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The AA Big Book Sponsorship Guide: A Cornerstone of Recovery and its Industry Implications
By Dr. Eleanor Vance, PhD, LCSW
Dr. Eleanor Vance is a licensed clinical social worker with over 20 years of experience specializing in addiction treatment and recovery support. She has published extensively on the topic of 12-step programs and their effectiveness, and is a respected voice in the field of addiction recovery.
Published by Serenity Press, a leading publisher of addiction recovery resources and literature for over 30 years.
Edited by Michael Davis, MA, CADC II. Michael has been a Certified Addiction Counselor for 15 years, and possesses extensive experience in facilitating 12-step programs and training recovery sponsors.
Introduction:
The Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) Big Book is a foundational text in the recovery community. Its principles, while focused on alcoholism, have resonated with individuals struggling with various forms of addiction. However, the process of navigating recovery, particularly the crucial role of sponsorship, can be challenging. This is where the importance of an AA Big Book sponsorship guide becomes apparent. This guide provides a structured approach to understanding and implementing the principles outlined in the Big Book within the context of the sponsorship relationship. This article will delve into the key aspects of an effective AA Big Book sponsorship guide, its implications for the recovery industry, and its potential to improve outcomes for individuals seeking sobriety.
Understanding the Role of Sponsorship in AA:
The sponsorship relationship within AA is a cornerstone of the program's success. A sponsor, ideally someone with significant time in sobriety, acts as a mentor and guide for a sponsee (the person being sponsored). They provide support, accountability, and guidance as the sponsee navigates the challenges of early recovery and beyond. An AA Big Book sponsorship guide acts as a roadmap for both sponsor and sponsee, providing a framework for fostering a healthy and productive relationship built on the principles of the Big Book.
Key Components of an Effective AA Big Book Sponsorship Guide:
A comprehensive AA Big Book sponsorship guide should cover several key areas:
1. The Principles of the Big Book: The guide should clearly explain the core tenets of the Big Book, such as the importance of surrender, humility, self-reflection, and making amends. It should connect these principles to the practicalities of daily living in recovery.
2. The Sponsor's Responsibilities: The guide should outline the responsibilities of the sponsor, including providing support, offering guidance, setting boundaries, maintaining confidentiality, and understanding when to refer the sponsee to professional help. It emphasizes the importance of leading by example and maintaining their own sobriety.
3. The Sponsee's Responsibilities: This section focuses on the sponsee’s commitment to the recovery process, including honesty, active participation in AA meetings, working the steps, and actively seeking help when needed. It stresses the importance of taking ownership of their recovery journey.
4. Navigating Difficult Situations: Recovery is not always easy. The guide should address common challenges faced by both sponsor and sponsee, such as relapses, difficult emotions, interpersonal conflicts, and spiritual struggles. It should provide strategies for navigating these difficulties constructively.
5. The Importance of Boundaries: The guide should emphasize healthy boundaries in the sponsor-sponsee relationship. It should differentiate between supportive guidance and enabling behavior.
6. Understanding the 12 Steps: A detailed explanation of the 12 steps, their purpose, and their application in daily life is essential. The guide should connect each step to the overall recovery process and help sponsors guide their sponsees effectively.
7. Resources and Support: The guide should provide access to further resources, such as other AA literature, helplines, and professional support services.
Implications for the Recovery Industry:
The widespread adoption of a comprehensive AA Big Book sponsorship guide can significantly impact the recovery industry:
Improved Outcomes: A structured approach to sponsorship can lead to improved success rates for individuals seeking sobriety.
Reduced Relapse Rates: By providing a clear framework for support and accountability, the guide can help reduce relapse rates.
Enhanced Professional Training: The guide can be incorporated into professional training programs for addiction counselors and recovery specialists.
Increased Access to Support: By clarifying the role of sponsorship, the guide can make the recovery process more accessible and less intimidating for newcomers.
Standardization of Practice: A well-structured guide can promote consistency and best practices within the AA community and the broader recovery field.
Conclusion:
An effective AA Big Book sponsorship guide is a crucial tool for promoting successful recovery from addiction. By clarifying the roles and responsibilities of both sponsor and sponsee, providing a framework for navigating challenges, and emphasizing the importance of the principles outlined in the Big Book, this guide can significantly improve outcomes for individuals seeking sobriety and reshape the landscape of the addiction recovery industry. Its potential to standardize practices and improve access to support makes it an invaluable resource for both individuals and professionals alike.
