Originally Posted by
MrPoutine 
I agree with previous postings that many counselors in rehab push AA because that is all they know, but even for counselors that know of alternate approaches to sobriety, it is hard to for them to recommend other approaches for support once clients get out of rehab, because the infrastructure for anything other than AA is pretty thin on the ground, or at least it is in my neck of the woods. During my stays in our local rehab establishment (which also served as a medium-term rehab while clients waited for longer term rehab), there was lots of encouragement (actually, overt pressure) on clients to join AA so they would have a support group to attend once they got back into the real world. Some counselors more or less suggested that clients should not worry too much about the religious/spiritual side of A, or working the steps. but suggested that AA could be considered to be more of a social club of people who don't drink.
This makes sense, since most of the clients normally socialised with other drinkers/drug takers, and needed to develop new social circles. I knew some clients that joined AA solely to meet other sober people, and had no intention of seeking a higher power, or working the steps.
This is interestimg MrPoutine. I like to read research studies, and there are many being done on the components of the AA program that support what the therapist said about socialization factor. There are some studies showing its the socialization that is the main benefit to the program and it didnt matter if people worked the steps or the other parts. I think its through SAMHSA where the studies can be found, so for me it supports the idea any type of environment where one can interact and be directed towards a healthy lifestyle is probably key in allowing new habits and patterns to develop over time, plus the formation of a new social group.
When you think of it there's lots of social groups in the world, but the trick is to find ones that dont fall back on drinking for example as part of the social process. Some may laugh but my husband has taken up golfing with his friends and they go on a regular basis. He says its very relaxing, has a free feeling, also challenging and makes him want to practice and do better on his shots the next time. They dont incorporate drinking into their routine just several hours of relaxation, being out in nature, and having fun socializing as friends.