Problems of Cooperation Between AA and Other Treatment Programs

JANUARY 1971 will mark the twentieth anniversary of my first contact with Alcoholics Anonymous. Looking back, I now realize it was one of the most significant events in my life. Like so many other people, I can say sincerely that this experience changed, or shaped, the direction of my life. Not only did I become familiar with this remarkable organization, but it was also the starting point of my life's work. At the time of my initial contact, I was doing postgraduate work at the university. Because of the interest stimulated by this experience, I became fascinated with the problems of alcoholism in our society and with the therapeutic power of Alcoholics Anonymous. The result was that I did research in this area and then was fortunate enough, about two and a half years later, to be asked to establish the first treatment center for alcoholics in London, Ont. What I am trying to convey is that AA shaped my ideas about recovery programs, and that my friends in AA, who shared with me their experiences with alcohol and their opinions about alcoholism, shaped my ideas about the alcoholic and alcoholism.