Twelve-Step Facilitation
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Joseph Nowinski
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1. OVERVIEW, DESCRIPTION, AND RATIONALE
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1.1 General Description of Approach
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Twelve-Step Facilitation (TSF) consists of a brief, structured, and manual-driven approach to facilitating early recovery from alcohol abuse/alcoholism
and other drug abuse/addiction. It is intended to be implemented on an
individual basis in 12 to 15 sessions and is based in behavioral, spiritual, and
cognitive principles that form the core of 12-step fellowships such as
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA). It is suitable
for problem drinkers and other drug users and for those who are alcohol or
other drug dependent.
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1.2 Goals and Objectives of Approach
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TSF seeks to facilitate two general goals in individuals with alcohol or other
drug problems: acceptance (of the need for abstinence from alcohol or other
drug use) and surrender, or the willingness to participate actively in 12-step
fellowships as a means of sustaining sobriety. These goals are in turn broken
down into a series of cognitive, emotional, relationship, behavioral, social,
and spiritual objectives.
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1.3 Theoretical Rationale/Mechanism of Action
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The theoretical rationale is based in the 12 steps and 12 traditions of AA and
includes the need to accept that willpower alone is not sufficient to achieve
sustained sobriety, that self-centeredness must be replaced by surrender to the
group conscience, and that long-term recovery consists of a process of
spiritual renewal. The primary mechanism action is active participation and a
willingness to accept a higher power as the locus of change in one's life.
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1.4 Agent of Change
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The facilitator in the TSF treatment model is more truly a facilitator of
change than an agent of change. The true agent of change (i.e., sustained
sobriety) lies in active participation in 12-step fellowships like AA and NA
along with the principles set forth in the 12 steps and 12 traditions that guide
these fellowships.
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1.5 Conception of Drug Abuse/Addiction, Causative Factors
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Alcoholism and other drug addiction are considered illnesses that affect
individuals both mentally and physically in such a way that they are unable to
control their use of alcohol or other drugs. Viewed from this perspective, the
concept of controlled use of alcohol or other drugs amounts to denial of the
primary problem, that is, loss of control. Specific causative factors are of less
relevance in recovery than is acceptance of both the loss of control and the
need for abstinence and a willingness to follow the pathway laid out in the 12
steps.
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2. CONTRAST TO OTHER COUNSELING APPROACHES
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2.1 Most Similar Counseling Approaches
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TSF has its roots in the Minnesota Model first described by Daniel J.
Anderson and as implemented in most AA-oriented treatment programs (e.g.,
the Hazelden Foundation, the Betty Ford Foundation, the Sierra Tucson
Center, and others). These models assume addiction can be arrested but not
cured, ascribe to the AA/NA philosophy as described in AA/NA literature
that relies heavily on a combination of spirituality and pragmatism, and
advocate peer support as the primary means for achieving sustained sobriety.
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2.2 Most Dissimilar Counseling Approaches
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Any approach that advocates controlled use of alcohol or other drugs (as
compared with abstinence) is fundamentally dissimilar to TSF with respect to
basic treatment goals. Cognitive-behavioral approaches that are based on the
idea that problem drinking and other drug use stem primarily from
inadequate stress management skills and that aim to enhance problemsolving
and coping skills differ from TSF with respect to the assumption of peer
support as fundamental to recovery. TSF also assumes that alcoholism and
other drug addiction are primary diagnoses and not symptoms of another
diagnosis (e.g., depression, antisocial personality).
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3. FORMAT
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3.1 Modalities of Treatment
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TSF was designed to be used in the context of short-term individual
counseling but has been adapted for use in a group format. One part of TSF
(the conjoint program) is specifically intended to be implemented through
sessions with a significant other (SO).
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3.2 Ideal Treatment Setting
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To date, TSF has been implemented exclusively in the context of outpatient
treatment, although it has been used with both individuals who have never
sought treatment before (true outpatients) and those who had previous
inpatient treatment (aftercare clients). The model is flexible enough,
consisting of both core and elective programs, to accommodate both of these
client groups. However, since TSF relies heavily on client involvement in
community-based 12-step meetings, it would be less ideally implemented in
an inpatient setting. TSF can easily be integrated into a general mental health
outpatient clinic setting.
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3.3 Duration of Treatment
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TSF is manual guided and time limited. It is intended to be implemented in
12 to 15 sessions spread over approximately 12 weeks. For nonalcohol drug
addiction, it is recommended that clients be seen twice a week for the first 3
weeks. The initial assessment session runs 1-1/2 hours, and regular sessions
are intended to last 1 hour.
