The 12-Step Process
A proven foundation for lasting recovery
The 12-step model is one of the most effective approaches to addiction recovery. It’s based on admitting there’s a problem, seeking support from others who understand, and working through each step with guidance and accountability.
At Warriors Heart, the 12-step process is integrated into treatment and continued through Warriors Anonymous after discharge.
Working with a Sponsor
The 12-step model provides structure and accountability. It gives you a clear path forward and a community of people who have walked it before you.
During the 42-day residential program, you’ll participate in Warriors Anonymous meetings where the 12 steps are introduced and practiced. You’ll work with peers who are at different stages of their own recovery. The steps aren’t something you complete and move on from. They’re a framework you return to throughout your life.
The 12-step approach includes:
- Admitting the problem and seeking support from others who understand
- Taking responsibility and making amends for past actions
- Spiritual growth and finding purpose beyond substance use
- Helping other warriors in recovery
The 12 steps are spiritual. The focus is on finding something greater than yourself, whether that’s a higher power, your community, your family, or your mission.
The 12-Steps
- We admit we are powerless over our addiction and that our lives have become unmanageable.
- We come to believe that a power greater than ourselves can restore us to sanity.
- We make a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of a higher power as we understand it.
- We make a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
- We admit to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
- We become entirely ready to have our defects of character removed.
- We humbly ask to have our shortcomings removed.
- We make a list of all persons we have harmed and become willing to make amends to them all.
- We make direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
- We continue to take personal inventory and when we are wrong, we promptly admit it.
- We seek through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with a higher power, praying for knowledge of our path and the power to carry it out.
- Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we carry this message to other warriors and practice these principles in all our affairs.
Working with a Sponsor
A sponsor is someone who has been through the 12 steps and can guide you through them. Your sponsor is a peer who’s walked the path before you, holds you accountable, and helps you work through the steps at your own pace.
You’ll be introduced to sponsorship during treatment. After discharge, finding a sponsor through Warriors Anonymous is essential for staying connected to recovery.
The 12 Steps After Treatment
The 12 steps are a way of life. Warriors who stay connected to the process, to their peers, and to their recovery community have the best chance at long-term sobriety.
Continue the steps by attending Warriors Anonymous meetings, working with your sponsor, helping other warriors new to recovery, and practicing the principles in daily life.