Is AA Highly effective ? Stanton Peele author debates NOT so fast !

Blog Talk Radio Safe Recovery podcast created by Filmmaker, activist, victims advocate,  Monica Richardson hosts this 1 hour show- this week with author Stanton Peele. Join us as we take on the Addiction Recovery Industry. Stanton Peele, Ph. D., J.D., is a licensed psychologist, attorney, practicing psychotherapist and the author of books and articles on the subject of alcoholism, addiction and addiction treatment. Wikipedia

Stanton Peele has been a cutting-edge figure in the addiction field for four decades.  Since publishing (with Archie Brodsky) Love and Addiction in 1975, Stanton has been a leader in virtually every development in the field: that 12-step, AA treatment is not the be-all and end-all and that practical life-management therapies are most effective; that people's self-empowerment, values, and purpose in life (as opposed to seeing themselves as powerless) can be the light out of the tunnel; and that people generally don't get better all at once, but make gradual improvements (called harm reduction) in their lives that lead them out of addiction.  Along the way, Stanton has written 12 books (including The Meaning of Addiction, Diseasing of America, The Truth About Addiction and Recovery, 7 Tools to Beat Addiction, and Addiction-Proof Your Child) and 250 professional articles, won numerous awards (including from the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs and the Drug Policy Alliance -- the leading drug policy reform organization in America), and created the Life Process Program for addiction treatment, which continues to be utilized worldwide.

Ilse Thompson, co-founder of the blog Stinkin-Thinkin: Muckraking the 12 Step Treatment Industry, is a writer and editor living in Portland, Oregon.