Dr. Pohl explains if 12-step programs work well to treat addiction.
Dr. Pohl:
Twelve-step programs are successful. Statistics are not terribly accurate about this success because they are anonymous fellowships, and scientists really don’t have access to those rooms. But what we do know is that there are millions of people recovering from addiction through 12-step programs–millions of people worldwide. There’s a fellowship; there’s a set of traditions; there’s a valid method of changing your life through steps. I mean, the 12-steps start with surrender and end with helping other people.
That is tried and true. I have full faith that a 12-step program would be an appropriate vehicle to get well if you have the disease of addiction, though it’s not the only route for people to do so.
About Dr. Mel Pohl, M.D.:
Dr. Mel Pohl, M.D., is a Board Certified Family Practitioner. He is the Vice President of Medical Affairs and the Medical Director at the Las Vegas Recovery Center (LVRC), the only private, freestanding, medically managed inpatient detoxification and addiction treatment facility in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Visit Dr. Pohl at the Las Vegas Recovery Center