Confirmation of the belief that there is no need to label our teens as addicts for life with a life long disease. It is refreshing to see more research to continue to confirm this. Alcoholics Anonymous is detrimental to teens and sends them a very negative message of powerlessness.They insist they conform to the pagan religion of Alcoholics Anonymous. It is unhealthy, and also Alcoholics Anonymous, including Narcotics Anonymous is a very dangerous place for teenagers as well.
The Judicial system is mandating violent criminals and sexual offenders in droves to AA/NA/CA, this includes Young Peoples Meetings. ICYPPA is for a younger crowd, but people go there into their 40’s. There are no safety regulations like Alateen has, which is a group for teens that are dealing with family with alcohol problems. Alateen is not designed for teens WITH alcohol problems.
Your 16 Year-Old Is Not An Addict For Life: Research Says
PRWeb – Mon, Mar 19, 2012
Contrary to what most Americans in our society think, a teen who loses their way, possibly getting arrested for drinking under-age, or driving under the influence (DUI) is automatically labeled an alcoholic in need of alcohol rehab or treatment for life. Unlike traditional alcohol rehab programs, the Saint Jude Program begs to differ on labeling teens with a “disease” or “addiction.”
Amsterdam, NY (PRWEB) March 19, 2012
Saint Jude Retreats along with other researchers around the country have found Alcohol Anonymous (AA) to be more ineffective than helpful to young adults who have a substance use problem. AA is an alcohol treatment program that a convicted DUI offender normally must complete to regain their license. The courts use AA attendance to prove that the individual in question is no longer a danger to society or to themselves. However, research has determined that Alcohol Anonymous actually hinders a user’s sobriety after AA meeting attendance is completed and increases their chances of continuing substance use. How? By labeling a person with a false “disease” and or “addiction,” it creates a sense of hopelessness, and in a teenager this is detrimental to their personal growth and self-esteem.
Saint Jude Retreats is diligent about increasing awareness about conventional alcohol treatment centers to a parent whose young teen has fallen into some trouble with alcohol or drug use. In the United States, if a teen is convicted of drunk driving the first step they must undergo is an evaluation to determine their amount of alcohol they have consumed₁. According to state laws, drivers must then go through another evaluation to determine if their alcohol consumption is considered alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence₁. Then young adults are most likely enforced to enroll in an alcohol treatment center such as AA attendance or a long term treatment center.
Conventional drug and alcohol treatment centers focus on a negative-based approach to help someone overcome their substance use such as telling a client they are doomed for life, cannot become a normal part of society, are disease-stricken for their rest of their life and unfortunately much more₂. In stark contrast, for over 20 years, the St. Jude Program has taught teens how to turn their lives around and gain control of their actions and become responsible for the consequences of their choices.
Of course the Saint Jude Retreats does not in any way condone drunk driving, but they also do not label someone an addict or alcohol dependent who made one mistake in their life. Dr. Stanton Peele, an endorser of Saint Jude Retreats asserts that, “Many traditional treatment programs follow through with approaches that are really abusive altogether.” Peele adds, “can anyone really say that a 15 year-old (or 18, or 21, or 24-year-old) is an addict for life? If the young person questions such a designation, what happens next? They are assailed for their false beliefs, they are in denial. And all they are really saying is, ‘I have more belief in, and hope for myself, than what your program permits me to have’.” Co-founder and Chairman of St. Jude Retreats, Mark Scheeren adds, “The St. Jude Retreats have always believed in and supported the fact that the individuals can and do overcome substance use problems for good.”
About Saint Jude Retreats: Saint Jude Retreats (http://www.soberforever.net) is a drug and alcohol social education center headquartered in Amsterdam, New York. It is an effective alternative to alcohol rehab and drug treatment centers. Saint Jude Retreats has been helping people overcome alcohol and substance use through Cognitive Behavioral EducationSM (CBE) since opening its doors in 1992. CBE and the Saint Jude Retreats program are endorsed by alcohol and drug program internationally acclaimed professionals, such as Dr. Stanton Peele, PhD, Prof. Emeritus David Hanson, PhD; Prof. David Rudy, PhD; Dr. Joy Browne and the late Joseph Vacca, PhD, among others.
Melissa Kluska
Saint Jude Retreats
518-842-3052 122
Email Information
http://news.yahoo.com/16-old-not-addict-life-research-says-172817589.html
oh and suzieq, they allow them to do that in SC. Laws are changing soon tho, so I may be coming off sometime in the next 5yrs. Hopefully. Funny thing is, the girl’s dad who pressed charges on me, he soon got busted for possession of child porn and he went to federal prison. Karma. lol
That must of given you some satisfaction that her Dad got in trouble. That is really bizarre. I am glad to hear that people who are advocating for your type of labeling is making a difference. Are you sure you should not be on it anyway, since your charges were reduced? I have heard of this happening in other cases where it listed the original charge instead of the reduced one. Have you got an answer as to why you are on it?
wow. I am very surprised at how nice you guys are being to me. lol. Sorry for the curse word I used but I obviously have strong feelings on the issue.
as far as the 95% thing, those numbers are very hard to get an accurate guage on. But hey, if 5% succeeds, then there will be lives saved. AA prevents deaths, same with NA. And nobody has lost there life thanks to AA….AA and NA are no different than real world life….there are good people in there, there buttholes, cops, robbers, you name it and AA and NA have every faction of normal life….trust me, I have been to well over 1000 meetings. AA has fights, real world has fights, AA may even have someone go crazy and murder or rape someone, no different than outside AA. If it can happen outside of AA it can happen inside of AA. But I can tell you for sure there would be quite a bit more dead people in the world without these programs….they dont just teach us to quit drinking…they teach us to live better, to be closer to God, and just be an overall better person. I cant even begin to fathom how many lives AA has saved as far as DUI deaths, unfortunately that is not a number that can be come up with but I am sure it is high.
