New Groups Offer Alternatives to 12-Step Recovery

The meetings are:

• 3:30 p.m. Thursdays, 2200 Pacific Coast Highway, Suite 205A, Hermosa Beach
• p.m. Wednesdays, 916 N. Western Ave., Suite 210, San Pedro

Further details may be found at www.RecoveryNowLA.com. Participants must RSVP by email to secure a spot a the meetings. Capacity is 12 people in Hermosa and five in San Pedro. $5 donation to defray meeting expenses.

For a Deeper Look:

Why Recovery Choices?

MacGowan has worked in the field of alcohol and drug addiction since 1992, in settings such as alcohol and drug rehabilitation centers, methadone clinics, psychiatric hospitals, county mental health programs and her current private practice. Although she often incorporates 12-step philosophies in treatment, she has found growing numbers of people seeking recovery from addiction without 12-step support.

“People need options for recovery. Recovery does not have a one-size-fits-all solution. I believe this support group may assist individuals who choose not to work a 12-step program, as well as those who are working a 12-step program,” she said.

Recovery Choices meetings will focus on developing values and skills at the core of recovery such as hope, resiliency and sustainability. Members will pick a core value they identify with each week, to help them develop recovery-related skills.

“We decided to call the group Recovery Choices, since every day when a person makes a decision to abstain from alcohol and drugs they have a recovery choice. They must consciously renew this commitment to their recovery choice daily, and early in recovery it is a minute-to-minute choice. Support is essential,” MacGowan said.

‘Welcome’ alternative to 12 step programs

Katherine H. Donahue, director of a 12-step based recovery home in Torrance, said Recovery Choices is a needed alternative for those who don’t want to join AA or other 12-step groups.

“I support any options that help people overcome addictions,” said Donahue, director of Sarah Marie House. “My house is a 12-step based house. However, the 12-steps are not the solution for everyone, for many reasons.”

Those reasons include previous unsuccessful 12-step experiences, “being indoctrinated as a child because a parent was a 12-stepper,” or “the God thing,” an aversion to spiritually based recovery programs, she said.

“I personally would welcome such a group,” said a 70-year-old South Bay sales representative. “While I have been successful in maintaining sobriety for one and-a-half years, and I do sometimes attend AA meetings, I have not personally felt that I have bonded with the AA step approach to maintaining sobriety…I have seen others succeed without strict adherence to the AA philosophy, and I put myself in that category.”

Recovery NOW, Inc. is a community based mental health center with five Licensed Mental Health Professionals specializing in the treatment of mental health, eating disorders and substance abuse. Services include psychotherapy, hypnotherapy, support groups, mental health and substance abuse interventions, D.B.T. and ADHD coaching, with offices in Hermosa Beach and San Pedro.www.RecoveryNowLA.com or 310-957-2099