Maia Szalavitz

By rejecting all alternative treatment options, twelve-step treatment programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous prevent some people from getting the help they need, argues Maia Szalavitz in the following viewpoint. These programs emphasize faith in God over scientific fact, she maintains, and thus reject empirically proven treatments for addiction. For example, Szalavitz claims, twelve-step programs reject the use of medication by alcoholics suffering from diseases such as depression despite the scientifically proven relief medication can provide. Moreover, argues Szalavitz, twelve-step programs support punitive drug policies that contradict their claim that addiction is a disease, not a sin. Szalavitz, a science journalist, is the author of Recovery Options: The Complete Guide.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. According to Szalavitz, what has happened to the twelve- step movement since the 1980s and 1990s...