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3.4 Compatibility With Other Treatments
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TSF may be utilized in combination with supportive pharmacotherapy for
both alcoholism and other drug addiction. While recognizing the existence of
multiple problems of adjustment in most problem drinkers and other drug
users (e.g., marital conflict, family dysfunction), TSF advocates pursuing the
goal of early recovery as primary, delaying most other therapies if necessary,
until the client has achieved approximately 6 months of sobriety. The
primary exceptions to this recommendation would be debilitating depression
or other major affective disorder, or a psychotic disorder, which would take
precedence over TSF. TSF is not compatible with treatments based on
notions of controlled use.
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3.5 Role of Self-Help Programs
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Participation in self-help groups is central to TSF and is regarded as the
primary agent of change. Specific objectives within TSF include attending
90 AA or NA meetings in 90 days, getting and using members' phone
numbers, getting a sponsor, and assuming responsibilities within a meeting.
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4. COUNSELOR CHARACTERISTICS AND TRAINING
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4.1 Educational Requirements
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Although it is manual guided, TSF requires considerable clinical skill to
implement properly. Issues in implementation include the ability to stay
focused, maintain structure within each session, and engage in constructive
confrontation. Accordingly, it is recommended that prospective facilitators
have a minimum of a master's degree (or equivalent) in a counseling field
and a minimum of 1,000 hours of supervised counseling experience as
prerequisites for competence in TSF.
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4.2 Training, Credentials, and Experience Required
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A master's degree in marriage and family counseling, a master's degree in
social work, or a doctoral degree in clinical psychology would represent
appropriate professional prerequisites for conducting TSF. Having
certification as an alcohol or other drug abuse counselor is desirable but
cannot substitute for basic clinical credentials. In addition, it is
recommended that facilitators treat a minimum of two complete cases
(minimum of eight sessions each) under supervision prior to attempting to
conduct TSF unsupervised.
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4.3 Counselor's Recovery Status
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TSF facilitators need not be in recovery personally. Any serious TSF
facilitator, however, should have read all AA/NA literature that clients will
be asked to read and should be familiar with at least AA and Al-Anon
meetings from personal experience (minimum of six meetings each). In
addition, it is not recommended that a facilitator whose own views are
unsympathetic to the primary goals of TSF (e.g., abstinence, active
involvement in 12-step fellowships) seek to implement this model, for
obvious reasons.
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4.4 Ideal Personal Characteristics of Counselor
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The best TSF facilitators have a good working grasp of basic Rogerian
nonspecific, client-centered therapeutic skills, including unconditional
positive regard and good active listening skills, combined with a good
working knowledge of 12-step philosophy and the practicalities of getting
active in 12-step fellowships. The ideal TSF facilitator is able to maintain
session focus without excessive drift while also maintaining rapport. The
TSF facilitator establishes a collaborative relationship with the client and
utilizes confrontation in a constructive, nonpunitive manner.
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4.5 Counselor's Behaviors Prescribed
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The TSF facilitator will help the client:
- Assess his or her alcohol or other drug use and advocate abstinence.
- Explain basic 12-step concepts (e.g., surrender, higher power).
- Advocate and actively support and facilitate initial involvement in
AA/NA.
- Facilitate ongoing participation (e.g., getting a sponsor).
- Suggest and discuss specific readings from AA/NA literature.
- Conduct two conjoint sessions if the client has an SO.
- Help the client learn to use AA/NA as resources in times of crisis and
to support and celebrate sobriety.
- Help the client (time permitting) develop an initial understanding of
more advanced concepts such as moral inventories.
- Conduct a termination session that helps the client assess critically his
or her progress in the program.
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4.6 Counselor's Behaviors Proscribed
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The TSF facilitator does not:
- Conduct sessions with an intoxicated client.
- Attend AA or NA meetings with the client.
- Act as a sponsor.
- Threaten reprisals for noncompliance.
- Advocate controlled drinking or other drug use.
- Allow therapy to drift excessively onto collateral issues, such as
marital or job conflict.
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4.7 Recommended Supervision
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Because TSF requires a relatively high level of clinical skill and the capacity
to maintain focus, it is recommended that aside from the basic clinical
training cited earlier, the facilitator actively participate in ongoing collegial
supervision that includes observation of audiotaped or videotaped sessions.
