Alcoholics Anonymous Spirituality and Pastoral Counseling

Abstract

The Alcoholics Anonymous Program (AA), as we can see in the basic documents thereof, is essentially a spiritual program. This paper presents the history of the Program by looking at the spiritual background of the same. The main authors of the Program’s spiritual content are portrayed herein, as are also the basic spiritual tenets contained in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. The Christian roots of the movement are made evident, and a broader view is given of the connection between its founders, William (Bill) Wilson and Dr. Robert (Bob) Smith, and several persons in the Catholic Church, such as Edward (Ed) Dowling, S.J. and John C. Ford, S.J. Also, certain elements are pointed out which the Program has in common with Ignatian spirituality. The Alcoholics Anonymous Program has played a pioneering role in the acceptance of spirituality as an important factor in the recovery and healing process of addicts in conjunction with modern psychotherapy and psychology. There is nothing in the theoretical or spiritual underpinnings of the Program that can cause its ideas to be mistaken for a religious sect or a new religion. On the contrary, a person recovering from addiction has the opportunity to integrate the Program into his own spirituality and so to develop a more vivid idea of God and to advance in spirituality and faith.