Trauma and the 12 Steps

An Inclusive Guide to Enhancing Recovery

12-step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) have helped countless people on the path to recovery. But many still feel that 12-step programs aren’t for them: that the spiritual emphasis is too narrow, the modality too old-school, the setting too triggering, or the space too exclusive. Some struggle with an addict label that can eclipse the histories, traumas, and experiences that feed into addiction, or dismisses the effects of adverse experiences like trauma in the first place. Advances in addiction medicine, trauma, neuropsychiatry, social theory, and overall strides in inclusivity need to be integrated into modern-day 12-step programs to reflect the latest research and what it means to live with an addiction today.

Dr. Jamie Marich, an addiction and trauma clinician in recovery herself, builds necessary bridges between the 12-step’s core foundations and up-to-date developments in trauma-informed care. Foregrounding the intersections of addiction, trauma, identity, and systems of oppression, Marich’s approach treats the whole person–not just the addiction–to foster healing, transformation, and growth.

Written for clinicians, therapists, sponsors, and those in recovery, Marich provides an extensive toolkit of trauma-informed skills that:

Explains how trauma impacts addiction, recovery, and relapse
Celebrates communities who may feel excluded from the program, like atheists, agnostics, and LGBTQ+ folks
Welcomes outside help from the fields of trauma, dissociation, mindfulness, and addiction research
Explains the differences between being trauma-informed and trauma-sensitive; and
Discusses spiritual abuse as a legitimate form of trauma that can profoundly impede spirituality-based approaches to healing.

DUAL AUTHOR EXPERTISE: Marich is an addiction and trauma professional who is herself in recovery. Her personal and clinical experience make her uniquely qualified to speak to the faults, failures, benefits, and what really works within 12-step frameworks.

21st CENTURY UPDATE: While 12-step programs like AA and NA have helped countless people, studies have questioned the efficacy of a model that was first developed in the 1930’s. This book integrates necessary updates.