Witnessing other people's lives change is good preliminary evidence. Still, the difficulty in applying 12 steps which you point out is probably something that should be presented up front as a big potential hurdle when you recommend any 12 step program, so that your audience is in the know about what they are getting into. Also up front should we warn that 12 step programs require belief in some supreme being (I am not using the correct terminology) - that is a prerequisite of effective participation. I am an atheist, and that is why I do not participate in a 12 step program against clutter, although I do have a big problem with cluttering. On these boards, I have heard something along the lines of "it does not have to be God, it could be anything", but that does not help me a bit as, again, I am an atheist.

So all in all, these two things: the considerable investment into the steps and the prerequisite of a certain belief system should be "put on the table" when you route someone to SA or any similar program. That would be my opinion, respectfully.