A. Tom Horvath, Ph.D., ABPP Wondering if court ordered 12-step attendance is illegal? You're not the only one. This article is not intended to convey legal advice, which can only be provided by an attorney licensed in your state.  What follows is an addiction psychologist’s summary of a legal issue he has been following for over a decade. You might also be interested in: Mental Health Among Drug Court Participants in Drug Treatment The “establishment” and “free exercise” clauses of the US Constitution’s 1st Amendment state that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”  In everyday speech we say that there is “separation of church and state” in the US.  Our religious or spiritual beliefs (or lack of them) are our p...

There are numerous individuals who use drugs and alcohol for coping with stress and their daily problems. Thus, to help those individuals disengage from constantly looking right to drugs for the answer to their problems, they need to be offered a way to find a solution. In a non 12 step approach to recovery, individuals can learn self-empowering tactics such as maintaining motivation, coping with cravings, managing thoughts, feelings and behaviors, and living a balance life. When individuals learn how to address stressful situations, they can use the tools they’ve learned to come up with a solution to their problems instead of looking to drugs and alcohol as their only solution. The Research: Coping with Stress Individuals who face and address stressful problems rather than avoiding t...

Evidence based addiction treatment takes into consideration the trend between peer delinquency and juvenile drinking behavior. However, there may be underlying issues present with adolescents that correlate with their alcohol consumption and aggressive behavior. Thus, it is imperative that adolescents receive individualized treatment plans during alcohol treatment so that the individual is encouraged to find motivations that are deeper than the addiction. An individualized self- empowering treatment plan enables adolescents to focus primarily on underlying issues that may have been the cause of their drinking and/or engaging in aggressive behavior. You might also be interested in: From Adolescent Drug Experimentation to Addiction Peer Delinquency and Juvenile Drinking Behavior - The...