12-Step Facilitation Therapy

Guiding Lasting Recovery with 12-Step Facilitation Therapy at Purpose Healing Center

The Benefits of Facilitation Therapy for Substance Use Disorder

TSFT really breaks down Twelve-Step programs so they don’t seem overwhelming. It gives you a chance to break down the steps and see where they can help you in sobriety.

You get comfortable talking among your peers in group therapy and start to accept help from others. This lays the foundation, so you can continue down the road to sobriety even after you’ve completed a treatment program.

Facilitation Therapy Can Be Used Alongside Other Treatments

At Purpose Healing, 12-step facilitation therapy is only part of a much bigger program. It’s used alongside motivational enhancement therapy, a structured program where you’ll build motivation and confidence to stay sober. One-on-one counseling, group therapy, and recreational activities also play a big part in treating substance use disorder.

We help with everything from medication management for mental illness and handling withdrawal symptoms to helping you establish a routine and choose foods that support your body in recovery. You’ll learn practical skills for recovery, while going through the spiritual and emotional growth that the Twelve Steps promote.

It Has Benefits for Relapse Prevention

One of our major goals for clients leaving our outpatient or residential rehab programs is to make sure you have everything you need in place to avoid relapse.

12-step facilitation makes sure you’re prepared. It’s an active engagement strategy that helps you feel more involved in your own recovery. You take an active role as you work through the steps and accept that recovery is a journey, not a one-time event.

It Can Be Used for Other Types of Substance Abuse

The Twelve Steps go beyond Alcoholics Anonymous, benefiting those in Narcotics Anonymous and other recovery programs as well. Twelve-Step facilitation, promotes personal growth and skills that apply to methamphetamine, cocaine, and opioid addiction, among other struggles. The language can be adapted to fit your specific situation, making you feel more comfortable and accepting of the core principles the program has to offer.

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The 12 Steps and Program Principles

The 12 steps and their principles offer a structured path to healing. As you work through them, you’ll find accountability, personal growth, and spiritual awakening. Twelve-Step facilitation lets you start using these principles in a clinical setting, rather than with a group.

You’ll be able to better understand how each step can be individually applied to your life and recovery. TSFT focuses most on the first five steps and principles. 

In addition to these resources, Purpose Healing offers an ever-expanding array of resources for many aspects of Anonymous programs, across types:

• A look at the role of sponsors in AA, NA, and other Anonymous groups
• Guidance on the 12 Steps of Al-Anon
• AA books and official reading materials
• A list of character defects that is downloadable
• An AA Back to Basics guide
• A guide to Cocaine Anonymous meetings in Arizona
• A guide to Crystal Meth Anonymous meetings in Arizona
• Understanding the symbols of Narcotics Anonymous
• Looking into the Narcotics Anonymous ‘Just for Today’ book
• What is a spiritual awakening in AA? Get answers!
• A resource for loved ones and family on Families Anonymous
• What is an Alcoholics Anonymous Christmas
• Finding an Alcathon in Arizona during the holidays
• and many more resources related to working the Steps as well

Admit Powerlessness

“We admitted we were powerless over alcohol – that our lives had become unmanageable.”

While working through the first step in substance abuse treatment, you’ll recognize that drug and alcohol dependence is a disease. Even though you’ve tried, it’s hard to control and you can’t do it alone. Admitting powerlessness doesn’t make you weak. It simply means you’re ready to ask for help.

Believe in a Higher Power

“Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.”

Some people struggle with this step because of its religious undertones, but a higher power doesn’t have to be God unless you’d like it to be. This higher power could be believing in the energy in the universe, such as Buddhism, or even just the power of fighting addiction in a group.

Give Up Control

“Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood him.”

During Step Three, you surrender control to whatever higher power you believe in. This helps ease anxieties and exhaustion from trying to manage your addiction by yourself.

Personal Inventory

“Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.”

Often, your therapist will give you worksheets or exercises that can help work through this step. As you take your personal inventory, you learn about character flaws, harmful behaviors and habits, and emotional struggles that fuel your addiction.

Admit Your Wrongs

Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.”

This Step is all about being vulnerable enough to admit your wrongs, even if it’s just to yourself and your therapist. TSFT gives you a chance to practice vulnerability or even use role-playing to practice admitting these wrongs.

Get Ready to Change

“Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.”

In Step Six, you get comfortable with change. Even when change happens for the better, it’s hard to let go of patterns and behaviors.

Ask For Help

“Humbly ask Him to remove our shortcomings.”

In therapy, this isn’t just about turning to God for help. It also teaches you to connect with and ask for help from sponsors, counselors, and support groups.

Make a List of Those You’ve Wronged

“Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and become willing to make amends to them.”It can be hard to admit you’ve hurt the people you’ve loved. During Twelve-Step facilitation, your therapist will help you work through this list and deal with guilt or other hard feelings that might arise.

Make Amends

“Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, and become willing to make amends to them all.”

Even though amends are important, through TSFT, you’ll learn to decide when amends can be made without causing additional harm. You might work through these amends with your therapist, your emotions, and decide whether it’d be beneficial to reach out to the people you’ve harmed directly.

Our resource on exactly this topic, the AA Amends script guide, comes along with downloadable sheets you can print and share with your sponsor when working on this crucial process. 

Continue Self-Inventory

“Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong we promptly admitted it.”

Your recovery is ongoing, and so is your growth. During TSFT, you’ll build the habit of checking in with yourself and identifying areas where you can grow. These check-ins can also provide valuable insight on thoughts, behaviors, and emotions that might trigger you.