Health and Spirituality Department Please remember, this column is designed to help the consumer seeking behavioral-health information, and not intended to be any form of psychotherapy or a replacement for professional, individualized services. Clearly, there are persons who manage to quit drugs or alcohol through other means. Obviously, the approach of Alcoholics Anonymous has much to recommend itself, particularly the fact that it is an approach that has benefited millions. But some persons find the spiritual emphasis to be a major roadblock. This chapter makes it clear that a belief in a personal God is not a requirement to recovery.
Some persons define higher power to be simply the group consciousness of AA itself.
One man I know found a workable concept of higher power through the writings of physicist Stephen Hawking. The point is to connect with a power larger than one's own ego. There is much flexibility. If, however, the spiritual approach remains an impediment, there is an approach known as Rational Recovery which follows a plan of action similar to that of AA but without the spiritual emphasis. Many have benefited from this approach.