Links

Links

Topics: LifeRing sites -- Recovery Groups Offering Alternatives to 12-Step, U.S. -- Alternatives abroad -- Interesting individual sites and author sites -- Web guides to addiction and recovery topics -- From the Research-Treatment-Government-Industrial Complex -- Same Abroad -- Approaches to Healing (Miscellaneous)

LifeRing web sites:

LifeRing Europe, Noe I., webmaster

LifeRing Pennsylvania website, John R. webmaster

Tampa Bay Area LifeRing website, Tom S., webmaster

LifeRing UK. Keith J., webmaster

Cincinnati LifeRing, Richard B., webmaster

Las Vegas LifeRing, Steve G., webmaster

LifeRing Press Books by and about LifeRing Secular Recovery

The LifeRing Convenor's Page About the LifeRing organization

Recovery Groups Offering Alternatives to 12-Step -- U.S.

Women For Sobriety. Women For Sobriety, Inc. is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping women overcome alcoholism and other addictions. Founded in 1976 by the late Jean Kirkpatrick, WFS is based on the premise that recovery requires affirmation and reinforcement of self-esteem, rather than the 'annihilation of ego' propounded by the founders of Alcoholics Anonymous. Kirkpatrick is the author of numerous books, pamphlets and articles championing the unserved special needs of women alcoholics. Kirkpatrick is the godmother of many of the subsequent alternatives to the 12-Step approach.

SMART Recovery. Self Management And Recovery Training emerged in 1994 as the result of a schism among the leadership of Rational Recovery (RR). SMART is a nonprofit organization that promotes support meetings and publishes literature. Meetings may be led by professional counselors. The guiding philosophy of SMART is Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) formulated by Dr. Albert Ellis. Its primary sobriety tool is the "ABC," a way of changing one's emotions by changing one's mistaken beliefs. The current president is Arthur T. Horvath, Ph.D.

Rational Recovery. RR is a for-profit franchisor of Rational Recovery Centers using the proprietary Addictive Voice Recognition Technique® (AVRT). Founded and owned by Jack and Lois Trimpey, RR sees recovery self-help support groups as worthless or harmful, and believes that Alcoholics Anonymous is the prevalent cause of addictions in the US today. Its web site offers a "crash course in AVRT" which, it claims, can cure some people of addiction as swiftly as the Heimlich maneuver.

Secular Organizations for Sobriety (SOS). SOS is a subcommittee of the Council for Secular Humanism (CSH), which makes SOS currently one of the few recovery organizations owned and governed by non-abstainers.

Sixteen Steps Groups. Founded by Charlotte Kasl, Ph.D. and inspired by her classic book Many Roads, One Journey (see review), the Sixteen Steps groups feature a blend of self-affirmations reminiscent of WFS, together with doses of New Age influence with a feminist flavor, aiming at all-around personal transformation and liberation from oppressive, addiction-engendering cultural programming.

Know of other U.S. sobriety groups that offer an abstinent alternative to 12-Step? Please email the link here: webmaster@unhooked.com

Alternatives to 12-Step Abroad:

The Wednesday Group in Munster -- an independent self-help group of sober alcoholics, "ohne Religion, ohne Tradition." One of a network of independent secular self-help groups in Germany. German language. Stefan Stobke, webmaster.

SHG Pirna. Self-Help Group in Pirna, Germany. Member of a network of independent self-help groups using a secular approach. Jens P. and Michael, webmasters. German language see its links page.

The Tuesday Group -- Die Dienstagsgruppe in Bramsche (Osnabrueck), Germany. (Formerly the Wednesday group.) One of a network of independent secular self-help groups. Joerg Hengmith, webmaster. German language.

Das Selbsthilfe Forum (Self-Help Forum): German language recovery chat and links to a variety of recovery groups in Germany.

Vie Libre -- A Free Life. French association dedicated to mutual self-help by alcoholics and to social reform to reduce the influence of alcohol and of the alcohol industry in society. Secular. Founded 1953. French language.

Croix d'Or -- Cross of Gold. The organization "seeks to make victims of alcohol into happy and useful abstainers. ... To recover, I need to make recovery my own responsibility, my own initiative; otherwise it will not happen." Secular, French language.

