Are AA Meetings in Inpatient Care Run By Licensed Therapists?

Whether or not an AA meeting offered in a particular inpatient or residential facility will be run by a licensed therapist depends heavily on the particular facility itself and how it is run. Call 800-948-8417 Info iconCalls are forwarded to paid advertisers to find rehab centers that will utilize AA as well as other treatment modalities to help put an end to your alcohol abuse.

Nonprofessional Addiction Support

Generally, the organization does not consider itself to be a traditional treatment modality and, therefore, does not include professional treatment for addiction or substance abuse. In most cases, individuals who attend AA are all expected to help and support one another through their recoveries, as they are all going through it. This is one of the reasons why AA is a unique program and why many people turn to it.

However, in a rehab facility where treatment is largely based in professional help from doctors, nurses, and therapists as well as pharmacological and therapeutic treatment modalities officially sanctioned for this purpose, AA meetings may sometimes be handled differently.

AA as Part of Inpatient Rehab

AA Meetings

Inpatient facilities are more likely to utilize licensed therapists for AA meetings.

There are many ways an AA program and its meetings may be managed in residential addiction treatment depending on the facility. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, some facilities may choose to continue with the nonprofessional aspect of AA meetings, “using older, more advanced residents to share experiences and to pass on knowledge and values to patients.”

Certain centers may also ask individuals who are used to running AA meetings outside of treatment to come to the facility and do so there. However, according to Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc., many rehab centers want to ensure that every personnel member is well trained, as these centers often have to meet certain regulations and requirements.

In this case, certain facilities might decide to have counselors run their AA meetings or instead have group meetings that use the 12 steps. Although this is not exactly in keeping with AA’s philosophies, it can be the right step for certain individuals and certain programs.

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Many programs also use 12-step facilitation therapy in addition to regular AA meetings run by nonprofessionals in order to make sure all the questions a patient may have about the program are answered by a licensed therapist.

How Do I Find Out What a Particular Facility Offers?

Ask! Just like you would ask about your payment plan and the other treatment options available to you at a particular facility, you can also ask if the medical staff has a specific way of managing AA meetings at the facility.

As stated by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, “Most drug addiction treatment programs encourage patients to participate in self-help group therapy during and after formal treatment,” so you can be assured that most facilities will have an answer for you about how their particular program works.

Seek Professional Rehab Now

Call 800-948-8417 Info iconCalls are forwarded to paid advertisers today to find rehab centers that will offer the options you require. In addition, we can help you find out how a certain facility uses AA (and other 12-step groups) in their program and how this could be beneficial to you. Call now.

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Where do calls go?

Calls to numbers on a specific treatment center listing will be routed to that treatment center. Calls to any general helpline will be answered or returned by one of the treatment providers listed, each of which is a paid advertiser: ARK Behavioral Health, Recovery Helpline, Alli Addiction Services.

By calling the helpline you agree to the terms of use. We do not receive any commission or fee that is dependent upon which treatment provider a caller chooses. There is no obligation to enter treatment.

Not affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.