There may be as many doors into Alcoholics Anonymous in the 21st century as there are people who walk through them—from every world religion to no religion. The “international mutual-aid fellowship” has had “a significant and long-term effect on the culture of the United States,” writes Worcester State University professor of psychology Charles Fox at Aeon. Indeed, its influence is global. From its inception in 1935, A.A. has represented an “enormously popular therapy, and a testament to the interdisciplinary nature of health and wellness.”
A.A. has also represented, at least culturally, a remarkable synthesis of behavioral science and spirituality that translates into scores of different languages, beliefs, and practices. Or at least that’s the way it can appear from browsing the scores of books on A.A.’s 12-Steps and Buddhism, Yoga, Catholicism, Judaism, Indigenous faith traditions, shamanist practices, Stoicism, secular humanism, and, of course, psychology.
Historically, and often in practice, however, the (non)organization of worldwide fellowships has represented a much narrower tradition, inherited from the evangelical (small “e”) Christian Oxford Group, or as A.A. founder Bill Wilson called them, “the ‘O.G.’” Wilson credits the Oxford Group for the methodology of A.A.: “their large emphasis upon the principles of self-survey, confession, restitution, and the giving of oneself in service to others.”
The Oxford Group’s theology, though qualified and tempered, also made its way into many of A.A.’s basic principles. But for the recovery group’s genesis, Wilson cites a more secular authority, Carl Jung. The famous Swiss psychiatrist took a keen interest in alcoholism in the 1920s. Wilson wrote to Jung in 1961 to express his “great appreciation” for his efforts. “A certain conversation you once had with one of your patients, a Mr. Rowland H. back in the early 1930’s,” Wilson explains, “did play a critical role in the founding of our Fellowship.”
Jung may not have known his influence on the recovery movement, Wilson says, although alcoholics had accounted for “about 13 percent of all admissions” in his practice, notes Fox. One of his patients, Rowland H.—or Rowland Hazard, “investment banker and former state senator from Rhode Island”—came to Jung in desperation, saw him daily for a period of several months, stopped drinking, then relapsed. Brought back to Jung by his cousin, Hazard was told that his case was hopeless short of a religious conversion. As Wilson puts it in his letter:
[Y]ou frankly told him of his hopelessness, so far as any further medical or psychiatric treatment might be concerned. This candid and humble statement of yours was beyond doubt the first foundation stone upon which our Society has since been built.
Jung also told Hazard that conversion experiences were incredibly rare and recommended that he “place himself in a religious atmosphere and hope for the best,” as Wilson remembers. But he did not specify any particular religion. Hazard discovered the Oxford Group. He might, as far as Jung was concerned, have met God as he understood it anywhere. “His craving for alcohol was the equivalent,” wrote the psychiatrist in a reply to Wilson, “on a low level, of the spiritual thirst of our being for wholeness, expressed in medieval language: the union with God.”
In his reply letter to Wilson, Jung uses religious language allegorically. AA took the idea of conversion more literally. Though it wrestled with the plight of the agnostic, the Big Book concluded that such people must eventually see the light. Jung, on the other hand, seems very careful to avoid a strictly religious interpretation of his advice to Hazard, who started the first small group that would convert Wilson to sobriety and to Oxford Group methods.
“How could one formulate such an insight that is not misunderstood in our days?” Jung asks. “The only right and legitimate way to such an experience is that it happens to you in reality and it can only happen to you when you walk on a path which leads you to a higher understanding.” Sobriety could be achieved through “a higher education of the mind beyond the confines of mere rationalism”—through an enlightenment or conversion experience, that is. It might also occur through “an act of grace or through a personal and honest contact with friends.”
Though most founding members of AA fought for the stricter interpretation of Jung’s prescription, Wilson always entertained the idea that multiple paths might bring alcoholics to the same goal, even including modern medicine. He drew on the medical opinions of Dr. William D. Silkworth, who theorized that alcoholism was in part a physical disease, “a sort of metabolism difficulty which he then called an allergy.” Even after his own conversion experience, which Silkworth, like Jung, recommended he pursue, Wilson experimented with vitamin therapies, through the influence of Aldous Huxley.