Broadly speaking, the goals of such supervision should be to:
- Provide support for the facilitator.
- Clarify treatment objectives and content (e.g., core versus elective
topics).
- Help the facilitator minimize drift.
Supervisors should have a minimum of 2 years of prior general therapy
supervisory experience, should be comfortable with TSF and AA philosophy
in general, should have conducted TSF and other manual-guided therapies
personally, and should be thoroughly familiar with all aspects of the model.
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5. CLIENT-COUNSELOR RELATIONSHIP
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5.1 What Is the Counselor's Role?
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The facilitator's role in TSF is broadly defined as including education and
advocacy, guidance and advice, and empathy and motivation. Each of these
broad goals is broken down further into a series of specific guidelines or
objectives. For example, guidance and support include monitoring client
involvement in AA/NA, encouraging clients to volunteer for basic service
work, identifying appropriate social events the client might participate in,
locating appropriate meetings, and clarifying the role of a sponsor.
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5.2 Who Talks More?
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Clients and facilitators talk about equally in effective TSF sessions. Since
TSF is an active intervention, facilitators who are passive may not succeed in
maintaining focus or accomplishing basic goals. At the same time, success in
TSF is dependent on monitoring client activity and reactions, which requires
soliciting active client involvement in sessions.
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5.3 How Directive Is the Counselor?
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TSF is similar to many cognitive-behavioral therapies in that it is focused and
requires the facilitator to be fairly directive while still maintaining good
rapport. The TSF facilitator is directive in the following ways:
- The focus of therapy is on early recovery. The facilitator does not
allow the focus to drift onto other issues (e.g., relationship or work
problems) even if these are significant. The facilitator validates other
concerns and helps the client develop an overall treatment plan to deal
with them but maintains the focus of TSF.
- The client's reactions to assignments and meetings are considered
very important. In TSF the facilitator needs to solicit specific
feedback from the client.
- Each TSF session has a specific topic (core, elective, or conjoint) that
includes a specific agenda to be covered. Although a given topic may
require more than one session to cover, and while the facilitator needs
to be somewhat flexible in his or her agenda, the facilitator must also
take responsibility for controlling the content and flow of sessions.
- Each TSF session follows a set format that the facilitator is
responsible for following. Again, there is some flexibility, but the
facilitator does not simply follow the client's agenda.
- Every TSF session ends with the facilitator making specific
suggestions to the client (recovery tasks). In addition, the facilitator
is expected to make specific suggestions (e.g., which meetings to
attend, how to ask for a sponsor) throughout treatment.
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5.4 Therapeutic Alliance
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In TSF, the facilitator is seen as an expert in interpersonal counseling
techniques and as knowledgeable in the principles and practicalities of 12-step fellowships. However, in TSF the facilitator is not regarded as the
primary agent of change; rather, it is the 12-step fellowship (AA or NA) that
is seen as the agent of change. Accordingly, the TSF facilitator needs to
conceptualize treatment as the product of a collaborative relationship and
should assume responsibility for doing the best he or she can to establish that
collaborative relationship. However, it is not the facilitator's goal to break
down the client's denial, to provide all support needed to stay sober, to take
the client to meetings, and so forth. Even in emergencies, the facilitator's
role and responsibilities are limited in the TSF model. For this reason the
word "facilitator" was chosen rather than therapist or counselor, as it seems
to describe the role better than those labels.
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6. TARGET POPULATIONS
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6.1 Clients Best Suited for This Counseling Approach
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TSF has been utilized in controlled outcome studies with alcohol abusers and
alcoholics and with persons who have concurrent alcohol-cocaine abuse and
dependency. It has been used with clients of diverse socioeconomic,
educational, and cultural backgrounds and a range of maladjustment.
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6.2 Clients Poorly Suited for This Counseling Approach
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Individuals who have severe symptoms of addiction to cocaine or opiates,
who are unemployed, and who also have no source of spousal or other family
support appear to have the poorest prognosis. That is not to say that
alternative treatments have proven effective with that group of individuals.
When treating addiction to cocaine, it is recommended that sessions be
scheduled twice a week for the first 3 weeks.
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7. ASSESSMENT
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The assessment session in TSF runs 1-1/2 hours. The goals are to:
- Establish client-facilitator rapport.
- Conduct a collaborative assessment of alcohol and other drug abuse
(history).
- Discuss the client's prior efforts to stop or control use.
- Discuss negative consequences associated with use.
