Carl Jung and Alcoholics Anonymous

The author has unearthed from the archives of the headquarters of Alcoholics Anonymous in New York, new communications between Carl Jung and Bill Wilson, co-founder of A.A.. Jung's connection to A.A. begins in 1926 and this correspondence explains Jung's serendipitous role in the founding of A.A.. Most importantly, this latest material overturns the belief that Jung distrusted groups. Indeed, influenced by AA's success, Jung gave "complete and detailed instructions" on how the A.A. group format could be applied to "general neurotics". Wilson was a controversial advocate of treating some Alcoholics with LSD in order to induce a spiritual experience. He wrote to Jung for his comments on this idea. Jung was antagonistic to "short cuts" to transcendent experiences and died before he could reply. Alcoholism is graphically described through the detailed case histories of Jung. Using the narratives of recovering alcoholics and a Jungian perspective, we look at how the program of the 12 steps leads to a journey of spiritual awakening or in Jungian terms, individuation. This book explains the language of A.A. and takes us inside a meeting to show how it works in practice. The final chapter deals with the criticism that both organisations have "cultish" aspects.