In 1939 the basic text for Alcoholics Anonymous was published, and in its fifth chapter, 12 steps were suggested as a program for recovery from alcoholism. Since then, "The Twelve Steps" have become synonymous with the term self-help or support group program, and their concepts have been applied to a variety of addictive maladies, including gambling, narcotics, overeating, and sex. What are the steps and the ideas behind them? How do they address addictive problems? This entry reviews the steps individually and collectively and sees how they are applied to various problems.