Do addiction services add anything to mutual aid?
On the t-shirt you will find the motion for the debate, and below it, arguments for and against.
Are you for or against or not sure?
For... Mutual aid meetings are available 24/7, are free and conditional only on participants wishing to give up their addiction. Meetings are more flexible and more widely available than addiction services. There are no time limits and support from people with lived experience is there for a lifetime if needed.
Against... Mutual aid groups are very important and, indeed, provide a kind of DIY Social Behaviour and Network Therapy. However, a lot of problem drinkers and drug takers have complicated medical and psychological conditions that require well qualified practitioners who know how to treat these aspects of addiction.
Here is something to inform your thinking…
Read the summary of this article about 12-steps: The level of involvement with mutual aid groups in the UK contrasts with the United States where 12-step programmes in particular are much more deeply embedded in society and where, perhaps, the population as a whole has a greater interest in spirituality.
The study cited below reports on the attitudes of UK addiction practitioners (n=364) toward AA and NA and the 12-step philosophy. It found: When asked to estimate the percentage of their clients who attend either AA or NA, the response was an average of 10.6%. This figure was lowest for workers who only treated primary drug users, mean 3.5%, and higher for those treating just primary alcohol users, mean 10.4%. 39% said they felt positive about AA and NA meetings. 33% had attended at least one AA or NA meeting. 33% said that they thought their service users were suitable for an AA or NA approach. 28% said they were likely to suggest attending AA or NA
Get the full text of the article
Day E, Gaston RL, Furlong E, Murali V and Copello A (2005) United Kingdom substance misuse treatment workers’ attitudes toward 12-step self-help groups. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment 29: 321–327 doi:10.1016/j.jsat.2005.08.009
Have you looked at the Mutual Aid and Mutual Aid Research pages?