FAQs:
1. Who should use an AA Big Book sponsorship guide? Both sponsors and sponsees can benefit from using an AA Big Book sponsorship guide to enhance their understanding and application of the 12-step program.
2. Is this guide only for people in AA? While tailored to the AA structure, the principles of mentorship and recovery outlined can benefit individuals in other recovery programs as well.
3. How does this guide address ethical considerations in sponsorship? The guide explicitly addresses ethical boundaries, confidentiality, and the importance of professional referral when needed.
4. What if my sponsor and I disagree on how to interpret the Big Book? The guide suggests strategies for respectful dialogue and compromise, highlighting the importance of open communication.
5. Can this guide replace professional therapy? No, the guide complements professional therapy, but does not replace it. Professional help is recommended for complex issues.
6. Is there a specific format for the guide? While formats may vary, a well-structured guide usually follows a clear, step-by-step approach.
7. How often should a sponsor and sponsee meet? Frequency depends on individual needs but is typically discussed and agreed upon between the sponsor and sponsee.
8. What happens if a sponsee relapses? The guide provides guidance for both sponsor and sponsee on navigating relapse, emphasizing support and a path forward.
9. Where can I find an AA Big Book sponsorship guide? Many recovery centers, AA groups, and online resources offer guides or similar resources.
Related Articles:
1. The 12 Steps of AA: A Comprehensive Guide: A detailed explanation of each step, its purpose, and how it contributes to recovery.
2. The Importance of Surrender in AA: An exploration of the concept of surrender and its role in achieving lasting sobriety.
3. Building Healthy Boundaries in Recovery: A discussion on establishing and maintaining healthy boundaries in relationships, both personal and within the AA community.
4. Overcoming Relapse in AA: Strategies for preventing relapse and navigating its challenges.
5. The Role of Spirituality in AA Recovery: An examination of the spiritual aspects of the program and their contribution to recovery.
6. Finding the Right AA Sponsor: Tips and guidance for selecting a suitable sponsor.
7. Understanding the AA Tradition of Confidentiality: The importance of confidentiality in maintaining trust and safety within the AA community.
8. How to Effectively Work the 12 Steps: A step-by-step guide with practical tips for working through the 12 steps.
9. AA Sponsorship for Specific Addictions: An exploration of tailoring the sponsorship process to different types of addiction.
| aa big book sponsorship guide: Carry This Message Joe McQ, 2002 As an internationally respected teacher and lecturer on the Twelve Step method introduced by Alcoholics Anonymous, Joe McQ knows that sponsorship is a key construct for the success of the program because it involves moving a person through the Twelve Step process to recovery. In the early days of AA, sponsors would come to the alcoholic's home and talk him through Steps 1 and 2, and when they were thoroughly convinced he was ready, they would start him on the program. Step 12 is the foundation of sponsorships: Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, to practice these principles in all our affairs. Carry This Message addresses McQ's concern that sponsors have lost some skills in working with alcoholics. AA sponsors need to refocus on the Big Book, on the Twelve Steps, and on their message, urges McQ, to recognize the value of the program and to return to its roots and essence. Directed to sponsors, this is a companion book to The Steps We Took, offering tools for helping others find recovery and new life through the Twelve Step program. |
| aa big book sponsorship guide: Alcoholics Anonymous Bill W., 2014-09-04 A 75th anniversary e-book version of the most important and practical self-help book ever written, Alcoholics Anonymous. Here is a special deluxe edition of a book that has changed millions of lives and launched the modern recovery movement: Alcoholics Anonymous. This edition not only reproduces the original 1939 text of Alcoholics Anonymous, but as a special bonus features the complete 1941 Saturday Evening Post article “Alcoholics Anonymous” by journalist Jack Alexander, which, at the time, did as much as the book itself to introduce millions of seekers to AA’s program. Alcoholics Anonymous has touched and transformed myriad lives, and finally appears in a volume that honors its posterity and impact. |
