members for the rest of their lives. and participants. Many of its limitations follow – “Alcoholics” who no longer drink but are still what humans do when their ideology is founded anxious, depressed, or manic are on religious faith-not on reality and “drydrunks” who need still more 12-step experimentation-and is taken to devout treatment rather than psychotherapy. extremes. On both religious and nonreligious grounds, AA and other 12-step programs have

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limited value and sometimes, because of their self-damnation-that frequently drives them to devout orientations, can be said to lead to drink even more. Also, because of their selfaddiction to the 12-step process itself. So, castigation for being addicted, problem drinkers despite its distinct advantages (and despite the frequently minimize their serious drinking likelihood that some substance abusers would problems and resort to many rationalizations not have stopped their addictions without its and denials about their drinking. help), AA has distinct limitations. Consequently, In the course of RR meetings, the ABCs several non-higher power groups have been of alcoholism and its related emotional and established during the 1980s which serve as behavioral disturbances are discussed and the alternatives to AA. These include, in addition to RET techniques of actively, forcefully disputing Rational Recovery, the Secular Organizations (D) the members’ dysfunctional beliefs are for Sobriety, Methods of Moderation, and Men taught and practiced. Jack Trimpey’s Rational and Women for Sobriety. Recovery from Alcoholism: The Small Book and As might be expected, I favor Rational other RET-oriented self-help books, pamphlets, Recovery because it is the only self-help group cassettes, and materials are steadily used, that not only has no religious or spiritual examined, and applied to the members’ orientation but also solidly links its program to addiction and to their other problems. A number rational-emotive therapy and cognitive-behavior of cognitive, emotive and behavioral techniques therapy. RR groups are educational rather than of RET are practiced, with the goal of showing therapy groups and, although members pay no the participants how to think, feel, and act more fees, each group tries to be closely connected appropriately and to achieve their personal with a professional consultant who is trained in goals. Members are thereby helped preferably to RET. The consultant or advisor need not have a make a profound philosophic change that will history of addiction or attend every single RR promote their continued sobriety and minimize meeting. He or she tries to help the group their general disturbance. Ideally, they will members learn the basic principles and become significantly less disturbable and, after practices of RET and to apply them to disputing being in RR for a while-though hardly forever!the irrational beliefs that were instrumental in will often prevent themselves from emotionally driving them to drink and in blocking their upsetting themselves in the future. achievement of sobriety. Rational Recovery, as can be seen, is RR holds that, although problem drinking more of a self-help than a support group and in and substance abuse have many biological and this respect is much closer to Recovery Inc., social origins, much of the thinking of than it is to AA. It differs from AAA in several “alcoholics” follows the famous ABCs of RET other important aspects: and CBT. According to RET theory, many (not all) problem drinkers first tend to bring about – It doesn’t endorse the disease concept of dysfunctional consequences Cs), such as “alcoholism.” anxiety and depression, when unfortunate – It sees its members’ participation in RR as activating events or adversities (As) occur in time-limited and discourages their perpetual their lives. They do this mainly by constructing dependence on RR meetings. irrational or self-defeating beliefs (Bs). Second, – It recommends lifetime abstinence when they then tend to construct additional irrational there have been repeated failures to beliefs (iBs) about their feelings of depression exercise moderation but recognizes that and anxiety-especially “I must not be anxious! I some problem drinkers can and do learn to can’t stand this anxiety!”- and consequently take drink moderately and responsibly. to drinking in order to allay their pain. Third, – It accepts the treatment of addicts by problem drinkers often take their secondary counselors and therapists who have never consequence-“alcoholism” – and create more themselves been addicted. irrational beliefs about that, such as “I must not – It doesn’t see all children of alcoholics as be an alcoholic. What a worm I am for drinking emotionally disturbed, nor all their close too much!” This creates a tertiary consequence- relatives as disturbed codependents. Instead

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of Codependents Anonymous groups, it RR, unlike AA, welcomes research on the soon will sponsor generic self-help groups effectiveness of self-help groups, including RR where members learn how to stop being too itself, in helping addicts stop their substance dependent upon anyone or anything, abuse and stay stopped and is therefore including RR meetings. cooperating in studies to evaluate its therapeutic – It has no objection to its members using a results-studies such as are now in progress at religious or spiritual orientation to help the Harvard University Medical School and the themselves with their addiction and other New York University Medical School. problems, but it takes a completely pro- Following the theory of RET, RR teaches its choice attitude and holds that problem participants unconditional acceptance of drinkers do not need any support from a themselves and others and shows them how to higher power and that they clearly have the evaluate their thoughts, feelings, and actions, ability to change themselves without any but not to measure or devalue their self or spiritual support. It encourages them to rely personhood. on their own capacities to make meaningful, Rational Recovery-and the other addiction existential, and philosophic alterations in recovery groups that are without any religious or their lives-and if they want to invoke gods or spiritual tenets-are by no means the only answer spiritual forces in the process, that is their to the problem of helping people to overcome prerogative rather than their necessitude. their serious addictions. The 12-step programs – It recommends some form of intensive obviously have some excellent results and are individual or group psychotherapy-especially not likely, in the near future, to go out of RET or some other mode of cognitive- business. But as RR continues to grow and to behavior therapy-as a highly important part serve large numbers of participants, it will be of the anti-addictive process and encourages valuable to discover just how effective an antiits members to explore and change the addictional program is that places no emphasis feelings and behaviors that led to their on a higher power and that attempts to addiction and that keep them at risk for incorporate in its self-help procedures specific relapses. rational-emotive and cognitive-behavioral – It recognizes that problem drinking and the therapeutic methods. emotional disturbances that frequently Here’s a selection of material that you accompany it often have biochemical and might find helpful: biological, as well as psychological and social, aspects, and it therefore often – The Essential Albert Ellis by Windy Dryden encourages the combined use of (New York: Springer Publishing Company, psychotherapy and medication to help 1990). addicted persons. – The Practice of Rational-Emotive Therapy by Rational recovery is opposed to the one- Albert Ellis and Windy Dryden (New York: party system for helping problem drinkers- Springer Publishing Company, 1987). meaning AA and its higher power indoctrinationand strongly favors a democratic multiparty – Rational-Emotive Therapy with Alcoholics system that may well include AA plus other anti- and Substance Abusers by Albert Ellis, John addiction groups which aim to provide a meeting McInernery et al. (New York:Pergamon, ground for people who want nothing to do with 1988). any kind of higher power and who want to rely on themselves and other humans to achieve and – “Divine Intervention and the Treatment of maintain sobriety. RR particularly opposes the Chemical Dependency,” by Albert Ellis and unconstitutional stand of many courts and public Eugene Schoenfeld, Journal of Substance agencies that now force alcoholics to join Abuse (1990) 2:459-468. religiously oriented 12-step programs and dictatorially give them no nonreligious choice.

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– When AA Doesn’t Work For You: A rational Guide for Quitting Alcohol by Albert Ellis and – Rational Recovery from Fatness-The Small Emmett Velten (New York: Barricade Book by Jack and Lois Trimpy (Lotus, CA: Books). 1990).

– The Truth About Addiction and Recovery by Stanton Peele and Archie Brodsky (New Albert Ellis is president of the Institute for Rational- York: Simon and Schuster, 1991). Emotive Therapy, 45 East 65th Street, New York, NY 10021-6593. He is the founder of RET and is – Rational Recovery From Addiction- The considered the “grandfather” of cognitive-behavior Small Book by Jack Trimpy (New York: Dell therapy. Books, 1992).

Source: The Humanist, Nov./Dec., 1992

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