AARC’s expected outcomes
AARC is an exceptional treatment plan for exceptional circumstances. Our clients are typically adolescents with severe addiction problems who have tried other methods of treatment without success.
An incurable disease that can be treated
AARC believes that chemical dependency is a chronic disease, so we don’t seek to cure clients. We believe that only complete abstinence can manage the disease. A successful graduate will attain these goals:
- Accept that alcoholism and addiction are incurable (yet treatable) diseases
- Accept that lifelong sobriety is the only way to manage the disease
- Improve and repair relationships with family and friends
- Return to school or work
- Connect with community support services (such as Alcoholics Anonymous)
- Live a daily sobriety program
- Commit to a healthy, honest, and productive way of life with gratitude, in the knowledge that their ability to stay sober flows from the grace of God
You can read about our results in our Satisfaction Survey.
The strengths of the 12 step model
Clients and parents are acting responsibly by asking questions about the validity of our approach, and should always be cautious about the health and well-being of vulnerable individuals. AARC recognizes that it offers an exceptional treatment model, justified by the exceptional circumstances created by adolescent addiction. Here is our response to the most common questions we hear about the fact that we base our approach on AA and the 12 Step Model.
Does AA work?
The success of Alcoholics Anonymous poses a problem for scientific research since the spiritual element of its program is, by definition, not accessible by scientific methodology. However, the repeated results of attending AA communities can be analyzed.
Here is a good overview of current research into AA community programs and outcomes.
How successful is AARC’s program?
AARC ‘s goal is to see clients graduate from our program sober, reunited with their families and prepared to rejoin the world of school or work. That process is never easy or straightforward. However, we are certain that the program is successful when compared to other types of treatment.
Ask the people who know best — Families Treated by AARC
The intensity of treatment demanded by the program means that our total number of families is relatively small. Instead of large-scale statistical analysis, AARC conducts small, confidential surveys of client and family satisfaction. Family surveys are self-reported. AARC does not conduct intrusive procedures such as drug tests to confirm the results.
In 2015, AARC was awarded a three-year, $300,000 grant by an anonymous donor which allowed independent researchers to work with AARC to conduct retrospective interviews with a sample of program participants and assess the impact of attending AARC on standard measures of drug abstinence, psychosocial and academic functioning and health. Research studies highlight the need for comprehensive care – to take into account family factors, the unique developmental needs of adolescents, as well as understand the social contact and other features of the adolescent’s environment in order to effectively manage the program.
The recent study found that 80.5% of clients that entered treatment completed the program and 73% of graduates remained sober one year post-graduation. You can read more about this study here.
Another study was conducted in 2003 by Dr Michael Q Patton, former president of the American Evaluation Society. The results, published in 2005, show that 83 out of 100 graduates surveyed reported that they were sober at the time of the survey. Forty-eight said that they had been sober since graduation.