| aa big book sponsorship guide: The Sponsor's 12 Step Manual: a Guide to Teaching and Learning the Program of AA John E, 2012-04-29 A Guide to teaching the 12 Steps. The Sponsor's 12 Step Manual is an (independent) approach to delivering the program of A.A. that will help people learn faster and remember more. The manual uses a six-point method of teaching to reinforce learning and to increase comprehension and promote awareness of the Steps to its fullest extent. The process starts with understanding the language used in the Steps and progresses on to an in depth study of what is in the literature and how it applies to an individual. The six levels also cover self reflection and creativity with the final level of each Step looking at how a sponsee may carry the message to a newcomer. This is not a 'stand alone' book, for it to work you will also need to have access to A.A.s Big Book and The 12 Steps and 12 Traditions. Now available in a NEW WORKBOOK EDITION. |
| aa big book sponsorship guide: Twelve Step Sponsorship Hamilton B., 2009-09-29 Twelve Step Sponsorship is the first truly comprehensive look at sponsorship, a role recovering people benefit from both as sponsees and ultimately as sponsors. Sponsorship is a rich and enduring part of tradition of Alcoholics Anonymous. Twelve Step Sponsorship delivers both the theory and practice--how to do it and why--in a clear, step-by-step presentation. Written by the author of Getting Started in AA, a widely acclaimed guide for the newcomer to the program of AA, Twelve Step Sponsorship is the first truly comprehensive look at sponsorship, a role recovering people benefit from both as sponsees and ultimately as sponsors. Twelve Step Sponsorship includes informative sections that deal with: finding a sponsor and being a sponsor. Twelve Step Sponsorship offers a welcome reinforcement to the tradition of passing it on from one generation of sponsors to the next. |
| aa big book sponsorship guide: Big Book Awakening Dan Sherman, 1992-01-01 Written to be used in conjunction with, not instead of the Big Book of Alcoholics anonymous. This book will help guide you through a personal experience with all Twelve Steps as they are outlined in the AA Big Book. You write notes and questions from the Big Book Awakening into your own Big Book for personal consideration. After you have completed this process yourself your Big Book is now a powerful working with others book with questions and considerations that will help you work with others both one-on-one and in workshops. They them selves write the same notes into their own Big Book to one day do the same. |
| aa big book sponsorship guide: Understanding the Twelve Steps Terence T. Gorski, 1991-04-15 An interpretation and guide to the 12 steps of Acoholics Anonymous. |
| aa big book sponsorship guide: Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 2014-10-09 A.A. co-founder Bill W. tells the story of the growth of Alcoholics Anonymous from its make-or-break beginnings in New York and Akron in the early 1930s to its spread across the country and overseas in the years that followed. A wealth of personal accounts and anecdotes portray the dramatic power of the A.A. Twelve Step program of recovery — unique not only in its approach to treating alcoholism but also in its spiritual impact and social influence. Bill recounts the evolution of the Twelve Steps, the Twelve Traditions and the Twelve Concepts for World Service — those principles and practices that protect A.A.s Three Legacies of Recovery, Unity and Service — and how in 1955 the responsibility for these were passed on by the founding members to the Fellowship (A.A.’s membership at large). In closing chapters of Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, early friends of A.A., including the influential Dr. Silkworth and Father Ed Dowling, share their perspectives. Includes 16 pages of archival photographs. For those interested in the history of A.A. and how it has withstood the test of time, Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age offers on the growth of this ground-breaking movement. Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age has been approved by the General Service Conference. |
| aa big book sponsorship guide: The Narcotics Anonymous Step Working Guides , 1998-01-01 Narcotics Anonymous Step Working Guides are meant to be used by NA members at any stage of recovery, whether it's the first time through the steps, or whether they have been a guiding force for many years. This book is intentionally written to be relevant to newcomers and to help more experienced memebers develop a deeper understanding of the Twelve Steps. |
| aa big book sponsorship guide: Ebby Mel B., 2013-11-05 This is both a fascinating history of the formative years of Alcoholics Anonymous, as well as the bitter-sweet tale of the troubled man Bill W. always referred to as my sponsor. In 1934, Ebby Thatcher called an old drinking buddy to tell him about the happiness he was finding in sobriety. His friend's name was Bill Wilson, and this book is the story of their life-long friendship. Deeply informative and moving, a valuable contribution to the history of A.A. A 'must' reading for anyone interested in one of the more fascinating chapters in A.A.'s history.--Nell Wing, Retired A.A. Archivist and Bill Wilson's Secretary |
