Alcoholics Anonymous challenged to take part in an open debate
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lilianan...@googlemail.com
Nov 19, 2007, 7:45:33 AM11/19/07
to Alcoholics Can Drink Safely Again
Alcoholics Anonymous challenged to take part in an open debate
Murdoch and Lilian MacDonald, two former alcoholics from Ayrshire in
Scotland, have issued a challenge to Alcoholics Anonymous to take part
in an open debate in the media about alcoholism and AA's 12-Step
programme.
"Firstly, Alcoholics Anonymous is wrong," Murdoch and Lilian say.
"Alcoholism is not a progressive, incurable disease or illness which
alcoholics are born with. It is a behaviour problem, a response to
dysfunctional childhood.
"Alcoholics are not addicted to alcohol. They are addicted to the
escape that alcohol affords. Escape from life, or certain aspects of
life which they find too difficult or too painful to cope with, or the
associated feelings that go with not coping. Alcohol is a quick fix,
and addiction means an habitual response or repetitive behaviour."
In the first step of the programme, Alcoholics Anonymous members are
told that they "powerless over alcohol" and that therefore there is
nothing they can do about it but accept lifelong abstinence. But
Murdoch and Lilian have proved that the opposite is true and that
there's a lot that alcoholics can do for themselves.
They believe that everybody is capable of changing their behaviour.
They say: "If, as we did, alcoholics choose to identify and to address
their issues from the past, or, alternatively, simply take a more
mature attitude of responsibility for their behaviour and learn to
deal with their life, most will be able drink responsibly once again
if and when they so wish.
"Advocating lifelong abstinence from alcohol on the other hand is
merely treating the symptom rather than the underlying problem, and is
just a damage-limitation exercise."
Murdoch and Lilian's second point is that Alcoholics Anonymous is not
effective.
According to both an independent US government survey and AA's own
membership surveys, AA-style treatment works for only 5% of its
participants.
And a report published by the prestigious Cochrane Collaboration says:
"The available experimental studies did not demonstrate the
effectiveness of AA or other 12-step approaches in reducing alcohol
use and achieving abstinence compared with other treatments," although
they say further research is needed.
Moreover. leading American addiction expert Dr Stanton Peele shows
that most sufferers from all so-called addictions, including
alcoholism, mature out of their dependence without any intervention
whatsoever, and in the case of alcoholism, a sizeable proportion of
them are able to drink normally again.
The third point of Lilian and Murdoch's challenge is that Alcoholics
Anonymous is dogmatic, inflexible and impervious to change.
"Any normal organisation would be open to new ideas," they say, "and
would welcome discussion and change as new discoveries and progress
are made in the field of alcoholism.
"Unfortunately AA has adopted a cult-like attitude, and regards its so-
called programme of recovery as set in stone forever. No changes have
been made or even allowed in more than 70 years of its existence, and
no questioning or discussion is tolerated."
The waters are further muddied, Murdoch and Lilian say, by the fact
that AA's 12-Step Programme is borrowed from an early 19th century
American evangelical movement, with half of the twelve steps
mentioning God.
Interestingly, all American courts have ruled that government agencies
cannot encourage or support AA or 12-step treatment, since their
religious basis violates the First Amendment's ban against state
support of religion.
And the status quo has been perpetuated by private rehab clinics that
have piggybacked AA and hijacked its 12-Step programme for their own
profit. Profit that is maximised by using a ready-made one size fits
all prescription instead of providing individual treatment for
individual people.
So Murdoch and Lilian conclude that a completely new organisation may
be the only solution if Alcoholics Anonymous remains unwilling to
embrace change and progress. They say that AA's absolute refusal to
accept change that is already happening is their greatest weakness.
EDITOR'S NOTE
Dr Stanton Peele PhD JD is an internationally recognised addiction
expert and father of three. His books include "7 Tools to Beat
Addiction" and "Addiction-Proof Your Child". Stanton Peele has had no
part in the preparation or issue of this press release.
http://www.peele.net
Murdoch and Lilian are authors of "Phoenix in a Bottle" - how they
overcame alcoholism by dealing with the underlying cause, and are now
able to drink responsibly again.
