Step Eight and Step Nine of AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) call this approach "making amends": Step 8: Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all. Step 9: Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
To that end, they will often use one or more tactics from what I call the 7 Rs For Recovering From A Crisis: Renounce, Reinvent, Restructure, Rebuild, Rename, Rebrand and Reset.
The Three C's of Dealing with an addict are: I didn't cause it. I can't cure it. I can't control it.
The 12 Steps outline a path to spiritual progress through a series of actions designed to elicit what The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous refers to as a “psychic change” – a complete mental, emotional, and spiritual shift in perception. We believe the 12 Steps can be a critical element of a long-term recovery program.
Step 8: “Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.” The pathway toward renewal and personal growth in recovery is a gradual one. The 12 Step program of Alcoholics Anonymous provides the framework to slowly but surely attain this new mindset.
The 12 spiritual principles of recovery are as follows: acceptance, hope, faith, courage, honesty, patience, humility, willingness, brotherly love, integrity, self-discipline, and service.
AA step 9 of the 12 steps is a call for those working towards to make amends with those who they harmed during the throes of alcohol addiction. It builds on step 8, which required the individual to make a list of everyone he or she has harmed throughout the battle with alcohol addiction.
Step 9 is another one of the 12 steps, that initially appears most difficult, but the rewards of putting this principle into practice can be immense. The spiritual principle involved is that of forgiveness, not only from others but forgiveness of self, which can bring healing to both parties.
Many believe the main Spiritual Principle behind Step Nine is Justice. It is in this Step where we make right the wrongs we have done. By the time we've reached this Step, we are ready to make our amends.
Step Eleven in Alcoholics Anonymous. Step 11: “Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.”
These daily practices are the subject of Step 10 of the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous: "Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it." Here the word "inventory" means taking stock of our emotional disturbances, especially those that can return us to drinking or other drug use.
The 13th Step of AA is an unofficial term referring to longer-standing members attempting some sort of romantic involvement with 12 Step newcomers (newcomers are considered those who've been sober for less than a year).
Step 1: We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
Step 11: Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
So, Awareness, Acceptance and Action call for a change in perspective, a change in attitude and a change in behavior. The first step in recovery requires honest objectivity about our lives and the Awareness of our powerlessness.
The framework that recovery is based on includes four pillars: health, home, purpose, and community.
Addiction treatment must address all four dimensions of health, home, purpose and community through a holistic approach.