Does the Minnesota 12 steps model really produce an effective change in the treatment of drugs addictions?
Grønbæk and Nielsen (2007) conducted a randomized, controlled study of the Minnesota model for treating alcohol dependence in Denmark. 148 alcohol dependent individuals participated. The study reported a significant difference in alcohol abstinence between control and treatment groups when data was aggregated over the one-year period. However, by the end of the one-year followup period, this difference had disappeared. They concluded:


  Twelve months after onset of treatment, the Minnesota day clinic treatment does not differ in effect from the much cheaper ‘standard’ public treatment. However, patients in Minnesota treatment were total abstainers throughout a longer period.


References


Grønbæk, M., &amp; Nielsen, B. (2007). A randomized controlled trial of Minnesota day clinic treatment of alcoholics. Addiction, 102(3), 381-388.