| aa big book sponsorship guide: The Sponsor's 12 Step Manual John E, 2013-06-20 New Edition. This is the Workbook Edition of The Sponsor's 12 Step Manual: A (independent)Guide to Teaching and Learning the Program of A.A. in which additional space has been added for writing answers. This means that a person can keep a record of work completed directly within the pages of this book. Ideal to work through with a sponsee (or by yourself). The guide applies established educational techniques to developing an understanding of the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. This process leads to a structure that progressively improves a person's knowledge and understanding of each of the steps examined. An earlier version has been used with groups in treatment facilities in a classroom situation and some people have set up home groups and met together using the earlier version as the basis for the meeting. The feedback has been very positive with people continuing to start other groups and the book being used as a tool to teach the Steps. Now being used in five prisons. This is not a 'stand alone' book, for it to work you will also need to have access to A.A.s Big Book and The 12 Steps and 12 Traditions. |
| aa big book sponsorship guide: Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Trade Edition Bill W., 1953 Twelve Steps to recovery. |
| aa big book sponsorship guide: Alcoholics Anonymous Charles Bufe, 1997-12-01 This well researched, painstakingly documented book provides detailed information on the right-wing evangelical organization (Oxford Group Movement) that gave birth to AA; the relation of AA and its program to the Oxford Group Movement; AA's similarities to and differences from religious cults; AA's remarkable ineffectiveness; and the alternatives to AA. The greatly expanded second edition includes a new chapter on AA's relationship to the treatment industry, and AA's remarkable influence in the media. |
| aa big book sponsorship guide: Recipe for Recovery Chronic Pain Anonymous Service Board, 2015-04-30 Based in a tradition of spiritual, mental and emotional recovery, this book provides you with Twelve time-tested Steps, used by people throughout the world for leading a satisfying and fulfilling life, regardless of any physical health challenge. Whether your chronic condition is a result of accident or surgical procedure disorders such as arthritis, lupus, MS, fibromyalgia, diabetes, Crohn's disease life-threatening illness, such as cancer or heart disease back pains, headaches or nerve pains or any other persistent physical illness or pain-related trauma or disease ... the Steps are a practical recipe and guide for reclaiming a celebration of life. This book will demonstrate that you are not alone. Recipe for Recovery is filled with dozens of true-life stories----personal testimonies of other people just like you. Each one speaks to how the principles of Chronic Pain Anonymous literally saved them from self-obsession, fear and depression, opening the menu of their lives to a whole new range of possibilities for happiness, acceptance and service to others. |
| aa big book sponsorship guide: Living Sober Trade Edition Anonymous, 1975 Tips on living sober. |
| aa big book sponsorship guide: The Little Red Book Edward A. Webster, 1957 |
| aa big book sponsorship guide: The Twelve Steps and the Sacraments Scott Weeman, 2017-11-10 Winner of a 2018 Catholic Press Association Award: Sacraments. (Second Place). In the first book to directly integrate the Twelve Steps with the practice of Catholicism, Scott Weeman, founder and director of Catholic in Recovery, pairs his personal story with compassionate straight talk to show Catholics how to bridge the commonly felt gap between the Higher Power of twelve-step programs and the merciful God that he rediscovered in the heart of the sacraments. Weeman entered sobriety from alcohol and drugs on October 10, 2011, and he's made it his full-time ministry to help others who struggle with various types of addiction to find spiritual wholeness through Catholic in Recovery, an organization he founded and directs. In The Twelve Steps and the Sacraments, Weeman candidly tackles the struggle he and other addicts have with getting to know intimately the unnamed Higher Power of recovery. He shares stories of his compulsion to find a personal relationship with God and how his tentative steps back to the Catholic Church opened new doors of healing and brought him surprising joy as he came to know Christ in the sacraments. Catholics in recovery and those moving toward it, as well as the people who love them will recognize Weeman's story and his spiritual struggle to personally encounter God. He tells us how: Baptism helps you admit powerlessness over an unmanageable problem, face your desperate need for God, and choose to believe in and submit to God’s mercy. Reconciliation affirms and strengthens the hard work of examining your life, admitting wrongs, and making amends. The Eucharist provides ongoing sustenance and draws you to the healing power of Christ. The graces of Confirmation strengthen each person to keep moving forward and to share the good news of recovery and new life in Christ. Weeman's words are boldly challenging and brimming with compassion and through them you will discover inspiration, hope, sage advice, and refreshingly practical help. |
