Surgeon General Confirm 12 Steps??

Not sure if you pay attention to the gap that is sometimes felt between 12-Step-based recovery and science. Even though 12-Step-based work has ushered many into long term recovery and freedom, many science communities have wanted data to back up what has been happening in church basements and recovery centers since 1935.

It seemed an impossible task, but as the national numbers are tallied in reference to the opioid crisis, communities are starting to scramble to see what works. I was actually at a meeting yesterday where over 25 key players in our community were brain storming what works and how we all need to come together.

One of the things mentioned was that the gap between "Science based" and "The 12-step- based programs". Since The Grid is a 12-stepped based approach to dealing with all forms of addiction or every day problems, I was able to shed some light on the topic.

I've been around 12-Step-based programs since 1985 and I've seen first hand how communities don't necessarily work hand in hand. Luckily for those who are dying during this opioid crisis and any other addictions, we can now use the Evidence Based Research that was published in the 2016 Surgeon General's Report to help build some bridges.

Since The Surgeon General's Report is the gold standard we can all take a deep breath knowing that it has been studied and confirmed through evidence based research that 12-step mutual aid groups are effective.

Excerpt from The Surgeons General Report on Addiction 2016 Chapter 5:

• The state of the science is varied in the recovery field.

Well-supported scientific evidence demonstrates the effectiveness of 12-step mutual aid groups focused on alcohol and 12-step facilitation interventions.

This epidemic is so big that you can't build enough jails to house all the folks who have been affected by this crisis. We need to build communities of support and recognize that there is not just one way to recover. It's time to embrace science, what works, and come together to build stronger support networks.

I am hoping that with this new research published that we can share this blog with all recovery communities, doctors, therapists, law enforcement, judges and individuals alike. This information empowers people to make educated decisions about how to move forward with programs that are time tested and proven to be effective.