The Minnesota Model grew from a fortunate marriage of the program of Alcoholics Anonymous, the tools of modern clinical psychology, and medical science. Implicit in these elements is a concern for the holistic dimension of human life: body, mind, and spirit.

Expressed in more academic terms, this is called a physical-psychospiritual model.

First, clients receive needed medical care —  immediate attention to the often severe physical consequences of addiction. Included here are medical assessment and detoxification in a hospital when necessary.
 
Second, clients gain an understanding of the nature of their disease of chemical dependency and some process addictions like gambling, disordered eating, codependency and sex . Beyond this, they learn new strategies for changing their mental habits. This aspect of the model borrows from the contributions of cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy, an example being Rational-Emotive Therapy developed by Albert Ellis.
 
Third, people learn the necessity of living their lives on a spiritual level.

This part of the Minnesota Model is the most difficult to explain scientifically, yet it may be the most powerful part of the overall program. Learning to live at a spiritual level involves acknowledging one’s personal limitations, vulnerabilities, and need for the help that other people can offer. It includes a relationship with a Higher Power that is individually defined. Spirituality is kept alive through the daily practice of prayer and meditation and a day-by-day effort to purge the mind of the mental conditions that contribute to addiction. Among these conditions are resentment, fear, and guilt.

Historian Ernest Kurtz notes that 12-Step support groups like Alcoholics Anonymous thrive on pluralism. Where else but at a Twelve Step meeting can you find an atheist, an agnostic, a fundamentalist Christian, a Zen Buddhist and a Muslim engaged in a common purpose — the effort to stay sober for the next twenty-four hours? An atheist member of AA summed it up well: “People use the word spiritual in ways that define themselves. I think it means the ability to get outside one’s own immediate concerns to perform an altruistic act."

The approach that we use that most effectively responds to our threefold natures has several key components:

• Our clients collaborate with us in defining the path of recovery. Our relationship goes beyond the usual patient-professional dichotomy. There is a give-and-take quality to the relationship.  We both sign off on the treatment plan.



• Changes in lifestyle habits become the focus of treatment. This can involve both behavioral and cognitive strategies.



• Treatment focuses on the long-term. There is no expectation that any patient will walk away from working with the Kusnacht practice cured by some “magic bullet.” As with treatment for lower-back pain or diabetes, our therapeutic approach works with problems that don’t go away. The focus is on managing the condition, and living well with it. Any focus on cure is replaced with a sense of progress. Central to this are questions about the overall quality of life, issues that usually go well beyond the dynamics of a medical cure



• Treatment is multidisciplinary. Family relationships, finances, physical health — all can be damaged by addiction to alcohol or other drugs. This is why we enlist the assistance of other professionals and institutions (all approved in advance by the client and in some cases a family member).



• Rehabilitation relies on natural support systems. Family members, friends, and self-help groups all participate in the recovery process. Over time, patients loosen their ties to us. They take over more responsibility for managing their lives and using community resources.