YES Recovery. Founded in Sydney, AU, seeking members worldwide. "Many programs and fellowships require a belief in God or else have authority figures whose rules or therapies must be obeyed. This program has no such requirements, and it promotes the strength and authority of the individual," as laid out in the "48 Precepts."

Know of other non-12 Step groups abroad? Please mail the link here, webmaster@unhooked.com

Interesting Individual Sites and Author Sites

Behavioral Health Recovery Management The site to find William L. White, author of Slaying the Dragon, and other living, interesting minds. Using a recovery model with an evidence-based orientation, the site emphasizes a consumer-centered, strengths-based service delivery model. Read this:

2. Client empowerment: The client, rather than the professional, is at the center of the BHRM model. The goal is the assumption of responsibility by each client for the management of his or her long-term recovery process and the achievement of a self-determined and self-fulfilling life. Client empowerment involves not just self-direction of one's own recovery, but opportunities for involvement in the design, delivery and evaluation of services provided by behavioral health organizations and involvement in shaping public attitudes and public policies regarding behavioral health disorders.

Steps, Staggers, Lurches, and Lunges A treasury of secular recovery wit and wisdom. Maintained by the noted Canadian neuropathologist and addiction specialist Dr. George S. Davidson MB BS FRCPC ASAM, this site has hard-to-find texts such as Bill Wilson's 1958 speech to the AMA, the original 1939 JAMA review of the Big Book ("no scientific merit or interest"), B.F. Skinner's version of the 12 Steps and others, some serious, some humorous. There are thoughtful reflections on religion, disease theory, and AA. Various medical definitions of alcoholism and addiction are there for the citing. Dessert includes a devastatingly funny collection of humor. Not a pretty site (frames, lurid colors, etc.) but don't miss browsing here.

Wendi Fox. A college lecturer on addiction who leaves them rolling in the aisles with laughter. Irreverent, deeply honest, totally non-preachy Wendi Fox blends personal experience with the skills of the standup comic. wendifox.com

Thinking Person's Guide to Sobriety -- Bert Pluymen A reminder, if you needed one, that not all alcoholics are skid row bums. Boyish good looks, wealth, and a brilliant legal mind didn't prevent Texas author Bert Pluymen from getting hooked on the sauce. The site promotes his recovery book by the same title. The chapter titles alone are worth it.

Freudian Slip Rock Band. Matthew J. Bush, MSW, LSW uses popular music to reach people, particularly children and young people, with therapeutic messages. Also featured on this site is Freudian Slip, Matt's therapeutic rock band.

Uppers, Downers, All Arounders Fourth Edition, by Darryl S. Inaba (CEO of the Haight-Ashbury Free Clinics) and William E. Cohen, (©2001) is an up-to-date user-friendly textbook about psychoactive drugs. Wide-ranging research and extensive citations enable the textbook to also be used as a comprehensive reference source.

Larry's Psychology Lair Larry's Psychology Lair is a guide to webmaster Larry Dickerson's favorite Canadian and international online resources in psychology and humanism.

Marianne Gilliam. "Where do you turn when your twelve step program stops working?", asks author/speaker Marianne Gilliam (How AA Failed Me, see review). "Recovery is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. One recovery program is not going to work for everybody." She says, "If Alcoholics Anonymous works for you, that's great. If it doesn't, we need to know that there are alternatives to Alcoholics Anonymous."

AA Deprogramming: web site that describes AA as a cult and its methods as brainwashing; with advice on "deprogramming."

Powerfully Recovered -- little book by author Anne Wayman argues that original concept of AA program provides for complete recovery, not lifetime of "recovering but never recovered."

Ron Roizen's Sociology of Alcohol page. A member of the Alcohol Research Group in Berkeley in the 1970s, Ron Roizen's intellectual journey has taken him where few have traveled, and he has wrestled with monsters few have dared to take on. His 1987 paper, The Great Controlled Drinking Controversy, is still a viable deep introduction to this controversial topic. His PhD thesis, The American Discovery of Alcoholism, 1933-1939, is an eye-opener that tells surprising facts about how we came to think about alcohol and alcoholism the way we do. The site also has some rare images, including an early dust jacket of the AA Big Book with the subtitle "Their Pathway to a Cure."

