The treatment centers that I have found beneficial were those that provided a program of actually working the 12 steps while in treatment. They go through each step in detail. It's hard to do this in a 30 day treatment, much less 2-3 weeks. The reason this was important was because if I didn't do the steps while in treatment, I wasn't gonna take the initiative to do it when I got out. They also had a sponsor lined up for me when I was released and had me call him before I left. Again, I wouldn't have done this on my own.
I don't believe that any true alcoholic can be fully recovered after one year sober to the extent that they do not need any further support or meetings. It's not about just keeping the alcohol out of my system for one year. I have to change the way that I think and react to the circumstances and situations that I encounter everyday. Some people do accomplish this and wean themselves from meetings, but in one year? Too risky for me.