Originally Posted by
fakesmiles 
How do I do the steps without going through treatment?
The two are completely independent. AA has no affiliation with treatment centers, although there can some cooperation in certain cases.
If you are serious about beating alcohol, and find you can not do it on your own, call up your local AA hotline or go to a meeting and state that you would like someone to show you have to have a spiritual awakening as the result of the 12 Steps. That phrasing will generally limit the interest to those that are fairly serious about the solution in AA.
In some cases, the person may require some medically supervised detox to become physically separated from booze before they can have any success with the Steps. That's where short term detox or 28 day rehab comes in.
In many other cases, a person can white knuckle through the physical withdrawl and begin the Steps without a formal detox. This can be life threatening, depending on how long and how much you have been drinking.