Twelve-Step Program Meetings 1

Running head: TWELVE-STEP PROGRAM MEETINGS IN THE LIGHT OF EDUCATION

THEORIES

Twelve-Step Program Meetings in the light of Education Theories

Márcio Padilha

ADDS 190 – Robb

College of Southern Idaho

Fall/2009
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Twelve-Step Program Meetings in the light of Education Theories

In attending a series of five different Twelve-Step Program meetings for my Alcohol,

Drugs and Society class, I anecdotally observed that, depending on the substance of choice

and stage of recovery, each participant exhibited a unique behavioral pattern which

ultimately contributed to a distinctive outcome in the development of each group dynamics.

That, in light of my background in Education, prompted me to think of and in terms of

several educational theories.

Society, according to Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development, optimally operates

out of a matrix characterized by “conformity to and maintenance of the moral

conventions… expected by one’s family, group or nation”. The absolute objectiveness of this

model is relatively subjective in light of the bio-psycho-socio-economic factors which

comprise such moral conventions; a principle further reiterated, under a different light, by

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

Constituting dissent from Kohlberg’s Theory, the praxis of addiction directly affects

one or more layers of Maslow’s pyramid; leading to the role of what Glassner refers to as

“Quality World” in his Choice Theory. The addict, in order to tend to it, must first break

away from the addiction’s conditioning described by the Pavlovian Conditioned Response

paradigm while Ryan and Deci’s Self Determination Theory, which categorizes motivation

as intrinsic, extrinsic and amotivational, may, in juxtaposition to the continuum of Piaget’s

Theory of Cognitive Development, help quantify and/or qualify one’s level of cognitive

development and self-efficacy.

After self-liberation has been achieved, the individual who seeks action,

maintenance and termination will, in ascertaining volition as to Glassner’s axiom that “the
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only person whose behavior we can control is our own”, exercise the praxis of the Cartesian

Discourse. Collaterally, the thought process involved in one’s attempts and outcomes of

self-behavioral control will help indicate one’s socio-cultural placement, as to the

addiction-recovery process, within Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development Theory.

Further asserting that “private speech” is essential in turning shared knowledge into

personal knowledge and that scaffolding plays a critical part in the learning process,

Vygotsky’s social constructivist perspectives easily accommodate elements inherent to the

praxis of the Twelve-Step group dynamics, turning the meetings into effective socializing

agents which aim to promote social acceptability, rehabilitation and functionality.

On a specific brief narrative on the meetings I attended, Narcotics Anonymous was

comprised of approximately 15 participants at various stages of recovery. Despite the

overall conducive-to-progress dynamics, one member exhibited anger and racial bias and

another was present, but non-participating. In Alcoholics Anonymous, there were

approximately 45 participants, most of whom were very volatile and angry, which

construed an abrasive dynamics. At Al-Anon, there were only four participants who, due to

not being users themselves, promoted a cool, collected and educated dynamics which was

very conducive to promoting a rational understanding as to the role of the families in the

addiction process. In Crystal Meth Anonymous, there were approximately six participants

and the dynamics was welcoming and productive. Finally, at Overeaters Anonymous, the

smallest of all groups, there were only two other participants who promoted a very

welcoming and productive dynamics.

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In addressing different types of addictions, each group, despite modeling after the

Alcoholics Anonymous Twelve-Steps Program, dealt with its issues in a slightly different

manner as to accommodate the peculiarities of that specific addiction.

Within the spectrum to which I was exposed, Overeaters Anonymous experienced

the most puzzling addiction. Food, a fundamental human need, as an addiction

automatically nullifies plausibility of abstinence, exacerbating harm-reduction, which, in

turn, increases the relapse potential and the complexity of the treatment as a whole.

In terms of logistic, I found the presence of children at all meetings I attended a bit

odd and possibly unethical as it could easily cause permeability of the other participants’

confidentiality. In one of the meetings, a participant’s daughter, aged around 10, was an

active participant, calling the birthdays and passing chips out. From a socio-cultural

standpoint, I see a problem with that in terms of social responsibility. Reflecting back on

Kohlberg’s Moral Development Theory, I would fear that such an active participation might

instill in this girl’s developing reality construct that addictions are harmless and within the

norms of social adequacy.

Lastly, I would like to express that the issue of addiction permeates all levels of

society. I ran into at least one person I knew in every meeting attended, person whom I

would have never suspected to have ever had any addictions problem. In light of that, I

further reviewed the Twin Falls criminality statistics and anecdotally found out that

roughly 2 % of the city’s population was arrested for a drugs and/or alcohol related

offenses in the year of 2008.

In closing, this was an interesting practicum experience and I feel I have gained

valuable insights as to the bio-psycho-socio-economic dynamics of addiction. Nevertheless,

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I find behavioral addictions much more interesting as a subject of study than substance

abuse ones.