Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse (AODA) Research Guide
Scope: AODA treatment is (as it should be) a very important concern to both the recovering community and to our government. As a result, many, if not most, resources now available are produced either by organizations such as Alcoholics Anonymous, Hazelden (an organization that runs treatment facilities in Minnesota and other states), or a federal agency known as SAMHSA (the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration). While many people have recovered from addictions with a seemingly dogmatic adherence to the ideas of their particular recovery group, the role of the library is to provide access to the full range of perspectives on the sometimes controversial topic of recovery and treatment for chemical abuse and dependence. This research guide, although written primary with students of our AODA program in mind, may prove to be useful to other people in our community.
Alcoholics Anonymous
http://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org/?Media=PlayFlash
Although “temperance” organizations were in existence long before the 1930’s, AA started the recovery movement, spawning sister organizations such as Narcotics Anonymous and Al-Anon. Many people recover through AA (or other support groups) without seeking professional help and professional counselors tend to rely on the free support offered by this organization and others like it.
AA’s website contains historical data, twelve questions which allow honest persons to decide for themselves if AA is for them, many links which allow visitors to print free AA literature, and a section which helps visitors to find AA meetings in their area. Here’s the address and phone number of our local central office:
WINNEBAGOLAND CENTRAL OFFICE
280 N MAIN STREET
FOND DU LAC, WI 54935
920 922-7512
Known to AA members as “The Big Book,” Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How many Thousands of Men and Women Have Recovered from Alcoholism, 4th Edition (2001) describes how recovery works from the AA perspective. The call # is HV 5275 .W15 2001 (Fond du Lac campus library.) More than thirteen personal stories are recounted, and forwards, chapters, and appendices from the earlier editions make explicit the essential tenets of the organization.
Al-Anon and Alateen
http://www.al-anon.alateen.org/
Based on concepts from AA, these groups are for people whose lives are affected by somebody else’s drinking. The website helps visitors decide if the support groups are appropriate for them, helps visitors locate groups near them, and is a portal for their publications.
Al-Anon’s Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions (Call # HV 5278 .A66 1981 at the Fond du Lac campus library): The twelve steps listed on page three are the basis for all “12-step” recovery groups, making this an important introduction to recovery for those who didn’t experience it firsthand.
Narcotics Anonymous
http://www.na.org/
While AA’s goal is to get alcoholics sober, NA exists to get addicts clean. As they put it, [W]e are not interested in what or how much you used ... but only in what you want to do about your problem and how we can help." In addition to the “is this group right for me” and “how do I find a local one” kind of information, visitors can also print seven booklets and 25 pamphlets from the website at no charge.
Narcotics Anonymous (call # HV 5825 .N28 1988 at the FdL campus library): Another book named after the organization that produced it, is known as “The Basic Text” to NA members.
Rational Recovery
http://www.rational.org/
Similar to the twelve step groups in that it also requires abstinence, rational recovery is different in other significant ways. There are no RR groups since they advocate self-recovery: “millions of seriously addicted people simply get fed up with the results of their addictions, make a decision to abstain no matter what, and move on to discover new and better satisfactions..” Furthermore, while spirituality and a “higher power” are part of the twelve steps, they are not part of RR.
To proponents of Rational Recovery, the twelve step culture is not a solution to the problem of addictions, but rather a “product of the Addictive Voice.” The website’s explanation of “recoveryism” is one of the hardest-hitting critiques of AA and other 12-step programs that you’re likely to read anywhere.
Hazelden
http://www.hazelden.org/
This non-profit organization has been around since 1949 and its programs and publications are “based on the twelve steps.” Whether you are an addicted person, family member, or professional, the website has a lot to offer you from greeting cards and e-medallions to “substance abuse headlines,” and even an online research library!
Twenty-Four Hours a Day (call # HV 5072 .T88 1975 at the FdL campus library): First published in 1954, this little booklet consists of a short meditation for each day of the year. Some of the material is from the “Big Book” but reproduced here in smaller bites – making it better suited for troubled souls just starting out in recovery.
SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration)
http://www.samhsa.gov/
SAMHSA is a division of the federal government’s Health and Human Services Department. Being independent and not “under the influence” of any of the other organizations discussed in this guide, SAMHSA’s website is a great place for professionals to learn about block grants, fetal alcohol syndrome, veterans’ resources and other related issues. SAMHSA is subdivided into three smaller organizations, including one aimed at substance abuse prevention as well as their Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT): http://csat.samhsa.gov/. Many free pamphlets and other items are available through SAMHSA, more than twenty of them [are/will be] in our collection [4-6 weeks for delivery].
