VALUE OF THERAPY
Dec 28, from “Strengthening My Recovery” daily reader
“While therapy is not a replacement for the ACA program, many of our members have benefited from counselors who are familiar with ACA or Twelve Step work.” BRB p. 447
After some time in ACA, many of us wondered about therapy and counseling. We heard our friends share about recovering with such help. We wondered if we should look into it. Some of us had never been to a counselor before, and we were nervous to start something new, thinking it might get us off track. We knew of others who had been in therapy before and it didn’t seem to go well.
So we read Chapter 16 in the BRB, “ACA and Therapy,” with an open mind we learned what a therapist should and shouldn’t do, because the BRB gave us the step-by-step process we needed. We said the “Therapy Affirmations” several days in a row. Then, while leaning on our Higher Power, we decided to use the “Questions to ask a Therapist,” while calling a few of them. And we found someone who seemed like a good fit.
We bounced the results off our ACA friends. Then, with our support network in place, we took a leap of faith and tried something new. We opened the door to another tool of recovery. We knew that if we didn’t like the results, we had the resources to talk about it. And if our gut says it’s not working, we can change directions.
On this day I will remember that ACA has many suggestions for recovery, and I can try something new.
My experience:
I was lucky enough to discover both a Therapist and this ACA program around the same time. I started off with a Therapist that I had a previous relationship with. However, after reading the BRB, I realized I needed a Therapist that was familiar with Twelve Step Work and/or ACA most specifically. So I left the one Therapist and started my quest to find one that was familiar with the work I was doing in ACA. Luckily I have come across a person that is intimately familiar not only with Twelve Step Work but ACA specifically. You may ask, so what is the difference? You discuss program work with your sponsor. You discuss life things with your Therapist. The difference is, when your Therapist knows about Step Work, they can help guide you better in the discussions you are having about life. So when I say this is happening at home, my Therapist can guide the conversation into the area of say, Step One and discuss how it seems that I may be powerless over this issue and how things may seem to be moving into being unmanageable surrounding it. I can then contemplate the information, talk with my sponsor or fellow traveler about it, and even discuss it in my next meeting. I can then allow my Higher Power to help with the healing process around this issue. It is wonderful to have this sort of integration that helps me on my healing journey.
It’s available to you too!!