The purpose of a drug rehab center is that it is a place where people struggling with substance abuse can go for help. Substance abuse addiction is a growing problem in the United States and causes many social and economic problems. The words “alcoholic” or “drug addict” have a negative connotation. An alcoholic is not considered a role model for children. But what can be said about the programs and processes in place that are supposed to help drug addicts? Through my research, I have examined current addiction rehab centers and believe that a restructuring of existing strategies used to help addicts is needed. Most addiction rehab centers are based on a twelve-step program. A twelve-step program is a set of twelve guiding principles to help people recover from addiction. “The first 12-step program began with Alcoholics Anonymous in the 1930s…” (12step.org). Alcoholics Anonymous is a self-help group led by men and women who want to stop drinking. The twelve steps used in AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) can be found in the Big Book, which is the guide book used in all AA meetings, and has been revised for addicts. The twelve steps of AA are: • “We admitted that we were powerless over alcohol, that our lives had become unmanageable. • We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. • We made the decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.• Made a fearless seeker and moral inventory of ourselves.• Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our mistakes.• We were fully ready to ask God to remove all these defects of character.• They humbly asked Him...... middle of paper……ns 15.4 (2009): 413-415. Psychological information. Network. March 2, 2014Brennan, Tom. Personal interview. March 22, 2014Chenhall, Richard. “What's in a rehab?” Anthropology and Medicine 15.2 (2008): 105-116. Psychological and Behavioral Sciences Collection. Network. 2 March 2014Dos Santos Canabarro, Rita de Cassia, de Leão D'Agord and Marta Regina. Drug addiction and social discourses. Revista Latinoamericano de Psicopatologia Fundamentale 15.3 (2012): 482-296. Academic research completed. Network. March 2, 2014Fletcher, Anne M. "Inside Rehab: The Surprising Truth About Addiction Treatment and How to Get Help That Works." New York: Penguin Group, 2013. Print.Foucault, Michael. The archeology of knowledge and the discourse on language. Great Britain: Tavistock Publications Unlimited, 1972. Print.McCoy, Chris. Personal interview. January 23, 2014.The 12 steps. 12Passage. 12Step, 2013. Web. 27 March. 2014.