The problem with invoking that part of the solution that helps is the surrender to a higher power, is that there isn't a lot of group therapy solutions that don't have that involved.
We can't effectively say for certain whether there's a correlation with throwing in a higher power or just group therapy on its own in this circumstance, and I know for a fact there are many that will not join an "* Anonymous" group because of the more religious overtones. This creates a dichotomy that is hard to separate when talking about groups like AA, as it reinforces the thought that their process is important over the comradarie and support of a shared experience.
> We can't effectively say for certain whether there's a correlation with throwing in a higher power or just group therapy on its own in this circumstance
The higher power is not "thrown in" to AA, it is the critical foundation.
Also the people who are most critical of this concept or most aggressively reject AA based on a perceived religious foundation also tend to be the ones who have the poorest understanding of what the higher power means.
I'll admit it's not an easy concept to grasp. For many/most fellows AA the principles of AA take a good amount of time to begin to understand, and alcoholics sometimes bumble their way in and out for years before this happens. It's a learning process. Pushing back on these principles, especially the existence of one's higher power, correlates highly with continued active drinking. Acceptance of this is the whole point of the program.
If it helps people, I'm glad; but to say that the people that it doesn't help "just don't get it" is pretty disingenuous. And since this was in response to my interest in correlation between the higher power and improved outcomes, I'm sure you've got a study lying around that I could take a look at; anecdata is nice, but group therapy on its own has also been shown to be helpful, and none of the studies that I've seen so far use general group therapy as a control group over an Anonymous group (Gaming, Marijuana, Alcoholics, Gamblers, etc).
We can't effectively say for certain whether there's a correlation with throwing in a higher power or just group therapy on its own in this circumstance, and I know for a fact there are many that will not join an "* Anonymous" group because of the more religious overtones. This creates a dichotomy that is hard to separate when talking about groups like AA, as it reinforces the thought that their process is important over the comradarie and support of a shared experience.