I'm not an alcoholic, but am very familiar with AA. The assent to a higher power thing is tough for many that I know in AA, but they still find benefit in it(AA). I tend to think that the higher power thing is useful to help externalize some of the bad things that happens in life (while still realizing that you have to deal with them). The narrative would be like, "This bad thing was put in my life by something beyond my control. It's not my fault this bad thing happened to me." I think this is useful for both historical trauma and issues those in AA deal with in the present.
