Martin Luther King said something like the best way to destroy and enemy is to make him into a friend and I do agree that the AV should be accepted, and neither denied nor pushed away. But I do think this acceptance involves recognising it for what it is, as any thought, feeling or imagery that could lead to drinking/using again, and I'm not sure that I could ever view this as part of my authentic being.
The Beast may be part of my brain and the AV an object in my awareness but neither are really who I am which is the awareness itself; the continuing thinker rather than the thought.