Man! Did this hit a sore spot from long ago! From my own thoughts and a few experiences with others when attempting to get and stay sober, I think there are alcoholics who are in the process of getting sober, or have just done so, who may be as vulnerable to new emotional damage as they were when original self-medication-inducing damage happened. The new person they are busy becoming may not have had enough time to solidify and develop immunity to new harm.
Part of seeking help and guidance from others in highly recommended professional organizations like AA may often involve making one's self open to the suggestions and recommendations of a "trustable" peer group, or at least one person in that group. I suppose it is pretty much a "pot-luck" kind of deal where hopefully you will find a mix of peers you are compatible with somewhere. Heaven help a totally vulnerable ready-to-get-sober person who gets into the clutches of an individual or group of zealous fanatics who have an agenda that first-of-all doesn't help others attain sobriety. Using sobriety as the "carrot-on-a-stick" to lure people, who may very well be at the lowest point in their lives, into a supposedly professional and above-board group is immoral in my opinion. About fifteen years before I was successful at finally getting sober and staying that way, I went to my first and last AA meeting, which mostly emphasized Bible study. My problems were not addressed because the members of that group wanted me to first become a Born Again Christian before trying to get sober. I never again attended another AA meeting for my own sake because what they presented to me was unacceptably close to the harm done to me as a small child, kind of like having to seek therapy from the one who is busy smacking you around.
"Hey! I got a great idea! We want to help this alcoholic get sober, right? So let's help him get sober by doing stuff that won't help him get sober!"
Well, it sure felt that way. Oxymoronic.
Lautca