His search to understand his mystical “white light” moment in a New York detox room also led Wilson to William James’ Varieties of Religious Experience. The book “gave me the realization,” he wrote to Jung, “that most conversion experiences, whatever their variety, do have a common denominator of ego collapse at depth.” He even thought that LSD could act as such a “temporary ego-reducer” after he took the drug under supervision of British psychiatrist Humphrey Osmond. (Jung likely would have opposed what he called “short cuts” like psychedelic drugs.)
In the letters between Wilson and Jung, as Ian McCabe argues in Carl Jung and Alcoholics Anonymous, we see mutual admiration between the two, as well as mutual influence. “Bill Wilson,” writes McCabe’s publisher, “was encouraged by Jung’s writings to promote the spiritual aspect of recovery,” an aspect that took on a particularly religious character in Alcoholics Anonymous. For his part, Jung, “influenced by A.A.’s success… gave ‘complete and detailed instructions’ on how the A.A. group format could be developed further and used by ‘general neurotics.’” And so it has, though more on the Oxford Group model than the more mystical Jungian. It might well have been otherwise.
Read more about Jung’s influence on AA over at Aeon.
Note: Note: An earlier version of this post appeared on our site in 2019.
Related Content:
Carl Jung Offers an Introduction to His Psychological Thought in a 3‑Hour Interview (1957)
Take Carl Jung’s Word Association Test, a Quick Route Into the Subconscious (1910)
Carl Jung’s Hand-Drawn, Rarely-Seen Manuscript The Red Book
Josh Jones is a writer and musician based in Durham, NC. Follow him at @jdmagness
Spiritus con spiritum~~~
Thank you. You left out Ebby Thatcher.Also, when you revise this, please adhere to references with author, date, articles or book name and page number if using “quotes” Thanks Dr Ken. AA researcher
Thank you.Also, when you revise this, please adhere to references with author, date, articles or book name and page number if using “quotes” Thanks Dr Ken. AA researcher
As a recovering alcoholic I can testify that “the solution is spiritual in nature”. I replaced the spirits in a bottle with the spirit of God’s will. For that I am eternally grateful. Kurt R.
I have read that Bill Wilson’s secretary was a relative of Carl Jung.
I am 35 years sober
I have lost very down on the
Fellowship there are a group
Of men in the Hunter Valley n.s.w Australia
That pray on new female members
It’s a back patting group
It seems be let go because some
Are very wealthy and powerful
Since my 30 birthday in sobriety
I have done 5 meetings I’m very
Disheartened and loost respect for
Aa
I have been sober 15 yrs.
The AA motto is, when you attend meetings, Take what you want, and leave the rest.
I dont do meetings any more, but I practice the 12 steps in my daily life, without these 12 steps which are the tools for us alcoholics to get sober and grow in our spirituality.
One Day at a time.
I am 14 years sober and I attend aa meetings everyday. I work with other women in the program. I am to fit myself in life and be of service. I love AA!
Don’t despair over that Ben. AA is not mental health olympics but to help the alcoholic that still suffers. Principles before personalities. The personalities as you can imagine are difficult, complex, disheartened, abused, traumatized, ego driven all the way to the abyss. But with the help of AA we get direction, spiritual steps, sobriety, good living.
Right on!
Yes I think take what you want and leave the rest, I was told AA is not perfect because there’s people in it, but you can’t fault the programn
Keep coming back, it works if you work it
(And hurts if you don’t)
People should know that AA has a massive failure rate. Here’s a quote from the book, “Manufacturing Victims:”
‘Ditman studied three groups of alcoholics who had been
arrested and charged with alcohol-related offences. The court had assigned these individuals to AA, an alcoholism clinic, or a nontreatment control group. A follow-up found that 44 per cent of the control group were not re-arrested,
compared to 31 per cent of the AA group and 32 per cent of those treated in a clinic; those that received treatment did worse than the untreated. “Not one study,” Peele asserts, “has ever found AA or its derivatives to be superior to any
other approach, or even to be better than not receiving any help at all. Every comparative study of standard treatment programs versus legal proceedings for drunk drivers finds that those who received ordinary judicial sanctions had fewer
subsequent accidents and were arrested less.”’
