Ask the Expert:	Johnny Allem, President, Johnson Institute
Topic:	Witnessing With Anonymity: Dispelling the Misconceptions That Silence the Voices of Recovery
When:	September 2004
Sponsor:	CSAT

Johhny Allem

Get answers to your questions about topics covered in the latest Witnessing With Anonymity: Dispelling the Misconceptions That Silence the Voices of Recovery .

Simply submit questions using this anonymous form, and watch for the next Road to Recovery Update to learn when the answers are posted on the Web site.

To view the Webcast, visit http://www.recoverymonth.gov/2004/multimedia/w.aspx?ID=267.

Answers to Questions

Question: Why is it that no one who enters into recovery never gets out?

Johnny Allem: Addiction is a chronic illness. Recovery from the illness can be termed as a remission of the disease. Recovery from addiction to alcohol and other drugs can be from various different pathways and is similar to other chronic illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension and asthma. As recovery is a lifelong process for addiction so do the above illnesses need a lifelong lifestyle change as well as treatment for remission. People in recovery from alcohol and other drug addiction are not any different from ordinary folks in the mainstream of society. It is certainly not a detriment to people in recovery to live a lifestyle that is healthy in keeping their addiction under control.

Question: Why are AA and Twelve-Step programs monopolizing the recovery field? Aren't there other methods that work?

Johnny Allem: Most treatment services based on the Minnesota model were developed on the foundation of the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. There are also many other treatment methods available to people today. For instance, there are methadone clinics, primary care doctors are able to prescribe buprenorphine (just recently approved by the FDA), therapeutic communities, among others. While a lot of programs are tailored to the Twelve Steps, there has been more and more research to show that an individual's treatment should be based on their particular need. The Twelve-Step programs are not treatment but a support for people as they enter a life of recovery. There are also many other support mechanisms in place of the Twelve-Step program for people to determine which is most helpful for their own individual needs.

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