Although addiction and alcoholism treatment research has advanced tremendously since Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in 1935, many people do not know that equally effective alternatives to 12-step programs exist—nor do they know how to find them.  In popular culture, AA is often portrayed as the only way.

While A.A. with its 12-step approach has helped millions of  people over the last 60-plus years, there is no evidence that A.A. is better than other approaches for everyone.

Charles Bufe begins Alcoholics Anonymous: Cult or Cure with a description of a standard AA meeting—dominated by a few people who tell their same, self-serving stories for the umpteenth time, the proceedings unfocussed and unhelpful, the environment filled with smoke and other unhealthy environmental contaminants...

The approach of 12-step groups has not really changed; there is not a new addition, no attempt to reintegrate new knowledge. It is based on theories and models of personality and sociology of the 1930s.

AA's success rate is probably somewhere between 2.9% and 7% (of those who have attended AA). [Excerpt from book: Alcoholics Anonymous: Cult or Cure? - Chapter 7: How Effective Is AA?]

A Washington, D.C., Alcoholics Anonymous group is being accused of turning into a cult of personality, with members encouraged to cut off ties with outsiders and have sex with other members of the group, Newsweek reported in its May 7 issue.

A growing number of addicts otherwise cut off from Alcoholics Anonymous meetings are finding support online.