The ultimate goal of chemical dependency counselors is to help people achieve and
maintain abstinence from the use of chemicals
for life. Historically the use of Alcoholics Anonymous has been a major tool in achieving the goal of abstinence, and has helped millions of people to stay sober. But this approach has not been successful for everyone who has tried to use the 12 steps of AA to help them
achieve and
maintain sobriety and for a variety of different reasons some clients reject AA. This paper explores an alternative for those people, 'Rational Recovery'. The paper discusses the theories behind Rational Recovery (RR), the major tools used to maintain sobriety and the way in which groups function and heal those involved.