Brooke Knaack is a licensed marriage and family therapist and registered art therapist based in Los Angeles who has over ten years of clinical experience. She currently sees clients at her private practice where she uses cognitive, relational, and somatic techniques to help individuals with developmental trauma or dysfunctional families cultivate healthy boundaries and relationships. Brooke was introduced to the 12-step program of AA in her early twenties and went on to be a very active member for 14 years before she started to question aspects of the organization. Since leaving AA in early 2018, Brooke has expanded her practice to include supporting clients that are transitioning away from controlling systems and learning to trust themselves again.

Brooke shares her nuanced view of her experiences while being fully immersed in the 12 step program of Alcoholics Anonymous. While the group did help her stay sober, Brooke carefully points out some of the serious flaws and potentially damaging lack of professional oversight inherent in the program. She explains how in retrospect, her new perspective from the point of view of a mental health professional provided clarity on her own experience and allowed her to see the potential risks for certain vulnerable populations.

Before You Go: Rachel goes into detail about the importance of safeguards in recovery groups of all kinds and reiterates the idea that these groups can often be both beneficial and counter-productive simultaneously.

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Read more of Rachel's thoughts on AA here:

https://filtermag.org/deprogramming-from-aa-when-a-fellowship-resembles-a-cult/