Personally, if I had an alcoholism problem (which I don’t), I would just do deliverance prayer in Jesus’ name. Deliverance prayer brought me profound and lasting relief from bad depression, an eating compulsion, and a weird wandering compulsion — praises to Jesus!
AA is a religion in denial. It’s roots are in the fascist Oxford program. Its founder was schizophrenic and a user of LSD. The rooms are chock full of emotional, physical and sexual predators. It’s success rate is no better than no treatment at all, despite their grandiose claims to the contrary. The sooner this cult dies, the better.
Congratulations!!! You have COMPLETELY missed the point. AA does indeed have a “massive failure rate.” However, prior to AA the “failure rate” was 100%. Such is the nature of the disease.
Unless you lived this way of life to the best of your ability you would hav no idea how your life would change for the better . You admitted that you were alcoholic . Find a higher power clean house and help others , it’s the best way of life for me and countless others. If you think you have a problem with alcohol then try this program . My father has 45 years and it still works for him, living proof in my eyes
Thank you Alcoholic“s Anonymous
The spiritual malady that plagues every human being, alcoholic or not is the source of all conflict and suffering. My experience has been that AA is one effective way to solve the drink problem and,in turn bring peace of mind to the individual.
Very well said.
Very interesting article. Clearly the influences that combined to create AA are complicated, and Jung is not the only one. I was not in AA but in Overeaters Anonymous and can attest that it works as I am almost 30 years sober. Eating disorders are slightly different from other addictions, since you can’t stop eating entirely, so are always potentially on a slippery slope to breaking abstinence until you can ferret out exactly what things trigger you, and what is safer. So attending meetings and hearing the wisdom of the group is as essential as working the steps. I have heard from many people that the AA method is a gift from God, and I am inclined to agree. I would say this: if you cannot be honest with yourself and with others, the AA method will not work. So cultivating honesty must be a top priority.
I been sober 20 years.After being a member of aa I became a licensed therapist and yes I learned In aa and my sponsor of 20 years to not share romances or finances.in other words principles before personalities. I attend meetings for me.…not to be looking for romances.
On Page 420 4th edition Big Book in the story acceptance was the answer. Last paragraph States “I must keep my magic magnifying mind on my acceptance and off my expectations, for my serenity is directly proportional to my level of acceptance. When I remember this, I can see I’ve never had it so good. Thank God for AA!”
I always enjoy reading the history on the participation and involvement of the non-alcoholics that played such an important and intergral role in the formation of Alcoholics Anonymous. Even today there are many who still serve the fellowship in their respective service positions that ensures the progress of AA.
Thank you for your share.
Prayer is a crucial component in maintaining sobriety and your come t led me to research the practice of deliverance prayer in the name of Jesus Christ
Its progress not perfection. Trust GOD clean house and help others.
52 years sober,athiest,stauch advocate of odaat. Have lived a happy, long life with damn few regrets. Early members stressed a 24 hour program and after many months of recoverying, it became a way of life. Some years ago I am trying with dificulty to find and live with an honest grip on spirituality only having minor success. But as a member of AA I have hope. A happy marriage for 50 years until she passed 10 years ago. Don’t drink and go to meetings odaat.
Well said!
By the way, I wish to share gratitude for tradition three which states: THE ONLY REQUIREMENT FOR A.A. MEMBERSHIP IS A DESIRE TO STOP DRINKING.
Thank God for The Traditions guys!
A study just came out, Google AA and long term sobriety,that found AA’s success rate, based on long term sobriety,was higher than other “out patient“therapies. Focusing your numbers on the outcomes of DUI is severely flawed. One it’s common for Judges to “sentence” them to attend AA meetings. As AA is a program of attraction not promotion, the hope at minimum a seed will be planted.
Next the assumption that all AA members enter the program through DUI, is plain BS. That is one way,but its not the majority. I was 55, when I came in and not one DUI. But I almost killed myself drinking.
There are many paths to AA,just like there is every kind of human Being in the rooms of AA. It’s because its a Global genetic nuerological disease. It’s also self supporting, No due or fees. Just ask for couple of bucks to
keep the doors open and coffee in the pot.
