Topic Three - mutual aid and fellowships
Motion: Mutual aid and fellowship support replace the need for treatment services
For...
Mutual aid meetings are available 24/7, are free and conditional only on participants wishing to change their addiction problem in some way. Meetings are more flexible and more widely available than addiction services. There are no time limits and support can be there throughout the lifespan.
Against...
Mutual aid groups are very important and, indeed, provide a kind of DIY Social Behaviour and Network Therapy. However, a lot of problem drinkers and drug takers have complicated medical and psychological conditions that require someone who knows how to treat these aspects of addiction.
The level of involvement with mutual aid groups in the UK contrasts with the United States where 12-step programmes in particular are much more deeply embedded in society and where, perhaps, the population as a whole has a greater interest in spirituality. The study cited below reports on the attitudes of UK addiction practitioners (n=364) toward AA and NA and the 12-step philosophy. It found:
When asked to estimate the percentage of their clients who attend either AA or NA, the response was an average of 10.6%. This figure was lowest for workers who only treated primary drug users, mean 3.5%, and higher for those treating just primary alcohol users, mean 10.4%.
39% said they felt positive about AA and NA meetings.
33% had attended at least one AA or NA meeting.
33% said that they thought their service users were suitable for an AA or NA approach.
28% said they were likely to suggest attending AA or NA
Find the full text of the article here…
Day E, Gaston RL, Furlong E, Murali V and Copello A (2005) United Kingdom substance misuse treatment workers’ attitudes toward 12-step self-help groups. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment 29: 321–327 doi:10.1016/j.jsat.2005.08.009
What are your own thoughts about mutual aid groups? How might they be useful in your practice?
