Members attend weekly (anonymous) meetings to help one another maintain sobriety. If you’re not sure whether to attend AA or NA, talk about your situation with someone who is knowledgeable in both support groups. You can also talk to the person who facilitates meetings to get their input. The important thing is that you regularly attend either AA or NA to continue your recovery path should you decide a 12 Step group is right for you.
AA Vs. NA: What’s The Difference?
The rise and fall of these groups can sometimes depend on the charismatic leadership of an individual whose personality initially mobilizes and inspires many, but whose personal foibles could also undermine the organization. Other groups fail by way of entanglements related to religion or politics or stagger under challenges to the group’s credibility. White talked about why AA was successful among the succession of mutual aid recovery groups. First, AA has been thriving and expanding since 1935, and membership surveys count two million members worldwide. Second, AA is accessible and available in an abundance of communities, whereas other recovery organizations may not have meetings in as many locations.
Suggestions for Maximizing Teen Participation in AA/NA
- The goal of NA is to create a community where people with substance use issues help each other on the road to recovery.
- It’s best to work with an addiction specialist to receive the proper combination of treatments for your condition.
- This step focuses on acknowledging the harm caused by an individual’s addiction.
- Typically, both NA and AA meetings begin with reading the 12 Steps.
- The total numbers of Web sites found in each search is shown in the Appendix.
But therapy costs money and requires insurance, which not everyone has. Patterson believes CBT can be a helpful tool when done in conjunction with a 12-step program or SMART Recovery, though plenty of people find CBT helpful on its own. AA uses a 12-step model that begins with a https://sober-home.org/ person admitting that they’re powerless over alcohol and that their lives had become unmanageable. The group’s facilitator will ask at the beginning of the meeting if there are any new members in attendance. There will be people at the meeting who are also new to the program.
Narcotics Anonymous’ 12 Steps
There is a difference between being powerless over a substance and being powerless over the addiction. It suggests that in AA, the lack of control is due to the alcohol, while in NA, the lack of control is due to the actual addiction itself. This difference has led to many people concluding that NA is more focused on the individual, rather than focusing on the assistance of a Higher Power, which is a major part of The Twelve Steps in AA. For many, this approach is appealing because they may not feel comfortable discussing a Higher Power and its influence in their lives.
What Happens at My First Narcotics Anonymous Meeting?
Deciding which type of group you would like to attend is up to you and what you are comfortable with. It’s also recommended to try several different groups and meetings until you find one that fits best with your needs, schedule, and personality. As in Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, Narcotics Anonymous meetings can be either “open” or “closed.” In open meetings, anyone may attend, including those who are interested in the group and how it works or who want to attend to support a loved one.
Does Alcoholics Anonymous actually work?
Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to addicts, and to practice these principles in all our affairs. Substance abuse can have negative repercussions on your work, family, relationships, and community. This step involves being honest with yourself about the harm done to the various aspects of your life, and taking responsibility for your actions. Anyone who wants to learn more about the program is welcome to open meetings. Open meetings provide an opportunity to learn more about NA and the 12 Steps.
If you’re already undergoing treatment, talk to your healthcare provider about whether a 12-step program can be beneficial to you. Given the heterogeneous nature of substance use, and the relative lack of adolescent treatment research to date, it is not possible to recommend one specific treatment modality that is likely to be effective for all adolescent patients (Godley & White, 2005). Currently, several treatment modalities are available and have been utilized in the treatment of adolescent https://sober-home.org/adult-children-of-alcoholics-the-lasting-impact-i/ substance abuse and dependence. Most of the available adolescent substance user treatment programs are based on adult treatment models; however, they typically include modifications to address the special needs of adolescents. Novel solutions to increase teen participation in AA/NA may need to consider enhancing perceived benefits to participation among teens, clarifying or maximizing perceived severity of negative drug use consequences, and minimizing barriers to participation.
She is a Fellow if the Australian Association for Cognitive and Behaviour Therapy and was previously president. A recent but limited study indicates it may be as effective as the 12-step model. There aren’t any higher powers involved, and addiction tends to be considered a habit rather than a disease. If you like the idea of a structured group meeting but find that 12-step groups don’t feel like a great fit, SMART Recovery may be a great alternative.
