12 steps AA/NA Program

12 steps of Alcoholic, Narcotic Anonymous Program

The Three Legacies of Alcoholic Anonymous fellowship are: recovery, unity and service.

The following are the original twelve steps as published by Alcoholics,Narcotics Anonymous

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol & drugs —that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory, and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

In some cases, where other twelve-step groups have adapted the AA steps as guiding principles, these have been altered to emphasize principles important to those particular fellowships, and to remove gender-biased language.

Twelve Traditions of AA/NA

The Twelve Traditions accompany the Twelve Steps. The Traditions provide guidelines for group governance. They were developed in AA/NA in order to help resolve conflicts in the areas of publicity, religion and finances. Most twelve-step fellowships have adopted these principles for their structural governance. The Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Narcotic Anonymous are as follows.

1. Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon AA/NA unity.
2. For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority—a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.
3. The only requirement for AA/NA membership is a desire to stop using substance of choice.
4. Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or AA/NA as a whole.
5. Each group has but one primary purpose—to carry its message to the person who still suffers.
6. An AA/NA group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the AA/NA name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.
7. Every AA/NA group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.
8. Alcoholics, Narcotic Anonymous should remain forever non-professional, but our service centers may employ special workers.
9. AA/NA, as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.
10. AA/NA has no opinion on outside issues; hence the AA/NA name ought never be drawn into public controversy.
11. Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always to maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, and films.
12. Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.

Thika Counseling Home follows the traditional 12 step AA/NA Program. 

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PRINCIPLES OF ADDICTION TREATMENT: |Thika counseling Home|0702103841/0738317630|Twitt...

PRINCIPLES OF ADDICTION TREATMENT: |Thika counseling Home|0702103841/0738317630|Twitt...: | Thika counseling Home |0702103841/0738317630 |Twitter: @ThikaRehab | |Email:admin@psychosocial.co.ke| Facebook:www.facebook.com/rehab.ho...

PRINCIPLES OF ADDICTION TREATMENT: |Thika counseling Home|0702103841/0738317630|Twitt...

PRINCIPLES OF ADDICTION TREATMENT: |Thika counseling Home|0702103841/0738317630|Twitt...: | Thika counseling Home |0702103841/0738317630 |Twitter: @ThikaRehab | |Email:admin@psychosocial.co.ke| Facebook:www.facebook.com/rehab.ho...

|Thika counseling Home|0702103841/0738317630|Twitter:@ThikaRehab | |Email:admin@psychosocial.co.ke|Facebook:www.facebook.com/rehab.home|

THIKA COUNSELING HOME                                                                                               Thika counseling Home is a private level III residential addiction treatment facility. It is a consciously designed social environment and program within a residential unit in which the social and group process is harnessed with a therapeutic intent.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Vision

Our Vision is to become an organization of excellence in provision of psychosocial healthcare and networking platform to organizations sharing similar mission in East and central Africa.

Mission

Our Mission is to empower and motivate persons in need of psychological health by use of modern and professional skills with a focus on increasing their involvement in the planning and implementating sustainable solution-based strategies.

Core Values

• Client focus
• Professionalism
• Integrity
• Team spirit

PREFACE                                                                                            Substance addiction is a complex illness. It is characterized by intense and, at times, uncontrollable drug craving, along with compulsive drug seeking and use that persist even in the face of devastating consequences.                                                                                                                                        Substance addiction affects multiple brain circuits, including those involved in reward and motivation, learning and memory, and inhibitory control over behavior. That is why addiction is a brain disease.                                                                                                                                                                 Some individuals are more vulnerable than others to becoming addicted, depending on the interplay between genetic makeup, age of exposure to drugs and other environmental influences. While a person initially chooses to take drugs, over time the effects of prolonged exposure on brain functioning compromise that ability to choose, and seeking and consuming the Substance become compulsive, often eluding a person’s self-control or willpower.                                                                                                                                                                                                                     But Substance addiction is more than just compulsive drug taking— it can also produce far-reaching health and social consequences. For example, Substance addiction increase a person’s risk for a variety of other mental and physical illnesses related to a drug-abusing lifestyle or the toxic effects of the substances themselves. Additionally, the dysfunctional behaviors that result from substance abuse can interfere with a person’s normal functioning in the family, the workplace, and the broader community.                                                                                                                                     Because Alcohol & drug addiction have so many dimensions and disrupt so many aspects of an individual’s life, treatment is not simple. Effective treatment programs typically incorporate many components, each directed to a particular aspect of the illness and its consequences.                                                                                                                                                               Addiction treatment must help the individual stop using drugs, maintain a drug-free lifestyle, and achieve productive functioning in the family, at work, and in society. Because addiction is a disease, most people cannot simply stop using drugs for a few days and be cured. Patients typically require long-term or repeated episodes of rehabilitation care to achieve the ultimate goal of sustained abstinence and care in their lives.                                                                                                                                                                Principles of Effective Addiction Treatment

