Gamblers Anoymous and Alcoholics Anonymous
There are noted differences between AA and GA.
Another important difference between AA and GA recovery program is their fundamental conception of the addiction problem that their members are dealing with.
From the AA perspective, alcoholism is the symptom of an underlying problem having to do with the person's character (self-esteem, self-centered, self-praising, self-loathing).
GA, on the other hand, sees gambling as the problem. The AA program places considerable emphasis on the goal of developing self-understanding, reflection on the self, and coming to grips with character flaws once abstinence from alcohol has been achieved.
In GA, achieving abstinence from gambling is the goal, and there is much less discussion of feelings about and perceptions of one's self than there is in AA.
Using everyday language way of describing this, GA is less 'touchy-feely'.
Different programs they may be, but the goal they have are almost always the same.
A final difference has to do with the kind of awareness or 'consciousness' that develops in two programs.
In AA, one of the 12 Steps refers to restoring members to 'sanity', In GA, the equivalent step statement refers to restoring members to a normal way of thinking and living'.
The goal of restoring 'normality' has a significantly different meaning than the goal of restoring 'sanity'.
A research concluded that GA's adaptation of the AA program contributes to a transformation of the compulsive gambler by emphasizing a 'secular, medically oriented path' rather than the 'spiritually oriented path' presented in the AA program.
Based on participant observation research in Gambler's Anonymous, it was described the process of developing an attachment to and identification with GA as involving several stages.
A crisis of some kind usually leads to initial attendance at a GA meeting. While newcomers may experience anxiety about discussing their gambling problems in front of strangers, they are relieved to learn that they are not alone.
They find that others do not judge their behavior or ridicule them, since they have the same problems. Consequently, newcomers are able to be honest about their behavior and problems without being embarrassed.
Gradually, they come to identify with other GA members because their experiences are so similar. Eventually, they internalize the GA concept of the nature of their problem and how they can deal with it.
Only a few researchers have attempted to evaluate GA's effectiveness. The research results suggest that GA is less effective than AA in achieving abstinence. One explanation for this has to do with how alcoholism and compulsive gambling are defined and how alcoholics and compulsive gamblers are 'labeled'.