- Share a diagnosis with the client and attempt to have it be a
collaborative decision.
- Outline the TSF program.
- Attempt to get a commitment from the client to give TSF and AA/NA
a try and to keep an open mind.
Assessment within the TSF model has both an informational and a
motivational goal.
It is recommended that periodic alcohol tests be done either randomly or
when the facilitator suspects that the client may have been drinking or using.
Consistent with 12-step philosophy, no client is excluded from treatment as a
consequence of drinking or using, although with some clients it may become
appropriate to discuss inpatient treatment. Sessions with clients who are
found to be (or who admit to being) drunk or high are terminated, and
arrangements are made to get the client home safely.
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8. SESSION FORMAT AND CONTENT
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8.1 Format for a Typical Session
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Regular TSF sessions follow the format described below. The assessment
and termination sessions and the first conjoint session follow slightly
different formats.
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8.1.1 Review.
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The facilitator devotes about 10 minutes to a specific
discussion of the client's so-called recovery week, including any drinking or
using that occurred, any urges to drink or use that the client experienced,
reactions to recovery tasks and other specific suggestions made at the end of
the prior session, reactions to meeting attended, and overall progress in
getting active in AA or NA.
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8.1.2 New Material.
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The topic for each session is tentatively decided on in
advance and may include a core topic, such as acceptance or surrender, or an
elective topic like genograms or moral inventories. The presentation of new
material often follows suggestions for reading and includes both didactic
material and probing discussion to ensure that the client truly understands
concepts.
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8.1.3
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Summary and Recovery Tasks. The facilitator asks the client to
summarize what he or she got out of each session and ends with several
specific suggestions (recovery tasks) that
typically include reading (or listening to tape-recorded books), attending
meetings, getting involved in meetings, and keeping a journal.
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8.2 Several Typical Session Topics or Themes
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Core topics include the assessment plus acceptance, surrender, and getting
active. Acceptance has to do with discussing and illustrating Step 1 of AA
and NA, which concerns accepting (as opposed to denying) one's loss of
control over alcohol or other drug use. Examples of loss of control in
general, and in the client's experience in particular, and the normal human
reactions to it are discussed in some detail. The AA/NA view of
powerlessness is discussed along with the concept of denial and the forms it
commonly takes. The client is asked to identify with denial and to describe
his or her own reactions to the concept of powerlessness and personal
experiences with acceptance of limitation.
Elective topics include subjects such as genograms, which are used in TSF to
illustrate how alcoholism and addiction are often family illnesses that
continue to claim victims across generations. The client is guided in
constructing a detailed alcohol-oriented and other-drug-oriented genogram,
followed by a discussion of the notion of addiction as an illness. The goals
are to reinforce acceptance and reduce shame.
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8.3 Session Structure
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As described earlier, TSF is a manual-guided treatment and as such is
relatively structured. The facilitator largely determines the focus of sessions
and provides specific advice from a consistent conceptual framework (i.e.,
the 12-step approach). The facilitator must also solicit feedback from the
client, assign recovery tasks that are tailored to the individual client, and keep
the focus of treatment from drifting.
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8.4 Strategies for Dealing With Common Clinical Problems
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Each topic within the TSF treatment manual includes a section on
troubleshooting, which helps the facilitator anticipate and plan for common
problems such as lateness, coming to sessions under the influence, and client
resistance to new material. Most often these strategies are consistent with
AA/NA philosophy and encourage the client to utilize the resources of 12-step fellowships. For example, the client who arrives drunk or high is asked
how he or she will "not drink/use again for the rest of today." Clients are
never punished, rejected, or scolded within the TSF model for drinking or
using, since it is accepted that loss of control is the essence of their illness.
However, sessions are cut short if the client is drunk/high. He or she will be
strongly encouraged to call an AA or NA hotline or a recovering friend and
to go to a meeting immediately. Chronic lateness or cancellations are dealt
with as denial.
As a rule, the TSF facilitator places ultimate responsibility for recovery on
the client. The facilitator is a guide and a source of support, but the key to
recovery is always seen as active involvement in one or more 12-step
fellowships. A common strategy for dealing with resistance in TSF is to ask
the client to keep an open mind or just give it an honest try. The facilitator
maintains a position of unconditional positive regard and acceptance of the
client's illness, regardless of whatever resistance emerges.
