The Benefits of Using the Twelve Steps From Day One

There is a belief held by many in the recovery field that a person can only recover if they are willing. This may seem obvious on its surface, but there is more to this concept than that surface level. Willingness is more than simply showing up. Willingness lies in rigorous honesty, and it is only when this rigorous honesty is present that your guest’s recovery potential becomes most probable. This probable time also leaves you an opening to introduce the Twelve Steps.

The comedian George Carlin once mused that a person becomes most receptive to new ideas when they are laughing. Well, for those struggling with active addiction, the individual often becomes most receptive to help when they are at their lowest point. For those of us in the recovery realm, this is often referred to as “hitting rock bottom.”

However, as “insensitive” as it may seem to see its benefits, this “rock bottom” can be your guest’s saving grace. There is a precious period of vulnerability that exists when an individual first chooses to seek help for addiction. However, this period is limited. Thus it must be utilized to its fullest. By introducing the concept of the Twelve Steps in tandem with your treatment plan, you can significantly increase your guest’s chances of a successful recovery.

Creating a Recovery Foundation With the Twelve Steps

There is a misconception held by many that a 12-Step program is something that must come after other initial forms of other treatment. While yes, this order does often happen, it certainly does not have to. The Twelve Steps are something that can be utilized by anyone once they are ready to recover. Also, most would agree that the sooner implemented, the better.

For those new to recovery or returning after a relapse, it is apt to remember that they are there because their life has become unmanageable. As healthcare professionals, you can only take them so far back to that manageability. You can get them clinical care for their bodies. You can offer them therapy for their mental and emotional state. However, what is missing from the professional sphere is the ability to offer a spiritual solution.

No, as a healthcare professional, it is not your prerogative to provide spiritual guidance to your guests. However, you can offer this spiritual opportunity simply by making the Twelve Steps available to your guests. Even if you are not a spiritual person yourself, don’t be dissuaded. Spirituality is not a requirement for recovery, and in directing clients toward the Twelve Steps, you are directing them toward many more positive aspects than just spiritual recovery.

Strengthing a Recovery Foundation With the Twelve Steps

It’s been said that “The Twelve Steps are simple directions for complicated people.” As healthcare professionals, you know as well as anyone how complicated the transition from active addiction to recovery can be. This is most likely a primary purpose of your treatment plan. You want to uncomplicate a guest’s life so that recovery can take president over all else. The Twelve Steps can help with this.

There is also a misconception that 12-Step recovery does not work well with outside influences. This is potentially understandable as 12-Step programs run on a policy of “attraction rather than promotion.” However, this simply means that 12-Step members do not solicit their solution; they merely make it available for anyone that seeks it.

With better education on the Twelve Steps and 12-Step programs, healthcare professionals can come to see that this way of recovery can work wonders alongside other treatment plans. This most likely includes yours as well.

Building Onto a Recovery Foundation With the Twelve Steps

Recovery is about much more than getting sober. Of course, that is a pivotal part and a miraculous milestone of recovery, but sobriety is in danger if nothing is shielding it from the outside world. As healthcare professionals, you know the potential dangers of the outside world for the newly recovered.

Go to enough 12-Step meetings, and you’re bound to hear the phrase, “It works if you work it.” There’s a reason that trope is uttered so often. It’s true. The millions of people that have recovered or been affected by someone else who has recovered are proof of it. Why not offer the option to begin the work sooner than later? We all know time is precious, especially that vulnerable time when a person struggling with addiction is open to getting help.

As healthcare professionals, you understand that recovery is, unfortunately, never guaranteed. What works for one guest may not work for another. People are individuals and should be treated as such in their recovery. However, as healthcare professionals, you also know the advantage of having recovery options. Where one approach fails, another may succeed. You never know unless you try. This includes trying the Twelve Steps.