The 12 steps of the well-known mutual help group, Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), begin with Step One, admitting powerlessness. Although Step One has helped many problem drinkers and other addicts, its spiritual concepts have been criticized. The possibility of reconceptualizing powerlessness as empowering, not only within AA and its offshoot programs, but also in selected counseling models (Jungian Psychology, Kasl's Sixteen Steps to Empowerment, Transactional Analysis, Transpersonal theme, Robbins & Mortifee's model) is examined here. Major texts from AA were compared with selected psychological models of change. Implications for the field of counseling were: (1) AA, having helped many addicts, could provide important healing tools for our culture as it has been seen as an addictive system; and (2) reconciling AA's powerlessness with counseling's empowerment models can enrich the effectiveness of both. Appendices include AA's Twelve Steps to Recovery and Kasl's Sixteen Steps for Discovery and Empowerment. Contains 40 references. (JBJ)