(03-26-2014 08:09 PM)AneroidOcean Wrote: but AA doesn't appear to be in any way more successful than the spontaneous remission rate that naturally occurs regardless.
Depends on the study being done. Some studies being done do show having AA helping alcoholics who want to stop drinking. Others do not. My experience with the studies which show AA has no more success than spontaneous remission is that they are poorly done.
If we look at the number of people who join the gym, the percentage of gym members who actually lose weight and develop muscle tone is very low. But this does not mean that a gym doesn't work. A gym only works
if you regularly attend the gym and properly perform exercise there.
AA is the same thing. It isn't an easy program. But it's one that has a pretty good success rate
when properly done: About 75%; 50% of people serious about the AA program succeed right away, and another 25% succeed after relapsing (using illegal drugs or drinking again).
Quote:Let's be clear. AA is a religious institute. It is a business.
There are no dues or fees for AA membership. Seventh tradition contributions are always voluntary. Most meetings are held in churches for a reason: Donations do not make enough money for an average meeting to pay its own rent without being subsidized by a church, treatment program, or someone else.
It is true that AA World Services does make some money from book sales, but if that bothers you, do what I do, and buy the Big Book from a third party (since the Big Book's copyright expired in the US, it's perfectly legal to buy it for little more than the price of printing the paper, or, if you prefer, just downloading it):
http://anonpress.org/
People against AA argue that it's the treatment centers that make all of the money and that's money AA makes. But, quite frankly, I didn't need a treatment program to get sober, my sponsor didn't need a treatment program to get sober, and I personally think treatment programs only make sense for chronic relapsers (or people with a lot of money to burn).
Quote:http://www.orange-papers.org/orange-effectiveness.html
The guy who writes those "orange papers" has horrible methodology. Read this:
http://green-papers.org/
Anyway, if AA doesn't work for you, that's great. You're welcome to your opinion. It probably isn't a program for everyone. It's a program of attraction, not promotion, and a program of "Live and let live".