The Oxford Group was non-denominational, and its members focused on erasing sin from daily life. The group did this by having members share their experiences with one another, make amends, examine themselves, make restitution for harm done, and engage in prayer. In discussion meetings, members may share as much or as little as they feel comfortable with, keeping in mind and being courteous of time constraints. New attendees aren’t required to share, though they are usually welcome to if they so choose. Sharing is done one at a time, and members are asked to only share their own experience and not comment on others’–conversations can be had during breaks or after the meeting.
Patterson and Marlon agree that it’s more important to find something that works for the individual than it is to debate the effectiveness of a recovery tool. But a 2020 review of research on recovery options sheds some light on AA’s effectiveness. The truth is, it can be hard to measure the effectiveness of a recovery program. Even 15 years into his recovery, Marlon still attends AA meetings about five times per week.
AA’s most recent membership survey of more than 6,000 members, done in 2014, said 22 percent of its members stayed sober for 20 or more years. Other programs, like Narcotics Anonymous (NA), which started in 1953, have used similar models. Not everyone’s a fan, though, and AA is far from being the only option for finding peer support.
While that certainly works for some people, it’s important to remember that you’re not “weaker” or “less” of a person for needing (or simply wanting) some additional help. AA and NA literature, like the Big Books, are full of the reasoning behind the 12 steps and tools to help navigate sobriety. We do not receive any commission or fee that is dependent upon which treatment provider a caller chooses. If you are open about your drug replacement therapy, however, you may be asked not to speak at an NA meeting and simply listen. You may not get the full benefits of actively taking part in meetings.
These three components may map quite well onto the research material on correlates of teen AA/NA participation and reasons for not participating. The severity component would seem to be related to youths’ feeling hopeless, experiencing prior treatment, being involved in relatively long treatment, having worse drug use problems, having worse problems at school, and suffering legal problems. Youth that have already suffered a fair amount may not care as much about autonomy issues or duration of use. The barriers component would seem to be related to a tendency to externalize problems, fear of experiencing rejection by older persons, limit testing on traditions/rituals, and difficulties with transportation to meetings.
Some individuals do not want to feel powerless or dependent upon others, or to attend meetings for the rest of their lives. Other mutual help treatment alternatives to AA/NA include Rational Recovery (), SMART Recovery (), and Secular Organizations for Sobriety (/sos/index.htm; see Sussman & Ames, 2008 for more details). The use of these programs with teens is not yet prevalent, though they do not explicitly exclude teens. Future research should explore whether there is increasing interest and efficacy of these other self-help programs with teens. Bill Wilson and Dr. Robert Smith, both self-proclaimed alcoholics, founded AA in 1935.
AA has become one of the most widely disseminated self-help treatment groups, where membership is estimated at more than 2 million. AA begat more than 100 other 12-step programs based on the structure and principles of AA (e.g., NA—Narcotics Anonymous, MA—Marijuana Anonymous, CA—Cocaine Anonymous, etc.). All of the 12-step sobriety-based programs are based on a disease model of addiction and require complete abstinence from drugs. When drinking or using, there may be a loss of control over the amount used, generally after using for a brief period of hours or days and loss of behavioral control exhibited while drunk or high, leading to a variety of cumulative negative life consequences. 12-step programs are designed to help people who are addicted to substances like alcohol and drugs. If you or a loved one have a substance abuse problem and want to get help, you should go to an AA, NA, or CA meeting near you.
Licensed medical professionals review material we publish on our site. The material is not a substitute for qualified medical diagnoses, treatment, or advice. It should not be used to replace the suggestions of your personal physician or other health care professionals. NA is run very similar to AA, with the 12 Steps being a cornerstone of the program. The biggest difference is that those in NA struggle with an addiction to a drug or drugs, as opposed to just alcohol. There are other peer support programs now available like SMART Recovery and Hello Sunday Morning, as well as individual peer support workers.
It was one of the very early formal treatment options for alcohol problems. It was started around the time of prohibition and the temperance movement when alcohol problems were considered a moral failing. Both AA and NA are safe places — there is no judgment, only people with common problems gathering together to help each other find solutions. It doesn’t matter how long someone has been struggling from addiction, only that they are ready to take steps to become sober. Even if someone doesn’t put it in your treatment plan, Patterson advises people to try a few different options, including CBT and SMART Recovery, at least once if possible.