Dual Recovery Anonymous

Dual Recovery Anonymous™ is an independent, nonprofessional, Twelve Step, self-help membership organization for people with a dual diagnosis. Our goal is to help men and women who experience a dual illness. We are chemically dependent and we are also affected by an emotional or psychiatric illness. Both illnesses affect us in all areas of our lives; physically, psychologically, socially, and spiritually.

Dual Recovery Anonymous™ is a Fellowship of men & women who meet to support each other in our common recovery from two No-Fault illnesses: an emotional or psychiatric illness and chemical dependency.

Dual Recovery Anonymous™ is a 12 Step self-help program that is based on the principals of the Twelve Steps and the experiences of men and women in recovery with a dual diagnosis. The DRA program helps us recover from both our chemical dependency and our emotional or psychiatric illness by focusing on relapse prevention and actively improving the quality of our lives. In a community of mutual support, we learn to avoid the risks that lead back to alcohol and drug use as well as reducing the symptoms of our emotional or psychiatric illness.

There are only two requirements for membership:

DRA members are encouraged to build a strong personal support network. That network may include support from chemical dependency or mental health treatment facilities, medical or social service professionals, and spiritual or religious assistance in addition to other 12 step or self-help groups. DRA has no opinion on the way the other groups address dual disorders or dual recovery. We do not offer advice regarding specific forms of treatment for the various types of emotional or psychiatric illnesses. However, we do share our personal experiences regarding the ways that we have learned to cope with our symptoms by applying the 12 steps in our daily lives.

DRA is a nonprofessional self-help program. There must always be a clear boundary separating the work of DRA from the work of chemical dependency and mental health professionals. The DRA Preamble and our Twelve Traditions are designed to help guide our Meetings, Groups, Intergroups, and Service Boards to operate in ways that best nurture the recovery of all members of our Fellowship. Our Traditions are a set of suggestions that help DRA as a whole keep on track to best fulfill our Primary Purpose and maintain our Founding Vision.

The Dual Recovery Anonymous™ approach to dual recovery is based on a simple set of ideas and steps. They are suggestions for recovery rather than a set of rules. They encourage us to find our  own personal recovery, the one that is most meaningful. They are meant to support those of us who wish to bring a spiritual dimension to our dual recovery. The DRA program is worked on a day-by-day basis.
Here are the suggestions for dual recovery:

The primary purpose of DRA is to help one another achieve dual recovery, to prevent relapse, and to carry the message of recovery to others who experience dual disorders

Dual Recovery Anonymous

Dual Recovery Anonymous is a 12 step self-help program that is based on the principals of A.A. and the experiences of men and women in recovery with a dual diagnosis. The DRA program helps us recover from both our chemical dependency and our emotional or psychiatric illness by focusing on relapse prevention and actively improving the quality of our lives. In a community of mutual support, we learn to avoid the risks that lead back to alcohol and drug use as well as reducing the symptoms of our emotional or psychiatric illness.

There are only two requirements for membership:

DRA members are encouraged to build a strong personal support network. That network may include support from chemical dependency or mental health treatment facilities, medical or social service professionals, and spiritual or religious assistance in addition to other 12 step or self-help groups. DRA has no opinion on the way the other groups address dual disorders or dual recovery. We do not offer advice regarding specific forms of treatment for the various types of emotional or psychiatric illnesses. However, we do share our personal experiences regarding the ways that we have learned to cope with our symptoms by applying the 12 steps in our daily lives.

The following are the 12 Steps of Dual Recovery Anonymous, which is often abbreviated as DRA. Dual Recovery Anonymous seeks to help men and women who experience a dual illness - who are chemically dependent and also affected by an emotional or psychiatric illness. These illnesses affect all areas of their lives; physical, psychological, social, and spiritual.

For the steps below, you can click on the

button to read comments from books and websites about that step, or click on the button to read about or hear people working the given step, or click on the button to see videos about the given step. We also have forums for discussing the 12 steps in general and each of the steps in particular.

Step 1
We admitted we were powerless over our dual illness of chemical dependency and emotional or psychiatric illness - that our lives had become unmanageable.

Step 2
Came to believe that a Higher Power of our understanding could restore us to sanity.

Step 3
Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of our Higher Power, to help us to rebuild our lives in a positive and caring way.

Step 4
Made a searching and fearless personal inventory of ourselves.

Step 5
Admitted to our Higher Power, to ourselves, and to another human being, the exact nature of our liabilities and our assets.

Step 6
Were entirely ready to have our Higher Power remove all our liabilities.

Step 7
Humbly asked our Higher Power to remove these liabilities and to help us to strengthen our assets for recovery.

Step 8
Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.

Step 9
Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

Step 10
Continued to take personal inventory and when wrong promptly admitted it, while continuing to recognize our progress in dual recovery.

Step 11
Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with our Higher Power, praying only for knowledge of our Higher Power's will for us and the power to carry that out.

Step 12
Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to others who experience dual disorders and to practice these principles in all our affairs.