26 guides in meetings and steps
12-Step and Other Recovery Paths
A 12-step meeting and another mutual-help group can both sit beside treatment. Try more than one, and do not stop a medicine over a comment.
AA vs NA Meetings
A.A. asks for a desire to stop drinking. NA asks for a desire to stop using. The finders are separate. You can try both and keep the room that fits.
Beginner AA Meetings
A.A. says beginners meetings help newcomers and may use a discussion format or Steps One, Two, and Three. G.S.O. has a guide for leaders.
First Steps After a Relapse
A return to drug use does not mean treatment failed. Overdose risk can rise after a break. Get medical care, and talk to the prescriber the same day.
How to Find a Sponsor in AA or NA
A practical guide to finding a sponsor: listen in meetings, ask after, try a temporary sponsor, and what the AA and NA pamphlets say.
How to Find an AA Meeting
You expected one national calendar, and aa.org does not have it. Use Meeting Guide or a local office, then confirm the room with the group before you go.
How to Find NA Meetings
NA points you to local websites, phonelines, and a separate virtual search. Use those tools, then confirm the listing with the group before you go.
Hybrid and In-Person AA Meetings
A.A. meetings are in person, online, or by phone. One intergroup defines hybrid as one meeting in both places at once. Groups decide the format.
Joe and Charlie, When the Big Book Feels Impossible
Joe and Charlie is a member-led Big Book study, first taped in 1977. If the book scares you, here is what people mean and what to do tonight.
Men-Only AA Meetings
You want a men's meeting for the things you will not say in a mixed room. If someone said stag, open a local list and look for men.
One Year Sober: A Reflection
The year is here and it may feel like an ordinary day. Mark it your way, skip a party that looks like drinking, and do not stop a medicine for the date.
Online AA Meetings
You can attend an A.A. meeting online or by phone and listen without speaking. Use Meeting Guide or the Online Intergroup, then confirm the link.
Online NA Meetings
NA lists virtual meetings by language, in your time zone. See how that search works, what open and closed mean, and why a meeting is not treatment.
Open vs Closed AA Meetings
A.A. marks meetings open or closed. Listeners belong in an open meeting. A closed meeting is for a drinking problem and a desire to stop.
SMART Recovery and This Helpline
SMART Recovery is a free peer program with a four-point plan. SmarterRecovery is a referral helpline. The names are similar. The organizations are not.
SMART Recovery Meetings Online
SMART Recovery lists free online meetings led by facilitators. SmarterRecovery is a referral helpline, not that peer program or its finder.
Spanish-Speaking AA Meetings
Walking into a meeting is harder when you cannot follow the language. Search Meeting Guide, read the listing, or call and ask for a reunión en español.
Speaker vs Discussion AA Meetings
A.A. describes discussion meetings, where a chair picks a topic, and speaker meetings, where members are chosen ahead of time to share. You can sit and listen.
What Conference-Approved Means
Conference-approved means the General Service Conference approved the piece for GSO publication. It does not ban other reading. Grapevine is separate.
What to Look for in a Sponsor
Selection criteria from AA and NA sponsorship literature, the line between sponsorship and professional care, and how to spot an unsafe sponsor.
Which A.A. Books to Pick Up First
A short shelf for a hard night: the Big Book, the Twelve and Twelve, and Living Sober. You can start tonight without buying a book.
Why A.A. Started, and Why You Can Walk In
The short A.A. story: a first meeting on May 12, 1935, Dr. Bob's sobriety date of June 10, 1935, the 1939 book, and a door that opens on a desire to stop.
Women-Only AA Meetings
You want a women's meeting for what you will not say with men in the room. Tonight, open a local list and look for the word women.
Young People's AA Meetings
You can be young and still belong in A.A. Young people's groups are on local meeting lists. Any A.A. meeting can welcome you. You can just listen.
Your First AA Meeting
A first A.A. meeting is members talking about drinking and what they did next. You can listen. Open and closed meetings follow different rules.
Your First NA Meeting
NA's first-meeting pamphlet says open meetings welcome non-addicts and that groups are not therapy. Membership is free. This page copies no script.