While the primary inspiration resides with the original 12 Steps, we have found this program resembles some Evidence-Based Practices.

Within Trauma Informed Care, empowerment is used as an important guiding principle. Empowerment has proven an effect tool for people who have experienced disempowerment as a result of extreme adversity. Affirming our strengths gives rise to courage, grace, and dignity in the face of these hardships.

In this light, the 12 After 12 asks us to admit to and embrace the empowerment we have received through our recovery. This practice will help to strengthen self-efficacy, creating a solid foundation from which to grow.

The 12 After 12 approach also resembles that of the Strength-Based Approach. These steps help us discover our strengths and gifts that make a life of recovery possible. Through the Spiritual Experience Inventory, we uncover and define those assets of character that are essential to the development of our spiritual lives.

Through these steps, we move away from a shame-based sense of self toward a more integrated and compassionate sense of who we are. Both the original inventory and this new inventory have merit. By comparing our shadow self with the spiritual radiant self, we are able to seek a balanced interpretation of who we are while moving in a growing, positive direction.

Through the fifth step of this program, we use Positive Affirmations and a Narrative Therapy model to understand our capacity for positive change. As we affirm to who we truly are, we create a new narrative of our lives and become entirely ready to have all these assets enhanced.

The 12 After 12 also draws inspiration from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. The 10th step of this program empowers us to continue our practice of awareness. Here we strengthen our ability to be cognizant of our lives in an effective manner. This step asks us to pay attention to our thoughts and attitudes to help us make healthy choices.

In the 11th step, we meditate while patiently remaining in the moment. This step is focused on actual seated meditation and includes much of what is found within Mindfulness Based Relapse Prevention. Through practicing this 11th step, participants will gain much of the therapeutic value found within a mindfulness approach.

The 12 After 12 incorporates the philosophies put forth in these Evidenced-Based Practices within the framework of a 12 Step model. This makes it an easy program for people to follow who are familiar with working the 12 Steps.

By applying the 12 After 12 program with the original 12 Steps, we complement and continue the spiritual work we have already started, embracing a 24 Step Recovery Program.