At Cirque Lodge, we are committed to helping you be the best you can be. Our inpatient treatment center in the beautiful Rocky Mountains in Utah allows you to take stock of your life and get in touch with what is important.
We help you find recovery with cognitive and experiential therapies, underpinned by the 12-Steps. The environment at Cirque Lodge is like no other. We pride ourselves on bridging the gap between clinical excellence and true compassion.
The 12-Steps center on spiritual development and the healing strength of one substance user helping another. It is a vehicle for tremendous change, personal growth, and maintaining recovery. Our 12-Step Peer support is carefully interwoven with the rest of our individualized recovery programs.
Our treatment center is the perfect place to heal through connection and start the rest of your life.
The 12-Steps are a spiritual program that was developed in the 1930s. It is one of the most well-known and effective methods for overcoming addiction.
The 12-Steps were born out of a chance meeting between Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith.
For years Bill and Dr. Bob had been struggling with alcoholism and had found traditional therapies ineffective. However, as they helped each other, they realized that their attempts to stay sober were working. They found that a combination of accountability, spirituality, and helping others seemed to work magic.
Bill and Dr. Bob formed Alcoholics Anonymous, an organization that has helped countless people find recovery. Since then, hundreds of thousands of Alcoholics Anonymous meetings have spread throughout the globe.
Today you can find Alcoholics Anonymous meetings in over 180 countries, and there are an estimated 2 million members. Meetings are free to attend, which makes the 12-Steps a perfect portable resource for long-term recovery. You can access 12-Step peer support wherever you are in the world.
Researchers in Social Work and Public Health state that 12-Step programs “provide participants with support for remaining substance-free, a social network (the “fellowship”) with which to affiliate, and a set of 12 guiding principles (the “steps”) to be followed in the recovery process.”
The 12-Steps are a simple program – “keep it in the day” is one of the popular mantras. They are a linear guide to finding freedom from addiction and a path to serenity.
The 12-Steps are:
Although this might seem confusing and overwhelming to a newcomer, the 12-Steps are a straightforward process. We break down how they work in the following section.
Steps 1-3
Admitting you are powerless over alcohol (or drugs) simply means that when you start, you cannot always stop. Most people who come into treatment have realized that they have a problem with their relationship with substances.
Steps 2 and 3 are simply about letting go of control. We realize that under our own power, we will likely use drugs or drink again. Turning our will and our lives over to the care of something greater than ourselves simply means doing what you think a loving higher power would want you to do.
Steps 4-9
These are known as the ‘action steps’. They center around making a list of all our harms and resentments and sharing them with another human. We use this list to make amends where we can and right some of the wrongs we have made.
Steps 4 to 9 show us how to live in the world without being burdened by our past. Shame and regret are very common traits in our clients. These steps help us to build bridges with loved ones and friends and are a brilliant cathartic process.
Steps 10-12
Steps 10-12 are known as the ‘maintenance steps.’ We have already learned how to live in the world in steps 1-9, and now we keep on living. We reflect on our behaviors and actions daily and apologize when we need to.
Step 12 is the cornerstone of the program. It centers around staying sober by helping others through the steps. Clients often feel that this gives them a sense of purpose, belonging, and is a brilliant way to boost self-esteem.
A common misconception about the 12-Steps is that you need to follow an organized religion.
The 12-Steps are a spiritual program, not a religious one.
People are encouraged to explore their spiritual side and find their interpretation of the word. For some, this might mean prayer. For others, it could be quiet moments of reflection. Ardent believers and atheists alike have all found peace, serenity, and sobriety with the 12-Steps.
At Cirque Lodge, we provide the perfect backdrop for this spiritual experience. Our experiential and cognitive therapies are a fantastic accompaniment to the self-exploration and improvement of the 12-Steps.
Alcoholics Anonymous is not the only organization that uses the 12-Steps.
There are a multitude of substance and behavior-specific fellowships such as:
The wide range of different fellowships available means that you can go wherever you want globally and have an understanding network of peers. At Cirque Lodge, we will provide all of the support you need during your stay.
However, clients still have to work on their recovery after they leave. We provide the foundations and the framework, but clients need to grow on their own. 12-Step meetings are a fantastic place to continue your recovery journey.