As far as a judge mandating someone to AA or NA, I think it is stupid for simple fact that there is no possible way for a judge to actually make sure they are going….all they give them is a sheet to be signed, anybody off the street can sign it….due to the anonymity in the programs there would be no way for a judge to verify that someone is actually attending these meetings….and I can tell from experience that most people mandated to go do not show up and do exactly what I was talking about above. Judges need to sentence them to treatment programs where they can learn about NA and AA and decide for their selves if they want to go or not.
That’s Okay BB! One, because a large portion of people that now attend AA/NA make the % of criminals higher than on the streets. Again AA does invite minors to meetings. I feel that they should have a separate program for minors like Ala teen does, who does background checks and other safe gaurds. If you read some of the stories on the blog you will see people have been murdered and raped by people they met in AA/NA. The difference is, In AA you are told to trust people and disclose a lot of personal information about yourself. It is not logical to say because there is crime everywhere that AA do nothing to try to make members and minors safer.
Even though there are some that do not show up to AA as mandated, plenty do, because many courts say you have to have a sponsor and they have to prove they have a sponsor.
Also their should be secular ( non-religious ) options available instead of only 12 step is considered religious. I know that they say otherwise, but many disagree.
As far as your situation, I do realize that there are problems like yours, that have devastated young men. I read one story where a young man committed suicide, after realizing he would be labeled for life. There are also people who lie about abuse as well. I do sympathize with these inequities in the justice system.
Yet we don’t overlook for a second the sexual offenders and pedophiles that have raped children. AA invites these people with AA members having no training in dealing with sexual predators. Sometimes they do not even know.
I do understand that there are issues in our judicial system that lump together a variety of different sex offenders. I do believe work is being done to advocate for people in your situation. I have a friend who’s son went through the same thing at 19, and he was in love with the girl and wanted to marry her. She was just shy of her 18th birthday. Yet her parents pressed charges and his life was made a living hell. Different states handle this sex offense differently. If yours was reduced to assault, then I do not understand why you would be on a sex offender list. Maybe you should ask a lawyer about that. It could be a mistake.
As a person who has to register as a sex offender and attends meetings you dont know jack shit. Before you jump to conclusions here and call me a rapist or a pedophile….I was 20yrs old and met a girl on vacation that lied about her age by one year, that one year made all the difference in the world because the age she gave me would have been legal, but she was 1 yr younger than she claimed so I got popped for statutory rape, which we all know isnt actually rape. I actually plead guilty to Assault and Battery, a non-sex offense, but the judge for whatever reason still ordered me on the list. I have been in a constant battle the last few yrs to have my name removed.
I am 31yrs old now and have a very hard time staying sober thanks to the stigma that follows me everywhere….NA and AA are the only reasons I havnt stayed drinking and drugging. Let me ask you this, would you rather have sex offenders out drunk and high off drugs to where they can’t use proper judgement…or would you rather them be sober and able to use better judgement?? Just remember, not all sex offenders are bad people….some, like me offended at a very young age, or also like me were duped by young female lying about her age. I know of a few men on the list simply because they were caught urinating in public. Fact is, there re TONS of people on the sex offender list who do not belong. Call your local sheriff dept and ask them what they think of how many people are on the list that dont belong on it, they will tell you just like me, there are a bunch that needs to come off. In my county alone there are over 1000 sex offenders
BB- I believe you are missing the point. Even though you are on a list you feel you deserve not to be on, the majority do belong on the sex offender list. In fact there are some people that are convicted of a crime that are innocent altogether. But that is more the exception not the rule. Also there are Level 3 sex predators that are mandated to Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous that are dangerous to the community. Also just because someone is mandated to a 12 step program, does not mean they have actually stopped drinking or doing drugs.
In fact AA has a 95% failure rate, and many have lost their lives because of their membership with Alcoholics Anonymous.
So this site does know what it is talking about. Violent felons,sexual predators and pedophiles are mandated to AA every day. Children and others have been raped and murdered by felons they met through AA/NA/CA meetings. It is totally irresponsible for AA to invite children and teens to meetings that they also invite violent felons. It is outrageous! We certainly do not need them in our parks and playgrounds. A Daytona AA member recently raped a 9 year old girl at a park. He was a mandated felon.
I agree with this article big time! Daytona Alcoholics Anonymous is harmful to our youths. They have their meetings in Sunrise Park Holly Hill Florida, about 13 steps from the playground. Why does the Volusia County Intergroup think it is okay for the Sunrise Group to have their court mandated criminals come to a playground to get court slips signed for their probation officer? Some of these people have been arrested over a dozen times. Sunrise Group has caused a lot of problems for folks there in Holly Hill Fl. Many of them don’t even live in Holly Hill, but come from Daytona Beach and Ormond Beach.