What Kinds Of Psychological Transformation AA Members Undergo Essay

What Kinds Of Psychological Transformation AA Members Undergo - Essay Example Their mysterious 12-step program is promoted as one of the most effective methods for the treatment of addiction by many professionals and researchers. Ironically, nobody knows exactly how the steps work for addiction and why the method is so life changing for its members. What will AA members experience during the AA activity? The psychological transformation among AA members may answer this question. That is why we have to look at the 12-steps closely and study how it applies to alcoholics and their inner journey from seeking help, to conquering alcoholism, to achieve sobriety. A member who completed the 12-steps program is most likely to experience the whole psychological transformation as he achieves sobriety towards the end. The 12-steps and 12 traditions are the primary tenets of AA. The 12 traditions are known as the perspective of AA. This keeps AA anonymous, non-religious and non-profit. The 12 steps can be defined as a step-by-step program for members to follow. Once a member strictly follows the first step, then he can move on and begin with the second. After he goes through all steps and understand and embodies all of the steps, he will achieve long term sobriety. When a person participates in the program, he undergoes a great transformation than will lead him to stop drinking. Those experiences include admitting powerlessness, appeal for the â€Å"higher power†, confession and a new social relationship. Although the actual success rate of AA is hard to estimate, some researchers have found realistic data to reflect how AA succeeds. Hal Arkowitz and Scott Lilienfeld, in their online article, â€Å"Does Alcoholics Anonymous Work?† describe the statistic about AA. The authors cite an investigation called â€Å"Project Match†, issued in 1997 proves that AA is effective in achieving sobriety through abstinence. The experiment divided more than 900 alcoholics into three different therapies. One is mainly 12-steps program associated with a