In the last 13 years of my sobriet, as a well educated lettered Alcoholic, I have discovered those that critize AA, have a different way to “cure” Alcoholism. All for a fee. One there is no cure,like being left handed, you either have it or you don’t. But it doesn’t automatically mean you’ll become a chronic alcoholic. There’s many variables that can happen to stop the progression. But usually involves the people stop drinking alcohol.
In my case, I had control until I didn’t. After my spiritual awakening, that Jung describes in Article and AA Big Book,the obsession was lifted. I realize I’m in remission and my addiction is one drink away. It’s why keep doing the work. I literally couldn’t stop drinking,it was like committing suicide in slow motion.
That’s a scenario I never want to face again.
Also AA doesn’t claim to be THE solution, but it works for me.
Absolutely the best response on this thread. I knew if I kept reading the posts after that flawed DUI arrest to success rate ignorance, I would hear a share that rang true in my soul. So yeah, have a sip of coffee, through in a few bucks to help keep the doors open, find the similarities and what motivates you, then leave the rest behind and keep coming back. Thanks to AA, the rooms with people that think like me and shares like the one I replied to, I will take another 24hrs of sobriety.
Before I had to have one thing, no matter what, and gave up everything. Now, I can have everything I choose just by not choosing that one thing.
AA is not perfect, but better than anything I’ve ever had. at 75 I can only imagine what kind of mess I would be in if I was still around. I got here in 93 and haven’t found it necessary to continue my insanity. I’ll keep coming.
I’ve been in and out of AA for over 20 years. I’ve relapsed many times and had sobriety many times. People could say that AA did not work for me but that would not be an accurate statement. I did not work AA. My experience is that the group of Alcoholics Anonymous works for those who work it. UNITY — RECOVERY — SERVICE
‑Tony H
The twelfth step of aa says” having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps..” Not a religious conversion. After almost 38 years in recovery I find that I still have no clear idea of God, nor do I need to. Trying not to live these principles in my life has made me a kinder more understanding and compassionate person and brought me a contentment I had never thought possible. I am able to intuitively handle situations which used to baffle me.
Though I rarely think about having a drink or drug, I still attend a couple meetings a week where people sharing honestly shows me that we are all human struggling with the problems of life , and helping others and accepting help is more satisfying than temporary escape .
Trying to ( it was supposed to be)
AMEN 🙏
Sweet says it all! Nothing left to say
THANK YOU 33YRS SOBER
In the early days of my sobriety regular AA meetings helped a lot. Got a sponsor, did the mental legwork of going through the book. Shared my experience, strength, and hope to many both in the rooms and at events. I did service up to Intergroup level and then one day I just decided that I’d had enough of recovery and decided I had recovered and stopped being an active member. 10 years on from that I still haven’t drunk. I still find myself helping others by way of approaching active problem drinkers and gently letting them know there is a way out of their predicament but meetings are not for me anymore, in my area they have become a dumping ground for the justice system and free coffee and therapy for people who can’t access mental health services. Like so many things these days the Only requirement for membership isn’t adhered to for fear of losing face.
Is it a religious cult? Could be
Is there only a 3% long-term success rate? Probably, we are dealing with addicts after all.
Is it flawed? Absolutely, nothing run by humans is perfect.
Does it work? Only if YOU work it!
100 percent of life is relationships. me with me and me with you and me with whatever is running the show. I need to be a part of all three of these or I will fail at growth as a human being. I find all people are in need in this. Alcoholism and AA have helped me come to this conclusion. The program of AA HAS GIVEN ME A PLATFORM TO GROW if I choose to.
Happyday
God/spirituality is the answer.
Death is the alternative — spiritually, mentally, + eventually physically w/o the needed surrender. H.h.
The twelfth step of aa says” having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps..” Not a religious conversion. After almost 38 years in recovery I find that I still have no clear idea of God, nor do I need to. Trying to live these principles in my life has made me a kinder more understanding and compassionate person and brought me a contentment I had never thought possible. I am able to intuitively handle situations which used to baffle me.
Though I rarely think about having a drink or drug, I still attend a couple meetings a week where people sharing honestly shows me that we are all human struggling with the problems of life , and helping others and accepting help is more satisfying than temporary escape .
