If a newcomer has received a thorough course of treatment and indoctrination in an alcoholism program outside A.A., will a sponsor still he needed in A.A.? Is a special approach needed?
The alcoholism programs of government, industry, and other agencies are referring more and more alcoholics to A.A. These newcomers usually reach us in a physically dry condition, at a somewhat later stage in recovery than the shaking newcomer of the past. Detoxification is often weeks and even months in the past and the physical compulsion to drink is gone. But the mental obsession with alcohol may still be there and, as A.A. groups that have welcomed such newcomers generally believe, sponsorship is necessary as soon as possible to help overcome that obsession. This newcomer may have learned many medical facts about the disease of alcoholism. But teaming about Alcoholism in an institutional setting is one thing, and functioning as a sober alcoholic in a drinking world is quite another, we find. The sponsor is ready to share experience in how to cope with this situation. Learning about the A.A. program is not the same as living it. Chances are the newcomer has already learned some facts