Anne M. Fletcher's Sober for Good page. Anne Fletcher, a nutrition and health writer, is also the author of a recovery book, Sober for Good. See unhooked.com review. Her web site contains more information about the author and her work.

Jerry Dorsman is author of How to Quit Drinking Without AA. He has a website, self-renewal.com.

Writers on the Storm. Featuring fiction and nonfiction, much of it with a recovery angle, by John Price, Glo M., Dodo, Rick Booth, Richard Campbell, Dan Garrett and others.

Addiction Law. A resource on court cases about AA as a religious program and about patient rights in addiction treatment. Argues that most addiction is a consequence of prior trauma, that most treatment programs fail to address the PTSD diagnosis, and that this failure may constitute actionable professional negligence. Andrew Painter, webmaster. Related material is at http://www.addiction.us/addiction/

Recoveryfree.com "Stop recovering and start Discovering! Web site of Jim DeSena, Ph.D., an addiction/recovery researcher and consultant, and author of the self-help book, Overcoming Your Alcohol, Drug and Recovery Habits: An Empowering Alternative to AA and 12-Step Treatment."

Sane Gallery A fourteen-year veteran of AA, now clean and sober independently, created this site of satire, send-up and expose based on his experience and research. Includes highly irreverent GIF animations.

Jay Stahl's Recovery Story. Jay Stahl, a principal of Recovery Resource Center Inc. in Cincinnati, contributed his personal recovery narrative and a reflection about the mission of the Center: to provide recovering people with choices that match the treatment to their profile. Broad range of links, resources on the site.

CrystalRecovery.com -- One man's effort to pull together material that may be helpful in recovery from methamphetamine addiction. A bit on the religious side but not with a heavy hand.

AA On Your Terms -- one AA member's experience as a pariah in the AA fellowship (but keep on coming).

The Orange Papers -- One Man's Analysis of AA. Extensive material and links critical of Alcoholics Anonymous, by a member.

AA Not The Only Way -- a resource book on alternatives to AA compiled by Melanie Solomon.

Why More Recovery Choices Are Needed -- Award-winning Toronto journalist, ex-New York City fireman, got sober after brief intervention by his physician, and tells why he has avoided AA in achieving five years clean and sober. (PDF)

Recovery Ribbon Campaign, by Addictions Ontario. Silver metallic ribbon pin celebrates recovery, raises public awareness, and helps overcome stigma against those in recovery.

Positive Recovery -- Wendi and Rich Friesen have put together a recovery program that "will take you from helpless to happy... from chaos to control... of your thoughts, your habits and your emotions."

Know of other interesting individual sites or pages on the topic? Please email the link here, webmaster@unhooked.com

Web Guides to Addiction and Recovery Topics

Join Together Online. A project of Boston University School of Public Health, funded by the RW Johnson Foundation, JTO is the website with the best daily news available from the substance abuse policy front, instant short research summaries, deep reference material and extensive links about addiction. For general audiences. Catch JTO's daily news plug-in here on unhooked.com.

Mobilizing Recovery Through Technology Web Tour. A guided tour of links related to addiction, recovery treatment, recovery advocacy, and related topics, assembled by Join Together Online webmaster Eric Helmuth. For the professional and the advocate.

About.com (formerly The Mining Company). Under the heading "alcoholism," faceless webmaster Buddy T. dispenses the 12-Step faith on the topic. A newer About.com section by webmaster Mike Petracca, who has a face, covers other drugs with a modern, informative approach. There are active Forums and numerous background articles and links.

Learn About Alcoholism.

"Educational resource covering all aspects of alcoholism including signs and symptoms, diagnosis, treatment options, and where to go for help." Website: http://www.learn-about-alcoholism.com

Addiction Recovery Guide. A referral guide and information site maintained by Lucy Waletzky, MD, a practicing psychiatrist and a fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, assisted by Marsha J. Handel, a medical librarian at the Center for Health and Healing at Beth Israel Medical Center. The site is one of the relatively few that lists a range of non-Step options under the heading "Secular and Rational Groups." Commendable.

