toronto addiction treatment

September 25, 2007 3:24 PM

toronto alcohol treatment?

an alcoholic that wants treatment, but does not believe in any god spiritual type stuff... so the aa 12 step thing is not something they are willing to do. any suggestions on treatment available in toronto? they are also more wanting to learn to moderate their drinking habits rather than stop completely, does this ever work with someone with a serious problem? any suggestions? insight?

posted by butterball to Health & Fitness (2 answers total)

Have they read the "To The Agnostic" chapter in the Big Book?

AA has less to do with finding God than it does with getting positive reinforcement and feedback from a group of people who have made a commitment to stop drinking. It's all about replacing booze with the group until you're clear-headed enough to not need the group. The God stuff is off-putting, sure, but so is cirrhosis.

If he or she wants treatment, I suggest going to many different AA meetings until he or she finds one that de-emphasizes the God stuff. At the very least advise them that they should put in as much time getting sober as they did getting drunk.

There's a group called Rational Recovery specifically designed for atheist/agnostic alcoholics, and I like what they say, but they're also trying to sell you something, which AA isn't.

(Full disclosure: not in AA, atheist, enthusiastic drinker, but with many friends of the atheist/agnostic persuasion who have used AA to straighten out their problems with alcohol)
posted by BitterOldPunk at 3:42 PM on September 25, 2007

CAMH (centre for addiction and mental health) has a variety of programs and interventions.

From what I hear, AA is great for some, including some atheists, but not for everyone. CAMH has a whole next work of services in addition to 12 step programs.
posted by gesamtkunstwerk at 4:38 PM on September 25, 2007