The beliefs people have about addiction, whether as treatment provider or client, have a powerful effect on their behavior. Proponents of the disease model of drug and alcohol addiction hold that addiction is rooted in the distinctive physiology of the addict, such that abstinence is the only cure. None of the beliefs of the disease model has been proven scientifically, however; in fact, they are consistently proved to be false. Believing in these myths is likely to cause treatment failure. Teaching people they cannot control themselves convinces them they cannot control themselves. Teaching them to believe that treatment is the only solution to their problem convinces them they cannot solve problems on their own; it reinforces dependency. The free-will model of addiction accords with reality and facilitates the management of alcohol and drug consumption. Under this model, the best way to overcome addiction is to rely on one's own will power; people can stop relying on drugs or alcohol as they develop other ways to deal with life; addiction has more to do with the environments in which people live than with the drugs to which they are addicted. Further, people often outgrow drug and alcohol addiction, and alcoholics and drug addicts can learn to moderate their drinking or cut down on their drug use. Drug addicts and alcoholics can find their own ways out of addiction, without outside help, given the opportunity. 13 references