Can a person find 'Recovery' without 'desperation?'

I’ve shared my history many times, including mention of my ‘spiritual awakening’ in 1993 that kicked off about 5 years of active AA invovlement.  After struggling with an obsession to use opioids for months, a meeting with a psychoanalyst sparked the ‘awakening’ on my drive home.  I was suddenly very tired of what I was doing– the lying, hiding, desperately searching for something to stop the withdrawal, fighting with my wife… and running from psychiatrist to psychiatrist, trying to find one to agree with MY version of the world, who I would agree to see for treatment.  I now realize, by the way, that ‘change’ by definition appears foreign, wrong, and inappropriate;  a patient who sees a therapist who agrees with everything the patient says is guaranteeing the ABSENCE of change!  On the day of my ‘awakening’ I saw an analyst who told me I was full of BS, and I suddenly realized that he was totally correct.  I pulled off highway 41, crying, confused, and simply done with fighting the advice I had received from others.  I decided that I had to put myself into the hands of the experts and just listen, and do as I was told.  And I realized that I had no ‘will power’ over opioids (later learning that I had no will power over ANY psychoactive substances).  The amazing thing that felt like a miracle was that the desire to use suddenly disappeared.  I didn’t touch opioids again until my relapse, 7 years later.  And I didn’t need any ‘will power’ at all;  what I needed was to remember that I HAD NO will power.  Keeping that at the forefront of my mind was very easy– and very difficult– to do.  Other AA’ers will know what I mean by that comment.
Since then I have tried to look at the twelve steps ‘scientifically;’ to determine the essence of the program that leads to such incredible change in SOME cases.  With the introduction of buprenorphine maintenance, my opinion holds that the only way to live a clean life OFF buprenorphine is to adopt a life based in the steps.  The problem is that finding real ‘change’ through the steps (or through any other program) requires that the person abandon his/her former way of living, and that requires desperation.  And unfortunately, once on buprenorphine, addicts are no longer desperate.  I do not see any solution to this stale-mate situation.  Desperation is needed for change, and buprenorphine eliminates desperation.  So the addict must stay on buprenorphine to avoid using, and to avoid desperation.
The question that comes to mind is whether it is a good idea to stop the buprenorphine, thus bringing on the desperation required to change?  In some cases yes– when the person is using multiple substances and life is careening out of control, I think that buprenorphine might only prolong the agony, and the appropriate action is to stop it and allow the person to feel the consequences of his addiction.  But for pure opioid addicts I have a harder time recommending that they discontinue buprenorphine for the sake of bringing on desperation, because the risk of death during overdose is simply too high.
My philosophy for buprenorphine treatment is to try to add the elements of recovery that I found in the steps– to somehow pass them on to the patient without desperation.  I don’t know if that can be pulled off, but that is what I try to do.
I want to share this interesting story about the mechanism of AA from Wired magazine: http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/06/ff_alcoholics_anonymous/5/