1. Addiction is a complex but treatable disease that affects brain function and behavior.  Alcohol & Drugs of abuse alter the brain’s structure and function, resulting in changes that persist long after use has ceased. This may explain why alcohol & drug abusers are at risk for relapse even after long periods of abstinence and despite the potentially devastating consequences.
2. No single treatment is appropriate for everyone.  Treatment varies depending on the type of drug and the characteristics of the patients. Matching treatment settings, interventions, and services to an individual’s particular problems and needs is critical to his or her ultimate success in returning to productive functioning in the family, workplace, and society.
3. Treatment needs to be readily available.  Because drug-addicted individuals may be uncertain about entering treatment, taking advantage of available services the moment people are ready for treatment is critical. Potential patients can be lost if treatment is not immediately available or readily accessible. As with other chronic diseases, the earlier treatment is offered in the disease process, the greater the likelihood of positive outcomes.
4. Effective treatment attends to multiple needs of the individual, not just his or her drug abuse.  To be effective, treatment must address the individual’s drug abuse and any associated medical, psychological, social, vocational, and legal problems. It is also important that treatment be appropriate to the individual’s age, gender, ethnicity, and culture.
5. Remaining in treatment for an adequate period of time is critical.  The appropriate duration for an individual depends on the type and degree of the patient’s problems and needs. Research indicates that most addicted individuals need at least 3 months in treatment to significantly reduce or stop their drug use and that the best outcomes occur with longer durations of treatment. Recovery from drug addiction is a long-term process and frequently requires multiple episodes of treatment. As with other chronic illnesses, relapses to drug abuse can occur and should signal a need for treatment to be reinstated or adjusted. Because individuals often leave treatment prematurely, programs should include strategies to engage and keep patients in treatment.
6. Behavioral therapies—including individual, family, or group counseling—are the most commonly used forms of drug abuse treatment.   Behavioral therapies vary in their focus and may involve addressing a patient’s motivation to change, providing incentives for abstinence, building skills to resist drug use, replacing drug-using activities with constructive and rewarding activities, improving problem-solving skills, and facilitating better interpersonal relationships. Also, participation in group therapy and other peer support programs during and following treatment can help maintain abstinence.
7. Medications are an important element of treatment for many patients, especially when combined with counseling and other behavioral therapies. For example, methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone (including a new long-acting formulation) are effective in helping individuals addicted to heroin or other opioids stabilize their lives and reduce their illicit drug use. Acamprosate, disulfiram, and naltrexone are medications approved for treating alcohol dependence. For persons addicted to nicotine, a nicotine replacement product (available as patches, gum, lozenges, or nasal spray) or an oral medication (such as bupropion or varenicline) can be an effective component of treatment when part of a comprehensive behavioral treatment program.
8. An individual's treatment and services plan must be assessed continually and modified as necessary to ensure that it meets his or her changing needs.  A patient may require varying combinations of services and treatment components during the course of treatment and recovery. In addition to counseling or psychotherapy, a patient may require medication, medical services, family therapy, parenting instruction, vocational rehabilitation, and/or social and legal services. For many patients, a continuing care approach provides the best results, with the treatment intensity varying according to a person’s changing needs.
9. Many drug-addicted individuals also have other mental disorders.  Because Substance addiction—both of which are mental disorders—often co-occur with other mental illnesses, patients presenting with one condition should be assessed for the other(s). And when these problems co-occur, treatment should address both (or all), including the use of medications as appropriate.
10. Medically assisted detoxification is only the first stage of addiction treatment and by itself does little to change long-term drug abuse.  Although medically assisted detoxification can safely manage the acute physical symptoms of withdrawal and can, for some, pave the way for effective long-term addiction treatment, detoxification alone is rarely sufficient to help addicted individuals achieve long-term abstinence. Thus, patients should be encouraged to continue to join rehabilitation facility following detoxification. Motivational enhancement and incentive strategies, begun at initial patient intake, can improve treatment engagement.
11. Treatment does not need to be voluntary to be effective.  Sanctions or enticements from family, employment settings, and/or the criminal justice system can significantly increase treatment entry, retention rates and the ultimate success of drug treatment interventions.
12. Drug use during treatment must be monitored continuously, as lapses during treatment do occur.  Knowing their drug use is being monitored can be a powerful incentive for patients and can help them withstand urges to use drugs. Monitoring also provides an early indication of a return to drug use, signaling a possible need to adjust an individual’s treatment plan to better meet his or her needs.
13. Treatment programs should test patients for the presence of HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B and C, tuberculosis, and other infectious diseases as well as provide targeted risk-reduction counseling, linking patients to treatment if necessary.  Typically, drug abuse treatment addresses some of the drug-related behaviors that put people at risk of infectious diseases. Targeted counseling focused on reducing infectious disease risk can help patients further reduce or avoid substance-related and other high-risk behaviors. Counseling can also help those who are already infected to manage their illness. Moreover, engaging in substance abuse treatment can facilitate adherence to other medical treatments. Substance abuse treatment facilities should provide onsite, rapid HIV testing rather than referrals to offsite testing—research shows that doing so increases the likelihood that patients will be tested and receive their test results. Treatment providers should also inform patients that highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has proven effective in combating HIV, including among drug-abusing populations, and help link them to HIV treatment if they test positive.

|Thika Rehabilitation Home|0702103841/0738317630|Twitter:@ThikaRehab | |Email:admin@psychosocial.co.ke|Facebook:www.facebook.com/rehab.home|