General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Alcoholics Anonymous has a terrible success rate, addiction expert finds [View all]Warren DeMontague
(80,708 posts)Certainly in early sobriety it can help many people immensely to communicate with others who have "been there", because there is a level of shared understanding.
However secular groups DO have many meetings, also many unbelievers manage to grit their teeth through 12 step meetings until they can find something that better gels with their belief systems.
Rational Recovery and other AVRT based programs emphatically oppose the idea of becoming dependent upon meetings or group support. Other groups like LSR and SOS emphasize the availability of meetings and support without making it crucial for everyone. And now that we are in the age of the internet, support is available 24 hours a day, pretty much anywhere.
The important thing to emphasize is that one size most emphatically does NOT fit all- unfortunately, that piece of incorrect "shop-worn wisdom" is still pushed in too many AA meetings, IMHO.