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8.5 Strategies for Dealing With Denial, Resistance, or Poor
Motivation
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Strategies for dealing with resistance within the TSF model all begin with an
assumption that the client has an illness that is characterized by loss of
control over alcohol or other drug use, which leads him or her to want to
resist accepting that loss of control. Though the only viable treatment goal
from the TSF and 12-step perspective is abstinence from all alcohol or other
drug use, it is expected that the client will have a hard time accepting this
limitation, as anyone has difficulty accepting limitation. Viewed in this light,
resistance is seen as a natural part of the course of early recovery. Indeed, the
TSF facilitator should be suspicious if too little resistance is encountered (a
phenomenon known as compliance).
The TSF facilitator seeks to deal with resistance through open discussion and
through a process of shaping the client's behavior and attitudes. The
methods employed for this shaping include consistent reinforcement of
progress, acceptance of resistance, reframing of 12-step concepts (which are
not dogmatically set), and compromise. The client is often asked to keep an
open mind, to listen, and to try to identify with one or more of the people
they hear at meetings. This is then discussed in the review part of each TSF
session. The client is consistently told that he or she can accept or reject an
aspect of 12-step philosophy and that the fellowship can still be a vital source
of support for early recovery.
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8.6 Strategies for Dealing With Crises
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In TSF, the facilitator is given specific guidelines for dealing with crises
ranging from suicidal ideation to spouse abuse to divorce. As a rule, only
psychiatric emergencies and acute intoxication or overdose are grounds for
suspending TSF. Otherwise, crises are assessed and triaged. In many
instances the facilitator will direct the client to the resources of 12-step
fellowships (including Al-Anon and Alateen for partners and children of
clients) as a means of coping with acute stressors. Clients are encouraged to
discover how ubiquitous their own problems are among people who have
alcohol or other drug problems and how such issues are common topics of
discussion at meetings. Indeed, the facilitator may very well be a less useful
resource in this regard than the support of fellow recovering persons, many of
whom have dealt with or are actively dealing with similar problems. If an
emergency session is deemed necessary, the TSF manual includes specific
facilitator guidelines.
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8.7 Counselor's Response to Slips and Relapses
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Slips and relapses are considered normal and even expected parts of early
recovery, as are frequent urges to drink or use. The 12-step model regards
addiction as an illness characterized by compulsion that overwhelms
individual willpower. Until the client is solidly connected to a 12-step
fellowship, he or she is expected to experience difficulty sustaining sobriety
even with the best of intentions. The primary purpose of the review part of
the TSF session is to assess the client's recovery week and to evaluate urges
and slips and how the client dealt with them. This material becomes an
important context in which the facilitator gradually shapes greater
involvement in AA/NA. Typically, a pattern is discerned in slips. For
example, it is common for a client to stay clean and sober for 1 or 2 days
after a meeting and then to slip. Identifying this pattern (often with the aid of
a calendar) can help to reinforce the importance of active involvement in
AA/NA. In some circumstances a pattern of frequent slips despite attendance
at meetings will lead the facilitator to recommend inpatient treatment.
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9. ROLE OF SIGNIFICANT OTHERS IN TREATMENT
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TSF includes a two-session conjoint program to be used whenever possible
when a client is in a relationship with an SO. Like other aspects of TSF, the
conjoint sessions are focused and aim to meet specific goals. They are not
intended to be used as brief marital or relationship counseling, although one
objective of these sessions is to help the couple assess the impact of drug
abuse on the relationship. Marital therapy may be briefly discussed, and
SOs' concerns, frustrations, and grievances are validated, but the facilitator
also suggests that intensive relationship counseling (along with other
therapies such as family therapy or sex therapy) be deferred, at least until the
client has completed TSF and, preferably, 6 months of sobriety.
The two conjoint sessions deal with the subjects of enabling and detaching.
Both of these concepts have their origins in Al-Anon, a 12-step program
similar to AA and NA but for the affected rather than the addicted. A
primary goal of the TSF conjoint program is to encourage and briefly
facilitate the partner's use of Al-Anon as a resource for coping with being in
a relationship with an addict and also for healing personal wounds that
typically derive from that kind of relationship. Another goal is to assess
initially the partner's use of alcohol or other drugs and make an appropriate
referral if necessary. Finally, the goals and objectives of TSF itself and 12-step programs are outlined.
TSF includes guidelines for handling emergency calls from a partner. The
approach emphasizes support and efforts to facilitate the partner's use of Al-Anon.
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AUTHOR
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Joseph Nowinski, Ph.D.
P.O. Box 15
Tolland, CT 06084
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