Legal issues with AA or NA

Nurses Recovery

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Just curious about this, and I'm not looking to get bashed over this. Just wanting to know what everyone else thinks or any ideas that someone has for alternative ideas.

i do not believe in AA or NA, been to my fair share and they are not for me. Wouldn't being forced to go to these meetings be against our constitutional rights, separation of church and state?

i am open to some other form of meeting that is non religious based.

just looking for input.

Specializes in Transitional Nursing.

If "forced" means in order to keep a job, etc. then the answer is no, because truly, you wouldn't be "forced". You are free to not attend, you just may be out of a job.

AA is not a religious program so no.

Specializes in OR.

I've been in the angry and bitter stage for the last four and a half years so welcome to my little stew pot. In my opinion there are several things about these programs than constitute a violation of civil and constitutional rights. One of those things is that forced attendance at a religious based organization (don't tell me your higher power can be a doorknob, that's crap) in order to retain a state issued license is a violation of my rights.

Well, I have kicked and screamed until sometime ago it occurred to me that they can make me go but they cannot make me participate. I am sure the people there are very nice and many get great support and that is a fabulous thing. I however do not. Being there does nothing for me. So that being said, I go. I sit in the back. I discreetly peruse my iPad and leave as soon as I politely can or when my anxiety gets to a level where I must exit the scene. I notch another mark on my record and move on.

These programs seem to believe that AA/NA and other insert letter here-anonymous programs are the be all-end all fixes to addiction issues of any sort. Thought I am merely an observer of the addiction population, with my program having dragged me through rehab (yeah let's tack PTSD onto my bipolar diagnosis) I've gotten quite the education. I have to disagree.

I have been fortunate enough to find a support group that caters to my specific issues and that is not 12 step. I lobbied for that to count as one of my required meetings. For the rest, I endure.

Just remember what I said before. They can make you go. They can't make you participate.

Specializes in School Nurse.
AA is not a religious program so no.

Really? So the six steps that mention God as being directly involved in your recovery aren't religion?

I actually JUST covered this very subject in my substance abuse class! (I am getting an MSW)

The Supreme Court has been pretty clear when it comes to this subject, and ruled in Kerr v. Farrey that 12-step programs are inherently religious, and therefore criminal justice institutions cannot require participation in them. All that to say, drug courts all over the country require attendance in substance abuse community support groups. Until SMART recovery groups take off, in my rural community, drug court participants have three choices: AA, NA, or Celebrate Recovery. So it would seem that this case law exists but is not necessarily enforced.

Full disclosure: I am, by and large, a non-religious person, and I gain a great deal toward my being sober from attending NA. And in Arkansas, I PROMISE, 12-step groups are very religious, and tout the importance of a relationship with the Christian god. I just kind of let the religious stuff roll off, get what I need from it, and leave the rest behind.

Disclosure: I am not in recovery for SA; I have a background in MH/SA, an AAS for SA counseling, and am currently a nursing student.

Like several of the posters on here, I am not a fan of NA/AA and their methods of "helping" people achieve sobriety. When I was working in MH, more than a few people we saw in inpatient were members of NA/AA who had a slip, and because of how AA/NA view sobriety, saw themselves as utter piles of crap who then proceeded to make it worse by going on a bender of epic proportions.

Sobriety and recovery is not a one-size-fits-all program, even if AA/NA insist that it is, and those who don't do well with AA/NA aren't "working the program" the right way. For some people, it's great and it works and that's awesome. For others, it causes a lot more harm than good, especially in individuals who have trauma in their backgrounds: AA/NA do not offer the support that is needed for those individuals, and the traditional "puke your guts" method of sharing can cause a person to be retraumatized.

In lieu of AA/NA, I tend to recommend SMART a lot - even if there are not a lot of groups in person, there are online groups available, and those groups do offer verification of attendance. SMART provides actual tools for recovery, and stresses personal responsibility and harm reduction. I also highly recommend creating/working on personal recovery plans for people who are new to recovery that address triggers, help one to make plans to overcome triggers, identify support systems, and generate ways of handling stress in a healthy manner (this is great for individuals who have MH issues, too.)

I wish you the best of luck with your recovery, and hopefully your program can work with you on being able to attend alternatives to AA/NA like SMART.

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