Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) was co-founded by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith. The steps described in Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions are spiritual and recovery principles to eliminate the desire to drink and live a healthy life. The 12-Steps of AA are summarized as: Step 1: Admit powerlessness over alcohol. Step 2: Power greater than self can restore sanity. Step 3: Turn will and life over to God. Step 4: Make moral inventory of self. Step 5: Admit to God and others our wrongs. Step 6: God remove character defects. Step 7: God remove shortcomings. Step 8: Make a list of those harmed. Step 9: Make direct amends wherever possible. Step 10: Continue personal inventory of wrongs. Step 11: Continue contact with God. Step 12: Carry the message to others.

The twelve-step recovery model of AA is an educational asset for counselors, interns, and clients in addiction recovery. Counselors can enhance the counselor-client relationship by understanding peer recovery support services embedded within the 12-step philosophy. Counselor educators can prepare counseling students by exploring the 12-step focus and Serenity Prayer related to faith development, courage, acceptance, and self-compassion. Clients through the 12-step recovery program learn the value of implementing a moral inventory consisting of unhealthy intrapersonal beliefs and limited interpersonal behaviors. Therefore counselors can address moral character defects associated with regret, shame, guilt, and anger related to addiction experiences. Counselors can create a safe and nurturing counseling environment for clients to identify healthy coping skills and interpersonal relationships.