Rational Recovery: Alternative to AA for Addict ion?

Abstract

Rational Recovery (RR) is a new self-help movement for substance abusers, with a cognitive orientation. It has been suggested as an alternative to Alcoholics Anonymous. This study was designed to examine the nature of RR and its impact on those who join. A national sample of 433 substance-abusing people attending 63 established RR groups was evaluated, using codable self-report questionnaires completed at RR meetings. Members were mostly men with college experience who had previously attended AA. Among recruits who attended their first RR meeting in the last month, 38% were abstinent in the last month. Among members who had joined 3 or more months before, 73% were abstinent in the last month; they had attended an average of 4.1 RR meetings in that month, and carried out exercises at home based on Rational Emotive Therapy. Among those who joined 6 or more months before, 58% reported at least 6 months of abstinence. Among members with a history of heavy cocaine use, the portion reporting abstinence in the last month was not significantly different from those who had never used cocaine. The minority of members who were engaged for 3 months were still drinking, though, and did so on an average of 9.9 days in the last month. RR succeeded in engaging substance abusers and promoting abstinence among many of them while presenting a cognitive orientation that is different from the spiritual one of AA. Its utility in substance abuse treatment warrants further assessment.

A 3‐Year Study of Addiction Mutual‐help Group Participation Following Intensive Outpatient Treatment

“…However, the bulk of the available evidence pertains only to 12-step mutual-help participation (e.g., AA involvement; Humphreys, 2004;Kelly, 2003). Other mutual-help organizations have been in existence for decades (e.g., Rational Recovery, SMART Recovery, Secular Organization for Sobriety, Women for Sobriety, Moderation Management); yet, only a handful of descriptive, crosssectional studies have reported information on these other groups (Connors and Derman, 1996;Galanter et al, 1993;Humphreys and Klaw, 2001;Kaskutas 1996aKaskutas , 1996bLi et al, 2000). Thus, one aim of the current study is to assess and describe rates of participation in all forms of mutualhelp groups.…”

Assessment of spirituality and its relevance to addiction treatment

“…Humphreys and Moos (2001) contrasted between patients attending programs that emphasized Twelve-Step treatment and those oriented toward cognitive-behavioral approaches; the former required less subsequent inpatient hospitalization than those in the latter treatment programs. AA may also be useful as a model for approaches to promoting recovery that are not grounded on spiritual philosophy, such as a peer support program (e.g., Rational Recovery; Galanter, Egelko, & Edwards, 1993). To draw on the benefits of mutual support for abstinence, we developed a secularly grounded peer-based approach applied in ambulatory care.…”

Comparison of 12-step groups to mutual help alternatives for AUD in a large, national study: Differences in membership characteristics and group participation, cohesion, and satisfaction

“…Several cross-sectional studies have examined mutual help alternatives, but most have focused on a single mutual help group, including WFS (Kaskutas, 1989, 1992, 1994, 1996a, 1996b, 1996c), SMART (Kelly, Deane, & Baker, 2015; O’Sullivan, Blum, Watts, & Bates, 2015), SOS (Connors & Dermen, 1996), and Rational Recovery (Galanter, Egelko, & Edwards, 1993). These studies have reliably reported positive associations between length/intensity of involvement and length of sobriety (as well as other beneficial outcomes).…”