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Well, where does one start with both of these articles? Let me preface my comment first with :

I work in the AOD sector and have done for 25 years in Australia.

I have been sober for 29 years

There are many ways to recovery that are are currently in practice. These include, but are not limited to:

CBT

pharmacotherapies- methadone, naltrexone, soboxone, campral, antabuse, antidepressants

12 step programs

1:1 counselling

peer support

Mindfulness

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Community as Method Treatment Model

Healing programs developed by Indigenous communities.

Religious based treatment programs

MTAR programs

Self- efficacy- many people stop or reduce use with no formal treatment intervention.

SMART Recovery

Addiction is a complex illness often going hand in hand with other mental health disorders. There is no one size fits all answer. One issue is to recognise that the measure of "success" is often in the eye of the beholder. Some people may base statistics of successful treatment as total abstinence. This would be naive and indicate a view that does not take into account multiple factors- age, level of use, comorbidity, socio-economic status, trauma, etc I could go on, but you get the picture. Addiction can be a chronicaly relapsing condition, which some may see as failure, others will see, more usefully, as part of the recovery journey. Many treatment programs take a holistic approach utilising a number of evidence based modalities. Adult attachment styles and spirituality (not religion) are often covered in holistic treatment programs.

The second article-Using critisism of twelve step programs to sell books is not new, just tired and a waste of ink. I cant be bothered even commenting any more on that one. If anyone was interested in reading more on this Stanton Peele has written numerous article and books on this topic.

Ongoing evaluation and innovation in the AOD treatment field will continue, hopefully, to expand the number and types of treatment options available to people with substance use dependancies and their families.