From what I hear, there are people who manage to stay sober for lengthy periods of time without a program of any kind. In 19 years, I've only met one. I have, however, met many who boasted that they were successful without a program, as evidenced by their 30 days or 6 months without a drink. I think there is only a teensy tiny percentage of those people who manage to stay sober for anything like 5 years. With no program in the past, I stayed sober for a few months at a time, but never more.
There are other recovery programs out there that work. I beleive the most important components of successful programs are their support groups, teaching a person about the inability to drink normally and teaching the person coping skills to deal with problems that previously resulted in drinking. If there's no active support component to the program and the alki isn't taught how to deal with real life problems, he'll not be any better off than before and will probably drink again.
I personally tried church, counseling, rehab, and going it alone, all with no success. In fact, I could not begin to count the times that I ended up loaded in church, barely able to stand up. I have never been able to get clean and stay clean for more than a couple months without a program, and for me that became AA and later NA. I also tried going to meetings without working the program......and I tried working the program without going to meetings and using a sponsor. Those didn't work either.
For me it came down to this question? Am I willing to keep looking for shortcuts, knowing that the next time I drink might be fatal for me or someone else? I finally had to answer "no". I could not longer risk my life for the slim chance that I might finally find an "easier" way. I had made an experiment of myself, trying everything to help myself except what I knew would work. I was the lab rat. And we all know what happens to lab rats. Ask yourself this also: If I had any other terminal disease, would I be looking for shortcuts to avoid doing what the doctor recommended??? Would I be arguing about whether those treatments were really necessary? For me, Hell no. I would be working night and day to follow doctor's orders to a T because without them I might die. When I got to the point that I couldn't bear to drink even one more time, I became willing. I surrendered. I finally got willing to follow the way that I knew worked--really working a 12 step program, following suggestions no matter what. And what I have found as a result is continuous abstinence, a much more peaceful life, and that the effort I put into recovery is sooooo much easier than the hell I was putting myself through looking for those shortcuts, I wonder why it took me so long.