To those trying to prove A.A. is a religion, cult, doesn’t work, ect…
Here’s the thing… Programs don’t work… Unless I do the work the programs suggest. If I don’t do the work, then has the program failed?
If I set out to prove my own point of view, of course there will be facts to back me up. But if I am truly set out to learn, or unlearn my behavior, I will see that people have opinions that are opposite of mine, will also have facts and numbers to back themselves up.
So in the long run… Here’s my question…Exactly what are we trying to prove?
Also, I’m a believer that if something isn’t the right fit for me, then I find something else that is. I don’t just stop and say “well nothing works”
After being in AA for sometime @ 3 years, I had been invited to a church recovery program. It was amazing. However, what happened was I started going to this particular church everytime the doors were open, because:
#1 the same people from the church recovery program went every time the church doors were open
#2 I had this assumption that just because I was in a “house of God” I was ok. What could possibly happen?
Well here’s what happened. I quit doing what was originally working for me. I quit going to AA. I quit reading the big book. I hardly spoke to my sponsor or my network.
I did NOT drink but within a year, I got so spiritually sick that I tried to commit suicide. I was doing everything that the church recovery program was telling me to do. If I had a problem, I was to pray and read my Bible, then we would talk about it, read the Bible some more, and pray more.
Now hundreds of people go to these church recovery programs. Does that mean every single person is going to have the same experience I did? That’s absurd to think in those terms.
Before I came into AA, I prayed and asked God to bring me to a place I belonged to. I didn’t realize I was an alcoholic. Three days later, I was being invited to the rooms of AA. I had no idea what AA was, until someone told me what it was. I knew right then that God had answered my prayers.
I wasn’t thrilled about being in AA at 20 years old (a month before my 21st birthday) But I stayed.
Here it is almost 23 years later and I have had my experiences but I haven’t taken a drink nor a drug.
I still go to meetings. I have a sponsor, my priest. And I sponsor others.
AA does not fail. Some people fail. That’s what people do.
Wow you couldn’t be more wrong. I’m better off just to let you 5hink what you want.
He really didn’t you know.
See the link below for more, you will need to unpick it as this site treats the link as spam:
https colon slash slash www dot orange-papers dot info slash orange-Jung dot html
Yes. The AA message. Jung s letter speaks of how friends can be a conduit to spiritual awareness. That is my experience. Union with God. Maximum service to others
Great article. Thanks. My take is AA is like baseball: you’re considered a very good hitter if you get a hit 30% of the time. I try to avoid the thinking that it’s only worth doing if it’s guaranteed or works 100% of the time. That kind of thinking prevents me from trying new and creative things. But I also have to remember all things carry the risk of “failure” and making mistakes (but remember thats why there’s a 10th step), and AA has plenty of mistakes. But I get it, some people don’t like Baseball or AA and that’s ok. There are many ways to recover. The point may be that there is meaning simply looking for meaning and not doing so under the influence. Jung once asked his audience, “what is your task?”. AA can provide a place to explore this question but it’s not a Valhalla and people due get hurt and some do not heal. But it can work for some of us.
In the Dr.‘s opinion, Dr. Bob refers to alcoholism as an illness, not a disease. I mentally, emotionally and spiritually can NOT drink, I get drunk every time no matter how often I drink. Infinite GOD and AA together are inseparable. Not a “cult.” Cults require a person follow a leader and give their lives to that leader. AA does not require that. I have been sober for over 3.5 decades, only by the grace and mercy of GOD and continued help from friends in the fellowship. Still go to several meetings a week to stay sober and help others along the journey. What my incredibly awesome GOD wants me to do.
I love all these opinions. Like it is said “Everyone has one” here’s mine.
Next month (odat) I’ll take 41 years of sobriety always with the help of my Higher Power, AA, and the people in it.
Yes, we have people in it suggested by the courts and now, More often than not in my group, some mentally ill, but then we have the Ones working the program and sharing the program with all who want it. Some slip and slide, some come back some don’t,some find other means, some white nuckle it, some die.
But it is a serious program you have to do the work. Just like anything else the quality of your life depends on what you put in to it. If you work the aa program, the 12 steps and keep trying to find a belief out side youself, your life gets better. Time takes time. It doesn’t work over night but it does work.