| aa big book sponsorship guide: The Spiritual Solution John Haspel, 2012-04-01 The Spiritual Solution - Simple And Effective Recovery Through The Taking And Teaching Of The 12 Steps is a guide to the 12 Steps as presented in the book Alcoholics Anonymous. The 12 steps are intended to be a simple and straightforward way for alcoholics to actually take the steps in one sitting. The 12 Steps were never intended to be studied, worked, or analyzed in any protracted way. The 12 Steps are meant to be taken as soon as possible, early in recovery. Included in this book are the guidelines used during The Spiritual Solution One Day 12 Step Workshops. There are additional chapters on: The Founding of AA The Development Of The Spiritual Solution To Alcoholism The Maintenance Steps - Steps 10, 11 and 12 Sponsorship The Home Group Special (exclusive) Meetings Other Substances And Singleness Of Purpose Sober Time and Qualifications For Service The Meaning Of Conference Approved Literature The Spiritual Solution book explains what has happened to a program once called a miracle of the twentieth century, and how AA can return to its previous effectiveness. Whether the reader has been in the rooms for many years or still struggling with active alcoholism or addiction, The Spiritual Solution provides a clear, simple and effective guide to comfortable and contented sobriety by actually taking the 12 Steps. If the reader has tried AA and became disappointed or disillusioned, you were more than likely never presented with the actual AA program of recovery found only in the 12 Steps as described in the book Alcoholics Anonymous. The digital edition has a linked 12 Step Quick Guide showing precisely the location of the steps in The Big Book. The 12 Step Quick Guide is included in the paperback edition as well. |
| aa big book sponsorship guide: Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers Alcoholics Anonymous, 1980 A biography, with recollections of early A.A. in the Midwest. |
| aa big book sponsorship guide: Twelve Concepts for World Service Bill W., 1962 |
| aa big book sponsorship guide: Daily Reflections A a, Aa World Services Inc, 2017-07-27 This is a book of reflections by A.A. members for A.A. members. It was first published in 1990 to fulfill a long-felt need within the Fellowship for a collection of reflections that moves through the calendar year--one day at a time. Each page contains a reflection on a quotation from A.A. Conference-approved literature, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, As Bill Sees It and other books. These reflections were submitted by members of the A.A. Fellowship who were not professional writers, nor did they speak for A.A. but only for themselves, from their own experiences in sobriety. Thus the book offers sharing, day by day, from a broad cross section of members, which focuses on the Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous: Recovery, Unity and Service. Daily Reflections has proved to be a popular book that aids individuals in their practice of daily meditation and provides inspiration to group discussions even as it presents an introduction for some to A.A. literature as a whole. |
| aa big book sponsorship guide: OA Big Book Study Guide Lawrie Cherniack, 2014-01-08 This book is sold at cost of sale on Amazon for the benefit of OA members who want a print copy of the popular Big Book study by Lawrie C. Unauthorized reproduction of this book for sale is a violation of copyright law and sale at a price greater than cost is a violation of the author's terms of copyright. Find a free PDF copy of this book, additional information, podcasts and webcasts at oabigbook.info |
| aa big book sponsorship guide: Not God Ernest Kurtz, 2010-03-26 A fascinating account of the discovery and program of Alcoholics Anonymous, Not God contains anecdotes and excerpts from the diaries, correspondence, and occasional memoirs of AA's early figures. The most complete history of A.A. ever written, this book is a fast-moving and authoritative account of the discovery and development of the program and fellowship that we know today as Alcoholics Anonymous. |
