My Psychiatrist, AA and Me

FROM time to time in AA, I have heard members speak with contempt of psychiatry, and of AA members who sought psychiatric aid. Without claiming to be an "authority" (I have learned in AA to be wary of "authorities"), I can tell about one case in which AA and psychiatry went hand in hand: my own. My first efforts to do something about my drinking took the form of seeking psychiatric treatment. I visited a psychiatrist over a considerable period of time, and made little progress. The reason for this lack of progress was clear: my doctor told me again and again that he could do nothing to help me until I could find a way to control my drinking. It was a vicious circle. I could not control my drinking until I dealt with my basic, underlying problems, but I could not deal with those problems until I could control my drinking. Despite this seemingly unbreakable circle, I kept seeing the doctor, perhaps hoping for a miracle.