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Carl Jung and Alcoholics Anonymous: The Twelve Steps as a Spiritual Journey of Individuation
"Show me a drunk and I'll show you someone in search of God," is a saying that could be derived from Carl Jung. Jung wrote to Bill Wilson, founder of Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.), about his understanding of Rowland Hazard's alcoholism: "His craving for alcohol was the equivalent, on a low level, of the spiritual thirst of our being for wholeness, expressed in medieval language: the union with God." .The author visited the archives of the headquarters of A.A. in New York, and discovered new communications between Carl Jung and Bill Wilson. For the first time this correspondence shows Jung's respect for A.A. and in turn, its influence on him. In particular, this research shows how Bill Wilson was encouraged by Jung's writings to promote the spiritual aspect of recovery as opposed to the conventional medical model which has failed so abysmally.The book overturns the long-held belief that Jung distrusted groups. Indeed, influenced by A.A.'s success, Jung gave "complete and detailed instructions" on how the A.A. group format could be developed further and used by "general neurotics."Wilson was an advocate of treating some alcoholics with LSD in order to deflate the ego and induce a spiritual experience. He wrote to Jung for his comments on this controversial idea. Jung was stridently opposed to "short cuts," to transcendent experiences; however he died before he could reply to Wilson's comprehensive letter.The author explains how alcoholism can be diagnosed and understood by professionals and the lay person; by examining the detailed case histories of Jung, the author gives graphic examples of its psychological and behavioural manifestations.By combining the narratives of recovering alcoholics with a Jungian perspective, the author explains how the program of the 12 steps can lead to a journey of spiritual awakening or in Jungian terms, individuation. This book explains in plain words the language of A.A. and takes the reader inside a meeting to show how it works in practice.The final chapter deals with the criticism that both organisations have "cultish" aspects.
- GenresPsychology
188 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 1, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 2, 2016
The topic of this book, which the title/subtitle are clear about, would be interesting to professionals in the field of alcohol addiction as well as to any layperson in recovery who is also interested in the history of AA.
Some problems arise with sloppy editing and broad claims that don't hold up in all locations where AA is available. Some of the descriptions of meetings, for example, may be accurate in some places but not in others. The author gives the erroneous impression of specific aspects being universal. Even some of the author's descriptions of the process of taking the twelve steps are either incomplete or not accurate to the experience of all adherents.
As for sloppy editing, on page 37, the first full paragraph should read 'Step seven' instead of 'eight.' On page 124 the last full paragraph is an exact repetition of the final paragraph of page 111. This could be forgiven as a typo, except that there is another issue within this (these) paragraphs: in saying there is no such thing as 'recovered' (past tense), there is little explanation for why the early members then gave the opposite impression when they published the original text "Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How Many Thousands of Men and Women Have Recovered from Alcoholism." In that book, the same past participle phrase 'have recovered' is used eight or nine more times after the title page, so McCabe should consider explaining why his position runs counter to the position as it appears repeatedly (but not as a typo) in one of his primary sources.
Other than these issues, what we have is a fine, accessible, even enjoyable, read on an interesting thesis.
Some problems arise with sloppy editing and broad claims that don't hold up in all locations where AA is available. Some of the descriptions of meetings, for example, may be accurate in some places but not in others. The author gives the erroneous impression of specific aspects being universal. Even some of the author's descriptions of the process of taking the twelve steps are either incomplete or not accurate to the experience of all adherents.
As for sloppy editing, on page 37, the first full paragraph should read 'Step seven' instead of 'eight.' On page 124 the last full paragraph is an exact repetition of the final paragraph of page 111. This could be forgiven as a typo, except that there is another issue within this (these) paragraphs: in saying there is no such thing as 'recovered' (past tense), there is little explanation for why the early members then gave the opposite impression when they published the original text "Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How Many Thousands of Men and Women Have Recovered from Alcoholism." In that book, the same past participle phrase 'have recovered' is used eight or nine more times after the title page, so McCabe should consider explaining why his position runs counter to the position as it appears repeatedly (but not as a typo) in one of his primary sources.
Other than these issues, what we have is a fine, accessible, even enjoyable, read on an interesting thesis.
June 29, 2022
A very good comparison between the 12 Steps and Jungian Analysis. Very interesting and informative on the history and philosophy behind AA. Very well documented with citations from Carl Jung, Bill Willson and William James to name a few. This book is a good overview and not technically written with jargon or psychobable. It is very understandable and clear. A must read for anyone interested in Carl Jung, Bill Willson or 12 step programs in general. A common theme throughout the book is Ego deflation and Ego death.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews