How Long Do the 12 Steps Take to Complete?

Guidance on the 12-Step Timeline and Process for Working the Steps

During the Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous recovery process, you probably have many questions about the possibility of long-term success. One such question is probably: How long do the 12 steps take?

Leaving substance abuse behind in the rearview mirror means going through a time of personal growth. Following the road to long-term recovery is a very personal journey, one that you’ll take on at a pace that best supports your specific needs.

Even so, getting additional info on how long do the 12 steps take to complete is valuable to put your mind at ease.

Changes Healing Center is a Joint Commission-accredited program that offers an evidence-based treatment program to help people overcome mental health challenges. We understand that recovery from substance use disorders is a lifelong process. We encourage our graduates to attend a 12-step program to continue moving forward after leaving our facility.

Please continue reading to learn how long the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or Narcotics Anonymous (NA) might take in various common approaches to working them.

12 Steps of AA or NA: Drug or Alcohol Addiction Recovery at Your Own Pace

You’ll be glad to hear that AA or NA as organizations do not assign a time limit for completing the 12 steps. Most people we know (past Changes clients) have taken about a year to complete the steps, or about one month per step. Others have explained that it took a few months.

One past client took several years and had multiple relapses before finally making it across the finish line.

Each person has personal circumstances and outside factors influencing their level of focus. Generally, the greater the active engagement and personal commitment to AA meetings, the sooner you complete the step work. The program does not outline the time frame to complete the 12 steps.

The work of the 12-step program does not end with completing these steps. You’ll integrate the tools you’ve learned into your everyday life to stay sober.

New members will soon hear others in addiction recovery groups remind them that their mantra should be, “Progress, not perfection.” They don’t mind if it takes you six months or an extended period, as long as you’re attending meetings and healing.

The 12 Steps: The Alcoholics Anonymous Recovery Process

Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith, two men admitting to “alcoholism,” founded the AA program in Akron, Ohio, in 1935. Each had what we now call a substance use disorder involving alcohol. They worked together, helping each other get and stay sober.

They expanded their efforts into a community support group and created the 12 steps, the foundational elements of AA and NA meetings and model. These evolved into the 12-step programs many rely on for addiction recovery today.

Their group published its first Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book in 1939. AA caught on and spread rapidly across the United States at a time when discussing mental health issues, including substance abuse, was considered taboo.

They also expanded to include NA, creating a valuable addiction treatment support group for those struggling with drug addiction.

Whether you attend AA or Na, you will hear about the 12-step work at your group meetings. Here are the 12 steps, each directly quoted from the AA Big Book:

1) We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.

You might wonder about the most important steps of AA. Some would argue that it’s the first step – coming to a group and admitting you need help – that starts the whole process. In Step 1, you admit that you have lost control of your life and are powerless over addiction.

It takes courage to admit you need support.

2) Came to believe that a Higher Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

In the Second Step, AA meeting members admit that they require the help of a Higher Power, however, you define it. Faith in this Higher Power helps restore better mental health and, eventually, will lead them to a life of sobriety.

3) Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

The Third Step requires a tremendous leap of faith. You’ll surrender control of your life to your Higher Power. This is an opportunity to release the heavy baggage and let God carry it for the person.

4) Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

The fourth step demands deep self-reflection. A moral inventory identifies the weaknesses, flaws, and previous behaviors you participated in during the tough times before seeking addiction treatment.

Listing these character defects sets you up to accept personal accountability for hurtful behaviors during addiction.

5) Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

Some past clients have mentioned that Step 5 was one of the toughest parts of the AA program. It builds on the 4th Step. But it takes it a step further and asks you to admit those wrongdoings to another person. You open yourself up in full transparency and honesty and release the guilt by confessing it.

6) Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

Step 6 prepares you for the sweeping personal changes that come with the next steps of the recovery program. You become fully willing to let go of your mistakes and acknowledge that it is time to make changes.

7) Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

The 7th Step of the 12-step program requires humility and trust. You will ask God or your Higher Power to remove the shortcomings that continue to hold you back in life.

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

Step Nine is essential to a successful 12-step program. Steps 8 and 9 combined are also AA steps that may take a little bit longer to complete. You will consider anyone harmed by your behaviors during active addiction and begin the process of making amends.

You must do some soul-searching to understand certain behaviors’ impact on other people. It can be a bitter pill to swallow, and it takes commitment to complete this step.

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

After making the list of those who our addiction has impacted, it’s time to take on an even more challenging commitment.

Making amends means directly repairing the harm caused by addiction, except when doing so could cause even more harm to that person.

The 9th Step requires you to:

• Connect with the person
• Acknowledge the harm
• Express your heartfelt regret
• Own responsibility for previous behaviors
• Suggest how you’ll make things better
• Listen to their feedback without judging or defending your actions
• Conclude by thanking the person for the time commitment it required to meet with you.

Be sure to download a free copy of our “Making Amends Script Worksheet.” It can guide you as you write your scripts to connect with others when you reach step nine. You’ll have more productive conversations by rehearsing what you’ll say in your mind ahead of time.

10) Continued to take personal inventory, and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.

Addiction recovery doesn’t end when you make things right with others. Instead, you will continue to monitor yourself by taking frequent moral inventories and promptly admitting mistakes when you don’t get things quite right.

This ongoing accountability is a tool that also helps you maintain sobriety and supports long-term recovery.

11) Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

Step 11 encourages you to continue working on your spiritual connection with God by praying and meditating. These actions help you understand the messages or guidance sent to you by Him and help you continue on your path of recovery from addiction.

12) Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

The 12 step program has helped you with recovery. It has also created a spiritual awakening inside you. Now, it’s time to commit to helping others who are struggling to find the same success.

Helping others learn about the 12-step process or even becoming a sponsor helps you serve the recovery community.

Service also reinforces the tools you’ve learned and helps you apply the 12-step program daily, thus helping you avoid relapse.

Call Changes for Addiction Treatment When You’re Ready for Help

Have you tried following the 12 steps of AA but still can’t achieve long-term recovery? While there’s no set timeframe for their program, some clients just need a little more support than 12-step programs can offer. Our professionals can help you dig deeper to discover why you drink or use drugs.

The program at Changes will often find unaddressed concerns that AA, NA, or SMART Recovery can address. You might have an undiagnosed condition, such as depression, anxiety, or trauma. Our clinical setting uses evidence-based methods to touch on different points that a recovery support group may miss.

Our goal for you is long-term sobriety. Sound too good to be true?

Addiction recovery is possible with a 12-step program for many people, but many others still need our support. If that sounds like you, call us today to get the extra care you need.