Rational Recovery (RR) is one of a number of self-help movements that have emerged as alternatives to ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (AA) for those with drug and alcohol problems. Rational Recovery began with the publication of Rational Recovery from Alcoholism: The Small Book by Jack Trimpey in 1988. The program is based on Rational Emotive Therapy, a mental-health treatment with a cognitive orientation developed by the psychologist Albert Ellis. It is premised on the assumption that psychological difficulties are caused by irrational beliefs that can be understood and overcome, not by existential or spiritual deficits. The emphasis is on rational self-examination rather than on religiosity.

An RR "coordinator" leads a group of five to ten members, who meet once or twice weekly for ninety minutes. Each coordinator maintains contact with an adviser, a mental-health professional familiar with the RR program. RR emphasizes cognitive devices for securing abstinence...