I have friends who have more sober time than I do , I have friends with less sober time than I do and I have friends who struggle every day just to not take that first drink that day. But we are all in the rooms of aa together for the one safe hour or hour and a half not taking that first drink that always gets us drunk. Together we do it. Just like Bill and Dr. Bob who started the aa program June 10, 1935.
It works it really does. One person at at time one day at a time if you let it.
I really appreciate the article. Thanks. I am really glad I read it. We have numerous books on the history of AA. “AA come of age” Is one of them “Dr Bob and the Good oldtimes” is another, if any one is interested. They reference DrJung , Roland, Ebby and let us not forget Sister Ignatius.
Thanks for listening.
Give aa a chance always go back to what u have been doing
SIGH… Yeah, we have that problem here, as well. I avoid those meetings, if possible. I hope there are other meetings in your area that you can attend. OR, if not, dude get up in there and be vocal about it. Maybe correspond with those who hold positions in AA. With 35 years of sobriety, you have something to offer new comers. Maybe focus on that aspect. Much love to you from the US of A, state of Georgia!
Find a different meeting There are many. Just because someone is in AA does not mean they are well. I learned the hard way. I got sicker before I got better.
Take what you need and leave the rest. Obviously you didn’t check other meetings enough. I’m sorry for your take on AA.
I believe that AA’s “how it works“is exactly how it works. And if you find a sponsor, read the Big Book, and go to meeting you have a better chance of Alcohol Absence. And especially if you work the inventory steps of the twelve, number four and five. A spiritual experience may or may not happen at first,though you’ll be facing life on life’s terms with the ability to choose how to live. AA has had a number of great thinkers in the past,and I am sure that there are some even today and will be tomorrow. Happily sober 34 yrs.
I think your statistics are probably correct even though you don’t site specific sources that are peer reviewed, , but giving you the benefit of the doubt I’d concur with your premise.
However, you’ve overlooked one key indicator that your data doesn’t account for. From what I understand, AA proposes to only express efficacy for people who self identify and voluntarily engage in their recovery program. Your data however, admittedly only accounts for people who were court ordered or otherwise mandated to attend AA. The parameters of the studies you reported either didn’t account for those controls or you left them out of your thesis.
Furthermore, I think the article you are commenting on either expressly or indirectly emphasizes the requirements of the alcoholic to be in a state of hopelessness and willingness to place themselves in an environment of acceptance to new principles/ideas. The study you cite seems to consider the alcoholics in the study as monolithic and doesn’t differentiate between their various stages of addiction or the level of willingness on the part of the participants to engage in the solution or whether or not they are even alcoholic or not.
We don’t even know if the members of the study self identified as being alcoholic, or if they were adjudicated as such by a third party. It would be hard to imagine that any program designed to help alcoholics recover would have any effect on people who don’t necessarily consider themselves as alcoholic. The people who the courts mandated to treatment are considered alcoholics by the parameters of the study but the actual people being studied are highly likely to not identify as alcoholic. So which characterization are we to believe?
I’m sure you are sincere in your post and I’m not attempting to critique any of the outcomes you’ve presented. Rather, I think there are other key factors that the article discussed that are not included or represented in your conclusions.
Almost 39 years of total abstinence and really propelled my growth when I had spirituality defined to me “as that which brings me life”. No religious zeal on my part,(thank God),just a lot of identifying with members and doing this one day at a time.
After your length of sobriety sir, I would hope you would place the disrespect of AA not on AA but on those responsible for their actions. I hope you have found another group or groups to draw strength from. There are procedures and avenues available for any member to seek through the GSR and up to GENERAL SERVICE which I know you are aware of. My hope and prayer is for you to continue to share your strength, hope and knowledge with others.
to the gentleperson that was unhappy about the rooms; my take is if you don’t like the atmosphere, topic or whatever… change the room by your voice and sharing on your belief on hoe the room is run. Failing that, change rooms — there is more than one. … and if not, create your own.
What constitutes a “room” in AA, two or more people willing to work on their problem — the coffee pot is optional…
Find another meeting. Ivepeople with term sobriety go back out