Web of Addictions A smaller-scale source of news, fact sheets, links and other information on recovery. By Andrew Homer Ph.D. and Dick Dillon.

Another Empty Bottle -- a site primarily for family and friends of alcoholics, with numerous resources and links, mainly 12-Step but also others.

www.readytoquit.com -- a site filled with links to addiction recovery sites

SoberRecovery.Com -- web site with numerous links, including sponsored links to commercial recovery resources.

Narcomix Unanimous -- Series of cartoons from Aussie artist narcosis, many with recovery themes.

All My Health -- Web compendium of links to health related sites, compiled by Jane Rogers.

Psychology Directory -- Compilation of links to variety of psychology topics for professionals, students, and the general public, compiled by psych prof Bill Chaney.

Know of other interesting web sites that belong under this heading? Please send in the link here: webmaster@unhooked.com

Sites from or about the Government-Industrial-Academic-Nonprofit Research and Treatment Complex: U.S.

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) The "drug" counterpart to NIAAA (below), this federal agency within the National Institutes of Health supports 85 per cent of the world's research into drug addiction. It is in the forefront of research into how addiction affects the structures and circuits of the brain. Numerous full-text articles and links.

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) One of the 18 Institutes of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), this federal agency is a major source of funding for research into the causes of alcoholism and other chemical addictions, and makes policy recommendations on a wide range of related issues. Many dozens of full-text research articles and links.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) This agency of the US Department of Health and Human Services considers substance abuse as a mental health problem and is a primary compiler of statistics on the incidence of substance abuse and related mental illnesses. SAMHSA operates the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI), "the world's largest resource for current information and materials concerning substance abuse." NCADI maintains Prevline, an online searchable database relating to alcohol, tobacco and other drugs, and is a front end for a dozen other searchable databases in the substance abuse field, including the National Directory of Drug Abuse and Alcoholism and Drug Treatment and Prevention Programs.

Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) : This is the "Pentagon" for the "War on Drugs." The site is a source for statistics on drug-related imprisonment; for drug treatment efforts (or lack thereof) behind bars; for government expenditures in the war on drugs; for general drug facts and figures; and for the political rhetoric of the drug war.

Recovery Resource Center Inc. of Cincinnati, Ohio. Advocating for choices in chemical dependency treatment in the heartland.

Addiction Arena: a portal to internet-based addiction science research for academics and clinicians, covering a proprietary selection of journals and books. Pay-per-view.

Research Institute on Addictions (RIA) A branch of the New York State health agency, RIA is affiliated with State University of New York at Buffalo. Among its principal investigators is Gerard Connors, Ph.D., of Project Match.

Minnesota Prevention Resource Center: Funded by the State Department of Human Services, the site focuses on prevention of problems arising from alcohol, tobacco and other drugs, gambling, and associated violence. There is a large selection of public education materials and links to nonprofit funding resources.

The Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention -- Alcohol and drug prevention project of the U.S. Department of Education.

Casa - National Center for Substance Abuse at Columbia University: The introduction and executive summary of "Behind Bars: Substance Abuse and America's Prison Population" is available online here, among numerous other policy and research publications.

NCADD. The National Council for Alcoholism and Drug Dependence was founded by Marty Mann, the first woman to credit her recovery to AA, and a tireless advocate of the disease model of alcoholism. This private nonprofit organization maintains links between treatment providers, government agencies, and funding sources and does public education and advocacy.

Marin Institute for Prevention of Alcohol and Other Drug Problems Research with a policy-oriented perspective. Gateway to a searchable database about alcohol industry advertising practices.

IntelliHealth: a searchable database of health-related articles for an educated lay audience.

The Lindesmith Center -- Drug Policy Foundation. The "war on drugs" is misconceived and unwinnable.

Drug War Facts. A collection of statistics comparing harm done by legal drugs (alcohol, tobacco) with harm done by illicit drugs.

My Secular Recovery Site, by Jim M., features an extensive collection of links to addiction research institutes and related topics.

Know of other interesting web sites that belong under this heading? Please send in the link here: webmaster@unhooked.com

Same: Abroad

World Health Organization. Now in its 50th year, this agency of the United Nations contains large searchable archives on problems of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.

