and of its authors.
Table of Contents
Introduction (by Thomas Horvath, Ph.D.)
the number of alcohol abusers; the dominance of 12-step groups; the dominance of 12-step ; treatment; the number of facilities and the number of those treated; the cost of 12-step treatment; avenues of coercion; are coerced persons really alcoholics?; the disease concept of alcoholism; 12-step treatment
2. The Efficacy of 12-Step Groups and 12-Step Treatment
the efficacy of AA and NA; efficacy of 12-step and other traditional alcoholism treatments; 12-step drug treatment; the "best" evidence of the efficacy of 12-step treatment; is abstinence necessary?; what works?; summary
3. 12-Step Groups as Religious Organizations
religious elements in AA's practices; religious elements in AA's program and literature; AA's religious origins; summary
4. The Courts and Coerced 12-Step Attendance
the 12 steps; resolved and unresolved issues; U.S. court rulings against mandated AA/12-step program participation; summary
legal requirements; ethical principles; clinical benefits; remedies; violation of medical principles in addiction treatment
6. A Prototypical Case of Alcoholism Treatment: G. Douglas Talbott
a troubled program; the Talbott philosophy and its sources; the Masters case; what the Masters case and judgment tell us
7. Summary of Legal and Clinical Objections to Compulsory AA, 12-Step, and Abstinence Treatment
Appendiceslegal issues; informed consent; therapeutic issues
narrative; assessment of the report; violations of ASAM principles of medical ethics; misdiagnosis of alcohol dependence; attachment:assessment of Captain Smythe; diagnosis of Capt. Smythe; alternate view of diagnosis; postscript