Available direct from the publisher:
http://www.melrosebooks.com/bookDetails.php?id=15
Available on Amazon UK
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Phoenix-Bottle-Lilian-MacDonald/dp/1905226144
Lilian and Murdoch's website:
http://www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com
E-mail: lilianan...@aol.com
Issued by Fame Publicity Services
http://www.famepublicity.co.uk
Enquiries: Mur...@famepublicity.co.uk
Murdoch and Lilian MacDonald, two former alcoholics from Ayrshire in
Scotland, have issued a challenge to Alcoholics Anonymous to take part
in an open debate in the media about alcoholism and AA's 12-Step
programme.
"Firstly, Alcoholics Anonymous is wrong," Murdoch and Lilian say.
"Alcoholism is not a progressive, incurable disease or illness which
alcoholics are born with. It is a behaviour problem, a response to
dysfunctional childhood.
"Alcoholics are not addicted to alcohol. They are addicted to the
escape that alcohol affords. Escape from life, or certain aspects of
life which they find too difficult or too painful to cope with, or the
associated feelings that go with not coping. Alcohol is a quick fix,
and addiction means an habitual response or repetitive behaviour."
In the first step of the programme, Alcoholics Anonymous members are
told that they "powerless over alcohol" and that therefore there is
nothing they can do about it but accept lifelong abstinence. But
Murdoch and Lilian have proved that the opposite is true and that
there's a lot that alcoholics can do for themselves.
They believe that everybody is capable of changing their behaviour.
They say: "If, as we did, alcoholics choose to identify and to address
their issues from the past, or, alternatively, simply take a more
mature attitude of responsibility for their behaviour and learn to
deal with their life, most will be able drink responsibly once again
if and when they so wish.
"Advocating lifelong abstinence from alcohol on the other hand is
merely treating the symptom rather than the underlying problem, and is
just a damage-limitation exercise."
Murdoch and Lilian's second point is that Alcoholics Anonymous is not
effective.
According to both an independent US government survey and AA's own
membership surveys, AA-style treatment works for only 5% of its
participants.
And a report published by the prestigious Cochrane Collaboration says:
"The available experimental studies did not demonstrate the
effectiveness of AA or other 12-step approaches in reducing alcohol
use and achieving abstinence compared with other treatments," although
they say further research is needed.
Moreover. leading American addiction expert Dr Stanton Peele shows
that most sufferers from all so-called addictions, including
alcoholism, mature out of their dependence without any intervention
whatsoever, and in the case of alcoholism, a sizeable proportion of
them are able to drink normally again.
The third point of Lilian and Murdoch's challenge is that Alcoholics
Anonymous is dogmatic, inflexible and impervious to change.
"Any normal organisation would be open to new ideas," they say, "and
would welcome discussion and change as new discoveries and progress
are made in the field of alcoholism.
"Unfortunately AA has adopted a cult-like attitude, and regards its so-
called programme of recovery as set in stone forever. No changes have
been made or even allowed in more than 70 years of its existence, and
no questioning or discussion is tolerated."
The waters are further muddied, Murdoch and Lilian say, by the fact
that AA's 12-Step Programme is borrowed from an early 19th century
American evangelical movement, with half of the twelve steps
mentioning God.
Interestingly, all American courts have ruled that government agencies
cannot encourage or support AA or 12-step treatment, since their
religious basis violates the First Amendment's ban against state
support of religion.
And the status quo has been perpetuated by private rehab clinics that
have piggybacked AA and hijacked its 12-Step programme for their own
profit. Profit that is maximised by using a ready-made one size fits
all prescription instead of providing individual treatment for
individual people.
So Murdoch and Lilian conclude that a completely new organisation may
be the only solution if Alcoholics Anonymous remains unwilling to
embrace change and progress. They say that AA's absolute refusal to
accept change that is already happening is their greatest weakness.
EDITOR'S NOTE
Dr Stanton Peele PhD JD is an internationally recognised addiction
expert and father of three. His books include "7 Tools to Beat
Addiction" and "Addiction-Proof Your Child". Stanton Peele has had no
part in the preparation or issue of this press release.
http://www.peele.net
Murdoch and Lilian are authors of "Phoenix in a Bottle" - how they
overcame alcoholism by dealing with the underlying cause, and are now
able to drink responsibly again.
Available direct from the publisher:
http://www.melrosebooks.com/bookDetails.php?id=15
Available on Amazon UK
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Phoenix-Bottle-Lilian-MacDonald/dp/1905226144
Lilian and Murdoch's website:
http://www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com
E-mail: lilianan...@aol.com
Issued by Fame Publicity Services
http://www.famepublicity.co.uk
Enquiries: Mur...@famepublicity.co.uk
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