Working a 12-Step Program for Addiction Treatment
One of the most essential parts of addiction treatment, especially for veterans in recovery, is the 12-step program. Starting the 12-step program in a treatment center can help you through the process of recovery and stay sober well after your time there.
Learn more below about what the 12 steps look like as a key part of addiction treatment and, most importantly, how this program can help you to live a free, healthy, and happy lifestyle.
The Basics of the 12-Step Program
Alcoholic Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) programs use the 12-step program to introduce skills you will need in recovery. The 12 steps encourage you to take stock of your experiences, reflect inward on any defects of character, and work to be the best person you can be.
The process of completing the 12-step program, according to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, includes:
Admitting powerlessness over the addiction
Making a decision to turn toward a higher power
Taking a personal inventory on all defects of character
Feeling ready to have a higher power remove all these defects of character
Reflecting on past mistakes
Making amends for these mistakes
Using various skills, prayers, and meditation to improve one’s sense of self
And using the skills learned during this process to help others.
Overall, it’s important to recognize just how healing it can be to go through addiction treatment with the knowledge of the 12 steps. With the steps in place, you will have the skills you need to walk yourself through future struggles.
The Basics of the 12-Step Program
Alcoholic Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) programs use the 12-step program to introduce skills you will need in recovery. The 12 steps encourage you to take stock of your experiences, reflect inward on any defects of character, and work to be the best person you can be.
The process of completing the 12-step program, according to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, includes:
Overall, it’s important to recognize just how healing it can be to go through addiction treatment with the knowledge of the 12 steps. With the steps in place, you will have the skills you need to walk yourself through future struggles.
Why Start Addiction Treatment with the 12 Steps?
Starting addiction treatment with the 12 steps is essential in achieving your long-term recovery goals. At Heroes’ Mile, we like to think of our 12-step program as setting the foundation to a house. Before you build the house, you need something to place it on—something that will hold steady, no matter what storms, situations, or changes the structure of the house goes through.
In this case, the 12 steps are the concrete. By recognizing your defects of character, you will be open to change and self-improvement. In making the decision to turn to a higher power, you will recognize that there is something to believe in that is bigger than your addiction. And to carry this message to other people who are struggling with addiction means that you will help other people who were once as vulnerable and in need of support as you.
Taking the time to go through each step will ensure that you have the foundation you need to set all of the other aspects of recovery on top of. For example, your addiction treatment might include group therapy in which you heal with other veterans who are also working toward recovery. Support groups that practice the 12-step program together often help members to feel encouraged to finish their time at the treatment facility and lean upon one another for help through any additional recovery challenges.
Other skills and services in addition to support groups you might find beneficial in your addiction treatment after working the 12-step program include:
- Supervised detox
- Veteran-focused, one-on-one therapy
- Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
- Recreational activities
- Job preparedness training
- Alumni support groups
One of the best aspects of finding a treatment center that leads with the 12 steps is that you do not have to rely only on the 12-step program to recover. There are so many other opportunities for you to explore as well. With the 12-step program and these added services, you can find the treatment options that best suit your specific needs as a veteran.
How Does the 12-Step Program Help Veterans?
Finding a treatment facility that understands veterans is vital in helping you achieve your recovery goals. While AA and NA meetings outside of treatment centers can help, veterans who struggle with addiction need additional support to fully recover.
Veterans often have other mental health concerns that need to be addressed alongside their addiction, such as anxiety, PTSD/CPTSD, depression, and more. Doing the 12 steps in a supportive environment of trained mental health professionals will first provide the basic skills you’ll need to approach mental health recovery. Then, you will have all the tools necessary to treat all ailments: physical, spiritual, and emotional.
We’re Here to Walk With You
As a veteran, you probably feel that you need to go through this recovery journey alongside people who truly understand your experiences. This is why attending a treatment facility that is built to help veterans like you is so important in achieving effective mental health and addiction treatment.
At Heroes’ Mile, we will walk you through the 12-step program, one piece at a time, so that you can create the foundation for long lasting recovery. We are a treatment center made for veterans by veterans, so we understand the long trek you have ahead of you—and we’re here to help you along the way.
Give us a call at 1-888-VET-NOW2 or fill out our confidential form to learn more about the 12-step program as well as our other mental health and addiction services.