This workshop has been presented to meetings in Melbourne, Australia, and Singapore as well as online as part of the SLAA 2020 Victorian Zoom Convention.
It expands on a section of The Doctors Opinion Workshop which explores key concepts from The Doctors Opinion chapter of the Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book, in the light of modern science and medicine.
Workshop Contents
- SLAA and AA literature on Step Minus One
- Why is sexual recovery so hard? Why such a large burnout and failure rate?
- SLAA needs a Doctor’s Opinion in our official literature
- High level of medical treatment in early AA: the lack of it in SLAA
- The Step Minus One of the founder of a 12 Step Program
- The myth of 50-75% success rate in early AA
- The truth about early AA is more enlightening than the myths
- What addiction recovery is starting to look like
- Our Stories
Disclaimer
This workshop has been put together with input from many members. As lead author and presenter, I have no professional training in addiction, medicine or psychology. I learnt most of this material in my own recovery and as a medical consumer. This presentation is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified health providers with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
Your feedback and suggestions are welcome
Workshop inspiration
- My own personal lengthy journey of re-establishing sustainable sobriety after the loss of long-term sobriety
- The members I work with who have only been able to progress in recovery by looking at relevant physical/ medical issues. Most were despondent about any sort of sustainable progress. These members are some of my greatest teachers
Why so much failure?
This workshop seeks to explain why I’ve had so many members with the following experiences
- Those with long term sobriety, doing everything that is asked of them, but who don’t feel happy joyous and free (I was one of them!)
- Some who lose long term sobriety and struggle to regain it.
- Some, who after some time in sobriety and recovery, reject sexual recovery completely, abandoning long-held spiritual practices and beliefs
- Those who get shorter periods of sobriety, lose it and feel worn out by the process, then leaving the program
- The very low success rate in all the 12 Step, religious and psychological sexual recovery programs I have been around since 1986.
- Those listening to the idyllic long term recovery stories and wondering why not me?
Online interactive presentation of Step Minus One concepts for groups is available on request.
Paul H
February 2021