The Sober Truth Debunking the Bad Science Behind 12-Step Programs and the Rehab Industry

A powerful exposé of Alcoholics Anonymous, 12-step programs, and the rehab industry—and how a failed addiction treatment model came to dominate America
 
Alcoholics Anonymous has become so infused in our society that it is practically synonymous with addiction recovery. Yet the evidence shows that AA has only a 5–10 percent success rate—hardly better than no treatment at all. Despite this, doctors, employers, and judges regularly refer addicted people to treatment programs and rehab facilities based on the 12-step model.
 
In The Sober Truth, acclaimed addiction specialist Dr. Lance Dodes exposes the deeply flawed science that the 12-step industry has used to support its programs. Dr. Dodes analyzes dozens of studies to reveal a startling pattern of errors, misjudgments, and biases. He also pores over the research to highlight the best peer-reviewed studies available and discovers that they reach a grim consensus on the program’s overall success.
 
But The Sober Truth is more than a book about addiction. It is also a book about science and how and why AA and rehab became so popular, despite the discouraging data. Drawing from thirty-five years of clinical practice and firsthand accounts submitted by addicts, Dr. Dodes explores the entire story of AA’s rise—from its origins in early fundamentalist religious and mystical beliefs to its present-day place of privilege in politics and media. 
 
A powerful response to the monopoly of the 12-step program and the myth that they are a universal solution to addiction, The Sober Truth offers new and actionable information for addicts, their families, and medical providers, and lays out better ways to understand addiction for those seeking a more effective and compassionate approach to this treatable problem.

Lance Dodes, MD, has been treating people with addictions for more than three decades. He is the author of The Heart of Addiction and Breaking Addiction. He is a Training and Supervising analyst emeritus with the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute and recently retired assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He lives in Southern California.

Zachary Dodes is a freelance writer based in Southern California. He earned a BA from Yale University and an MFA from the University of Southern California.

CONTENTS
 
PREFACE

CHAPTER ONE
The Problem

CHAPTER TWO
The Rise of AA

CHAPTER THREE
Does AA Work?

CHAPTER FOUR
The Business of Rehab and the
Broken Promise of “AA-Plus”

CHAPTER FIVE
So, What Does Work to Treat Addiction?

CHAPTER FIVE
What the Addicts Say

CHAPTER SEVEN
Why Does AA Work When It Does?

CHAPTER EIGHT
The Myths of AA

CHAPTER NINE
The Failure of Addiction Research
and Designing the Perfect Study

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

NOTES

INDEX