International Council on Alcohol and Addictions (ICAA). This nongovernmental international agency based in Lausanne, Switzerland, maintains a research library of paper sources in Arabic, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Swedish. Its numerous special interest sections provide a forum for international exchange among professionals in the field.

Netherlands IVV . This is the site of the Organization for Information Systems on Addiction Care and Treatment (IVV) - the resource on addiction care and treatment in the Netherlands. It maintains the national database on Addiction Care and Treatment - the (LADIS), which collects statistics on treatment for gambling addiction as well as addiction to opiates, cannabis and alcohol. Numerous links to European sites. English language.

Instituto para el Estudio de las Addicciones. A non-governmental, nonprofit organization conducting research and advocacy for prevention of drug addiction; based in Canary Islands, Spain. In Spanish. With links to other Spanish-language resources.

Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse. A nonprofit agency funded by the federal government of Canada in Ottawa. Research, resources and links on uniquely Canadian aspects of substance abuse. Searchable. In English and French.

Addiction Research Foundation (ARF). An agency of the Ontario Ministry of Health and affiliated with the University of Toronto, ARF provides research, treatment and educational services and consultation re alcohol, tobacco and other drug problems in the province. In English and French.

DrugScope. Result of the merger of the UK's foremost drug information and policy organizations: the Institute for the Study of Drug Dependence (ISDD) and the Standing Conference on Drug Abuse (SCODA) - two charities with a total of sixty years in the national and international drugs field. Encyclopedic drug information resource, aimed at popular audiences.

Know of other interesting web sites that belong under this heading? Please send in the link here: webmaster@unhooked.com

Approaches to Healing (Miscellaneous)

Gift From Within -- Collection of articles about trauma (PTSD) and related issues, including substance addiction.

The Children's Place. Helps children from alcohol/addiction impacted families with educational, after-school and summer camp programs. Based in Redwood City, CA.

Recovery 2000. A page of information about naltrexone, the first new drug approved for treatment of cravings in 25 years. By Joseph Volpicelli and Maya Szalavitz; read the book review.

Addiction and Neurofeedback training Explores the potential of brainwave feedback procedures in the treatment of addictions.

The Gorski-Cenaps Corporation. Terence Gorski's corporation to market his relapse prevention program for recovering persons and certification program for professionals. Many testimonials, little content on the site.

Acupuncture in Recovery. Some people swear by it.

Tweaker.org All about meth addiction and the lifestyle.

Heroin Times. Well-done online magazine.

NeuroLinguistic Programming and Addictions

GVG - "A Promising New Strategy for Treating Addiction" from Brookhaven National Laboratory

The Ibogaine Home Page

HabitSmart Introduction to a variety of approaches.

Eclectic Recovery. Attempts to blend a variety of approaches.

Self-Growth.com. A semi-commercial venture with a broad range of resources in the recovery area and a wide range of other topics.

Self-Help and Psychology Magazine. Marlene Maheu, Ph.D., editor. The Alcohol, Nicotine & Other Drugs section has a listing of useful resources. Lively, direct attitude, wide range of other topics.

My Daily Recovery. A for-profit website that dispenses recovery advice for a monthly subscription fee; with some free services and links.

World of Therapy. A pay-to-chat site. "World of Therapy is a site designed to help the millions of people who need the help of a therapist or counselor NOW! Our professionals are OnLine NOW (24 hrs a day) to help in a friendly and safe 'therapy' chat and will interact directly with you."

Addiction Resource Guide. A commercial venture that lists selected treatment providers, with "a bias in favor of 12 -step programs."

Alcoholism: The Cause, The Cure "... the addictive biochemistry holistic medical manifesto that delivers the cure for alcoholism through the proven orthomolecular alcoholism treatment 'The 101 Program'® that addresses the cause of alcoholism." By biochemistry nutritionist and author Genita Petralli.

LifeKits. Sells self-help booklets for addiction recovery, money management, etc.

Addiction Recovery Tools | Alcoholism and Drugs - Resource lists.

Know of other interesting web sites that belong under this heading? Please send in the link here: webmaster@unhooked.com

See also on this site: Science Page, BookTalk Page, Food&Beverage Page, Stop Smoking Page

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