I'm no expert, but my experiences have been the opposite.
Modern medicine is decent at preventing acute alcohol withdrawal and avoiding/treating DTs, but everything I've witnessed after that has been AA-style 12-step, group therapy pseudoreligion gobbledygook.
Maybe it's different at the celebrity-level California joints, but the average Joe that I've seen is mostly expected to pull up their bootstraps and find their own personal Jesus. Which is more like wishing the addiction away rather than actual treatment.
I think you probably have to look outside of the USA to places where treatment tends to be more evidence based. I don't think the LA Celebrity joints are better -- from what I know of them, they're probably even worse. But there's no shortage of good research on how to deal with and manage alcoholism and doctors who are specialist in those areas tend to know how to deal with it.
The problem is, most of the places selling treatment aren't referring you to expert doctors/researchers. They're referring you to ex-drunks who found recovery through 12 step fellowships. And they aren't completely wrong. The evidence says that people who find some ongoing social support to deal with their problem (in addition to whatever treatment they get) will tend to do better than those who just get the treatment. (Whether that be a detox, naltrexone, any of the other anti-craving pharmacotherapies. British rehabs rarely let anyone through without getting them on some kind of medication these days because -- again, according to the evidence, they work.) I think involvement in AA or other support groups acts as a proxy for someone's commitment to recovery.
Problem is, AA is the most common social support system out there, so for most people that additional support will mean AA. But while it works for some/many, it doesn't work for everyone. Women do especially poorly and can be subject to predatory forces. But there are other support systems out there -- rational recovery, SMART recovery, etc. etc. I don't think it makes any difference which one you choose -- you just have to choose one that works for you and maintain that affiliation while you need it.
I'm aware of Disulfiram and am thoroughly unimpressed.
Disulfiram hasn't really been used for years now. The opioid antagonists like naltrexone and nalmefene are much more commonly used as first line treatments. Acamprosate shows a lot of promise as well.
As with social supports like AA, pharmacotherapies are just another plank in the multi-tiered approach that characterises good modern treatment for alcohol or drug dependency. People who embrace as many as possible tend to stand the best chance of sustained recovery.
And returning to back on-topic
Perhaps that's why Nick missed his show yesterday? The meds he picked up were antabuse and drinking on top has made him too sick to stream?