Divine intervention and the treatment of chemical dependency.
Alcoholics Anonymous and related 12-step programs are the predominant influence on chemical dependency treatment programs in the United States today. 12-step programs have a strong religious orientation, despite rationalizations that Higher Power need not mean the traditional definition of God. The teaching of religious beliefs is not a proper function of therapists treating addictions in a general population. Moreover, teaching patients they can only recover through the intervention of a Higher Power locks them into a pattern of dependence on something outside themselves in order to function. 12-step programs have helped millions of people. Even more could be helped were they to eliminate the concept of needing a Higher Power.
Ellis
A
A
Schoenfeld
E
E
D000436:Alcoholics Anonymous; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D011340:Problem Solving; D012069:Religion and Psychology; D012649:Self Concept; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*