Reply #107: AA Is Not A Treatment [View All]

AA doesn't "treat" alcoholism; that term holds out the possibility of a cure. The Big Book says explicitly that there is no cure for alcoholism; the most that can be achieved is a daily reprieve from the unmanageability of chronic drunkenness.

The steps are entirely voluntary. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking, that's all. People who choose to go back to drinking do so of their own volition, and AA doesn't even try to stop them.

I don't have figures to support this but I believe that AA is pretty effective in supporting people who have a desire to stop drinking. In fact I've never met anybody who got drunk without first changing their mind about sobriety. Bill Wilson calls that the subtle insanity that precedes the first drink. But that's what the meetings are about: if you let people in on what's going on in your head, it's likely that you won't be taken by surprise.

BTW, relief from chronic drunkenness is a huge benefit. It's what keeps alcoholics coming back to AA.