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Can Self-Help Organizations be Effective in the Long-Term Management of Substance Abuse

Disorders Coupled with Mental Illness?

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) was the first self-help group to be founded in the United States. For the first time, hopeless alcoholics could go to their peers and not be judged as immoral. Most other support groups in existence now have similar values and philosophies to those of AA, so I will give a brief overview of the organization.

First there was AA

When one of the founders of AA went to Carl Jung for help, as an alcoholic, Jung told him there was nothing he could do either physically or psychologically for his addiction. When Jung told him to seek spiritual help, Rowland H. sought out the Oxford group, the Christian group AA is based upon.

(The A.A. Grapevine, Inc., 2010)

Twelve Steps

The twelve steps AA endorses involve taking responsibility for one’s actions. If you put yourself in a place where you can drink when you know you cannot control it, you cannot blame being drunk on anyone but yourself. There are also amends to be made to loved ones and family you neglected or abused, or asked to support you in your drunkenness (The A.A. Grapevine, Inc., 2010).

No Man is an Island

As an ongoing member of AA, one is expected to continually give back to the community, sponsor and support members of the group, and serve where needed in the alcoholic community, as well as his community of residence.

Giving Back

It is because of AA’s efforts and successes that alcoholism, and ultimately addiction, has received recognition as an illness, breaking ground for a new understanding and subsequent medical studies of addictions. (The A.A. Grapevine, Inc., 2010)

Addiction

Still, there were many failures in the organization, those who continued to relapse even though they worked the program faithfully, both in AA and its sister Narcotics Anonymous, founded in 1954. No one understood why the program worked so well for some and not for others. It was not until very recently that professionals realized there could be a combined substance abuse disorder and a mental illness (Vederhus, 2006).

Relapse

Recently, professionals theorized that many of those suffering with a substance abuse disorder may have been self-medicating to alleviate the symptoms of an underlying mental illness. Subsequent research has proven this out, as over 50% of alcoholics requesting treatment for their addictions were found to have a comorbid personality disorder (PD) (Fleury, 2011).

Dual diagnoses

Double Trouble in Recovery Dual Disorders Anonymous Dual Recovery Anonymous

Some self-help groups for dual disorders

The studies have looked at the importance of consistent attendance in the more recently formed specialized groups in the subjects’ abstinence, but there may be other attributable factors determining success (Kelly, 2011). First, many of the groups have a spiritual application, which can directly affect the confidence of the patient and his wish for a change in lifestyle. Secondly, the patient’s diagnosis can directly affect his success, as schizophrenic and bipolar patients are least successful in recovery efforts (Knight E. P., 2006). Finally, there is going to be a difference in the etiology of each subject. His background, the length of time he has used substances, his physical condition, and the level of support he receives outside his group will all affect his success at abstinence (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/, 2007).

Consistent attendance assists in recovery

As far as the research goes that has been reviewed, there is a justification in dually-diagnosed patients’ attendance of the customized self-help programs. These are very new to the field of substance abuse, as is the discovery that a large proportion of all those suffering from substance abuse suffer also from another disorder. Consequently, we will not see many long- term effects of these programs at this time, but the short-term effects are hopeful. As we study more, the programs can become more successful, giving hope to many who had none in the past.

A good beginning

Brady. K., M. P. (2002, March 2002). Comorbidity of substance use and axis I psychiatric disorders . Retrieved from: Medscape Psychiatry & Mental Health eJournal: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/430610

Els, C. &. (2007).Addiction is a mental disorder, best managed in a (public) mental health setting-but our system is failing us/addiction is treated by all domains of our society/response to Dr. Campbell/response to Dr Els: The new psychiatry will treat the disordered mind . Canadian Journal of Psychiatry , 167-69.

Fleury, M. G. (2011, June 29). Typology of Adults Diagnosed with Mental Disorders Based on Socio-demographics and Clinical and Service Use Characteristics. Retrieved from WebMD: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/745057

kap.samhsa.gov. (1994). Treatment for alcohol and other drug abuse: Opportunities for coordination. Retrieved from Technical Assistance Publication (TAP) Series 11: http://kap.samhsa.gov/products/manuals/taps/11j.htm

Kelly, J. &. (2011). The role of mutual-help groups in extending the framework of treatment. Alcohol Research and Health , 350-55.

Knight, E. (2006). Self-help and serious mental illness: What mutual support groups are available? . Retrieved from MedScape General Medicine, (8): http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/519009

References

Laudet, A. C. (2004). Social Support Mediates the Effects of Dual-Focus Mutual Aid Groups on Abstinence from Substance Use. American Journal of Community Psychology , 175–185. .

Perron, B. B. (2010). Treatment Guidelines for Substance Use Disorders and Serious Mental Illnesses: Do They Address Co-occurring Disorders. Substance use and Misuse , 1262-1278.

The A.A. Grapevine, Inc. (2010). Alcoholics anonymous information. Retrieved from Alcoholics Anonymous: http://www.aa.org/lang/en/subpage.cfm?page=1

Vederhus, J. &. (2006, December 05). High effectiveness of self-help programs after drug addiction therapy. Retrieved from WebMD: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/547553

Vogel, H. K. (1998). Double trouble in recovery: Self-help for people with dual diagnoses. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal , 356-365.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/. (2007). The Effect of 12 Step Fellowship Based Participation in Abstinence Among Dually Diagnosed Persons: A Two Year Longitudinal Study. Retrieved from PubMed Central: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1797895/

www.soberrecovery.com. (2011). Retrieved from The Sober Recovery Community: http://www.soberrecovery.com/

Reference Continued