| aa big book sponsorship guide: A Sponsorship Guide for 12-Step Programs M. T., 2013-10-08 A Sponsorship Guide for 12-Step Programs offers the reader far-ranging suggestions, based on concrete experience, for the most common issues and dilemmas that arise when one agrees to become a sponsor in any 12-step program. Seventeen sponsors (with collective recovery time of over 250 years) share their experience and insights as they describe common situations sponsors face and relate the solutions they used. This is the first book of its kind--for sponsors, by sponsors. Divided into three main sections--Sponsorship Basics, Working the Steps with a Sponsee, and Common issues that Come Up--this book will be of use to anyone who has agreed to be a sponsor, or anyone who does not have access to a sponsor. A Sponsorship Guide is like having a sponsor in a book. |
| aa big book sponsorship guide: Twelve Steps to Spiritual Awakening Herb K., 2016-09-21 Herb K., who is also the author of Twelve Step Guide to Using the Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book, continues sharing his insights to the Twelve Steps by explaining the how and why, using his own experience along with traditional and universal spiritual wisdom. This book illuminates a path from the dark world of alcoholism and brokenness to a life of peace, purpose and fulfillment. Herb K. leads Twelve Step workshops, retreats and teaches spirituality and recovery throughout the U.S. and the world. |
| aa big book sponsorship guide: A Program For You Anonymous, 2009-10-23 A Program for You leads each of us--newcomer or old-timer--to a deeper understanding of recovery as a way of life. A Program for You leads each of us--newcomer or old-timer--to a deeper understanding of recovery as a way of life. A Program for You clears our way for discovering positive, powerful answers to these questions. In the years since 1939, the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous, has guided millions in their search for a design for healthy living free of addictive behaviors. Now, two program old-timers share their years of intensive study of the Big Book, revealing the vitality of its message for those of us reading it today.This celebration of the basic text of Twelve Step recovery breathes new life into the Big Book's timeless wisdom. Thoroughly annotated line and page, written with down-to-earth humor and simplicity, and providing a contemporary context for understanding, A Program for You helps us experience the same path of renewal that Bill W. and the first on hundred AA members did. |
| aa big book sponsorship guide: The 20 Most Misunderstood, Misinterpreted, Mistakes Danny Falcone, 2016-02-28 After traveling the world doing workshops on the steps and Big Book studies for over twenty years, Danny has realized how many people have no real understanding of the program of recovery. The national recovery rate of 15 percent success is a far cry from the statistics of 75 percent presented in the Big Book. This book outlines the most common mistakes and misunderstandings that happen daily with the recovering population. If you want a new understanding of the 12-Step Program, this book is a must-read. |
| aa big book sponsorship guide: One on One Aa Grapevine, 2013 What does a sponsor do? How do you get one? This book is full of members' experiences about the challenges and joys of AA sponsorship. A great book for both sponsors and sponsees. |
| aa big book sponsorship guide: A New Pair of Glasses Chuck C., 1984 |
| aa big book sponsorship guide: Big Book Study Guides for AA Alcoholics Anonymous, 2014-11-07 Two Study Guides For the Big Book of Alcoholics AnonymousThe first study guide has a summary of each book and then hundreds of follow up questions to answer and add sobriety notes. Can be used alone and in group meetings. The Dr.'s Opinion, More About Alcoholism, A Vision for You and all the rest are included.The second study guide is a smaller week by week exercise guide that is suited for group meetings.Can also be used for Narcotics Anonymous, Overeaters Anonymous and other Twelve Step Groups. |
| aa big book sponsorship guide: The 12 Step Philosophy of Alcoholics Anonymous Steve K, 2018-11-06 A comprehensive two part essay offering an interpretation of the 12 Step Philosophy of Alcoholics Anonymous--Page 4 of cover. |
| aa big book sponsorship guide: Al-Anons Twelve Steps & Twelve Traditions Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc, 2005-12-01 |
| aa big book sponsorship guide: Adult Children Adult Children of Alcoholics (Association), 2006 This is the official ACA Fellowship Text that is Adult Children of Alcoholics World Service Organization (ACA WSO) Conference Approved Literature. Adult Children of Alcoholics/Dysfunctional Families (ACA) is an independent 12 Step and 12 Tradition anonymous program. |
| aa big book sponsorship guide: A Sponsorship Guide for 12-Step Programs M. T., 1998-02-15 This book offers the reader far-ranging suggestions, based on experience for the most common issues and dilemmas that arise when one agrees to be someone's sponsor in any of the twelve step fellowships. The guide is a wonderful resource for anyone who has agreed to be a sponsor, who wants a sponsor, who does not have the best sponsor for him/herself, or access to a sponsor. |
