¡Get Smart! with Erin Moore! Discussing Sponsorship & The 13th Step

2021-09-03

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RMA-Episode 52 Show Notes: This week on RMA: When sponsors go bad. Anyone who has been around 12 step groups for any length of time is familiar with the idea of the “13th Step”. The act of “13th Stepping” is when a more experienced member of AA or NA pursues a romantic or other exploitative relationship with a new group member. Obviously this can be detrimental to someone’s recovery, but it can also be dangerous, and sometimes deadly. With courts using AA as an alternative to incarceration for all sorts of offences that have nothing to do with...

RMA-Episode 52 Show Notes:

This week on RMA: When sponsors go bad. Anyone who has been around 12 step groups for any length of time is familiar with the idea of the “13th Step”. The act of “13th Stepping” is when a more experienced member of AA or NA pursues a romantic or other exploitative relationship with a new group member. Obviously this can be detrimental to someone’s recovery, but it can also be dangerous, and sometimes deadly. With courts using AA as an alternative to incarceration for all sorts of offences that have nothing to do with alcohol, the problem is getting worse.

Is such 13th stepping an inevitable byproduct of the 12 step model or are there safeguards that can be put into place by the involved organizations that would reduce or eliminate the potential for abuse of the sponsorship model? Mike and Nat, joined by RMA regular Erin Moore, do a deep dive into the issues of power imbalances and exploitation in 12 step groups, and consider ways to make meetings safer for people in recovery.

PLUS, Mike’s appearance on This Naked Mind has led to a wave of new listeners and we welcome them with open arms. Hope you enjoy the podcast!

All this and more on an extra inning, back to school, everyday episode of Recovery in the Middle Ages.

Mike’s Interview on Annie Grace

Sober Linings Playbook (Aggregated recovery and addiction news and resources).

Recovery in the News:

Doc Gooden wanted the Len Bias Coke

The Week in Weird:

Another Pair of Mysterious Cattle Mutilation Cases Reported in Oregon

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Marijuana Anonymous (just in case):

This Naked Mind

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