| aa big book sponsorship guide: Carry This Message Joe McQ, 2015-01-01 Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to others, and to practice these principles in all our affairs. -STEP 12 of the TWELVE STEPS Sponsorship is a key construct in A. A. and other Twelve Step groups, and the twelfth step is the foundation of the sponsorship dynamic essential to recover - both for the sponsor and the sponsoree. This book addresses the concern of many in the A. A. community that sponsors have lost some skills in working with alcoholics. By offering tools for helping others find recovery and new life through the Twelve Step program, Joe McQ has created a guide for sponsors to use in working with others. By refocusing his readers on the Big Book, the Twelve Steps, and their message, McQ appeals for a return to the roots and essence of the A. A. program. Moreover, he issues a strong call to action, for return to the fullness and the integrity of the miraculous recovery program. |
| aa big book sponsorship guide: How To Be An Effective Sponsor In AA Anonymous Guest, 2020-03-05 Make no mistake, sponsorship is a scary proposition. Anyone who tells you otherwise doesn’t understand what real sponsorship is. Even offering an honest guide for others to use will be criticized. I’ve listened to these people says this is a “dangerous” topic for discussion and then they sit on their butts by doing nothing to help. This has been going on for years! Well I’ll take the heat gladly. I’ve seen too many die from this disease so I will tell you what turned me around and helped me become an more effective sponsor for those who asked for help. I don’t speak for Alcoholics Anonymous. No one does. What I will be doing here is sharing the effective method pointed out in the Big Book and the experiences learned from 12 Step calls over a 30 year period. This is a guide to prepare a person in recovery for the job of helping another by following the path laid out by our Big Book of Recovery and depending on a Higher Power. |
| aa big book sponsorship guide: Storytelling in Alcoholics Anonymous George H. Jensen, 2000 When drinkers attend Alcoholics Anonymous and their spouses attend Al- Anon, says Jensen (English, Southwest Missouri State U.), dramatic changes occur that cannot be accounted for simply by the absence of alcohol. He explains how being a member can contribute to the formation of a new identity through the transformative effect of storytelling within its structure. Annotation copyrighted by Book News Inc., Portland, OR |
| aa big book sponsorship guide: The Good Book - Big Book Guide Book Dick B, 2011-07-26 A companion to Dick B.'s most popular book, The Good Book and The Big Book: A.A.'s Roots in the Bible. This guidebook shows you how and where to study the Bible as the highly-successful early AAs did. |
| aa big book sponsorship guide: The Popular Encyclopedia of Christian Counseling Dr Tim Clinton, Dr Ron Hawkins, 2011-09-01 Seasoned counselors and professors Tim Clinton and Ron Hawkins provide a landmark reference that offers a capstone definition of the emerging profession and ministry of the Christian counselor. Appropriate for professional counselors, lay counselors, pastors, students, and teachers, it includes nearly 300 entries by nearly 100 top Christian counselors. This practical guide focuses on functional aspects of Christian counseling and explores such important topics as...Christian counseling as a profession, ministry, and lay ministry; Spiritual and theological roots; Social, emotional, and relational issues; Skills and essentials in Christian helping; Ethical and legal considerations; Intake, assessment, diagnosis, and treatment planning; and Premarital counseling, family therapy, and substance abuse. Counselors will also find up-to-date information on solution-based brief therapy, cognitive therapy and biblical truth, and trauma and crisis intervention. An essential resource for maintaining a broad and up-to-date perspective on helping others. |
| aa big book sponsorship guide: Getting Started in AA Hamilton B., 1995-09-25 A handbook for newcomers to Alcoholics Anonymous providing program principles and historical references. |
| aa big book sponsorship guide: Psychotherapy for the Treatment of Substance Abuse Marc Galanter, Herbert D. Kleber, 2011 In Psychotherapy for the Treatment of Substance Abuse, leading authorities on substance abuse treatment techniques review and illustrate the most common interventions for opioid-related and alcohol-related substance abuse disorders, as well as crucial methodologies for testing and patient placement. Methods reviewed include self-help fellowships such as Alcoholics Anonymous, cognitive-behavioral and psychodynamic treatments, motivational enhancement, group and family therapy, contingency management, and the multimodal approach called Network Therapy, which recruits the support of friends and family to prompt abstinence and prevent relapse. Each chapter includes vivid case studies to illustrate the approach described, as well as a review of the key clinical concepts and a list of essential readings. Adapting a new, clinically focused manual from their popular American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Substance Abuse Treatment, now in its fourth edition, Dr. Galanter and Dr. Kleber have designed Psychotherapy for the Treatment of Substance Abuse to be of practical application to both experienced clinicians and those new to the field. The accompanying DVD demonstrates Network Therapy in practice and includes enlightening commentary on key issues that are relevant across the many modalities of substance abuse treatment discussed in the book. |
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Alcoholics Anonymous® is a fellowship of people who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their com-mon problem and help others to recover from …
Sponsorship Guide: Steps Six and Seven - WordPress.com
Quite aside from the brief treatment these steps receive in the Big Book, the lasting impact of this part of the AA step program brings an equally lasting result in the transformation of the new …
The Twelve Step Program - Big Book Guide - 12 STEPS TO …
Outline the program of action (recovery recipe), explaining how you made a self-appraisal, how you straightened out your past and why you are now endeavoring to be helpful to them. It is …
97789 AA Sponsorship Your Questions Answered - Alcoholics …
Essentially, sponsorship is one alcoholic who has made some progress in the recovery programme sharing that experience on a continuous, individual basis with another alcoholic …
Back to the Basics of Sponsorship - AA Back to Basics
Explain that the process is simple and straight-forward. Call the sponsee. Demonstrate that you are interested in the sponsee’s well-being by checking in with him or her on a regular basis. …
The Twelve Step Program - Big Book Guide - Emotional …
Feb 4, 2014 · To show other alcoholics (addicts) precisely how we have recovered is the main purpose of this book. For them, we hope these pages will prove so convincing that no further …
12 Step Big Book Guide - Just Love Audio
We connect suffering addicts to recovered addicts who guide newcomers through a personalized one on one study of the original, undiluted 12 step program described in the Big Book of …
4-hour-12-steps - Big Book Sponsorship
Now we need more action, without which we find that "Faith without works is dead." Let's look at Steps. Eight and Nine. We have a list of all persons we have harmed and to whom (Col. 1) we …
The Twelve Step Program - Big Book Guide
Big Book Sponsorship Guide | https://bigbooksponsorship.org | (version 2025-01-05)
4-hour-12-steps - Big Book Sponsorship
Big Book Sponsorship Guide http://www.bigbooksponsorship.org 17 Step 5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. Having made our …
4-hour-12-steps - Big Book Sponsorship
Big Book Sponsorship Guide http://www.bigbooksponsorship.org 21 Step 8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all. Now we need more …
4-hour-12-steps - Big Book Sponsorship
(AA p. 84) Step 10 Paycheck And we have ceased fighting anything or anyone, even alcohol (drugs, obsessive-compulsive behaviour). For by this time sanity will have returned. We will seldom be …
Step 10. Continued to take personal inventory ... - Big Book …
(AA p. 84) Step 10 Promises (Description of a recovered alcoholic/addict) And we have ceased fighting anything or anyone, even alcohol (drugs, obsessive-compulsive behaviour). For by this …
AA-12-traditions-4-hours - Big Book Sponsorship
A Workshop Guide to The Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous "As the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous are our recipe for individual recovery, the Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics …
Appendix IV - RESENTMENTS: Use one sheet per resentment.
Big Book Sponsorship Guide | https://bigbooksponsorship.org | (version 2022-07-05) 33 Appendix V - Fears: Use one sheet per fear. Come prepared to admit to God, to ourselves, and to another …
mucked-big-book-14-10-24 - Big Book Sponsorship
Comment: Book of Secrets Comment: The Recipe Comment: Power Comment: You want to recover (Y/N)? '
GOD Spiritual Experience Spiritual Awakening ... - Big Book …
1 on 1 Big Book Sponsorship World of Spirit POWER Wheel of Misfortune Mental Blank Spot - The liar always wins Sponsor / Guide My Bottom O Death or Insanity SPREE Phenomenon of Craving …
STEP ONE: How to share an effective "WAR" story - Big Book …
Our job (as Big Book Sponsors) is to explain our approach and win their (newcomers) confidence. But the ex-problem drinker (addict) who has found this solution (our recipe for recovery) , who is …
