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Recovery Self-Help Groups

Recovery is more than just AA. There are a variety of self-help programs out there. Find one that is just right for you!

  • Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a global peer-led mutual aid fellowship begun in the United States dedicated to abstinence-based recovery from alcoholism through their spiritually inclined 12-step program. Besides stressing anonymity, AA's twelve traditions establish it as non-professional, non-denominational, apolitical, and unaffiliated. AA estimated its worldwide membership in 2020 to be over two million with 75% of those in the US and Canada.

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  • Narcotics Anonymous (NA) describes itself as a "nonprofit fellowship or society of men and women for whom drugs had become a major problem." Narcotics Anonymous uses a 12-step model developed for people with varied substance use disorders and is the second-largest 12-step organization. As of May 2018, there were more than 70,000 NA meetings in 144 countries.

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  • Zero Hour Life Center​ Zero Hour Life Center is a not-for-profit recovery community organization that provides support and services that help to bridge the gap between professional treatment and long-term recovery from substance use and homelessness.​

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  • Celebrate Recovery is a biblically balanced approach to help bring sustainable recovery and healing to our hurts. It guides us toward new healthy truths and life-giving habits as we repair our broken relationships. Join more than 7 million hurting people across the globe who now walk in freedom through the power of Jesus Christ as we walk through the 8 principles of celebrate recovery based on the Beatitudes in Matthew 5.

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  • SMART Recovery doesn’t base its program on spiritual principles of steps, nor does it see problematic substance use as a disease. Instead, SMART encourages people to feel empowered to overcome alcohol or drug use that’s become harmful. SMART incorporates interventions like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and emphasizes four areas in the process of recovery: building motivation, coping with urges, problem-solving and lifestyle balance. The program offers mutual support meetings facilitated by trained volunteers and is an abstinence-only program.

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  • Moderation Management provides peer-run support groups for anyone who would like to reduce their alcohol consumption and acknowledges that not everyone wants to (or can) completely stop drinking. Moderation Management was founded in 1994 as an alternative to abstinence-only programs and allows members to set their own drinking goals with certain guidance, like goal-setting techniques and a cognitive-behavioral change program.

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  • ​​Women for Sobriety is a secular recovery group found by women for women struggling with substance use. It was created by sociologist Jean Kirkpatrick in 1976 as an alternative to the 12-step model. The program is built on 13 affirmations that are intended to support members in changing their self-image and worldview. As is practiced in SMART Recovery, WFS members are encouraged to not label themselves as alcoholics and addicts. WFS encourages complete abstinence from alcohol.

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  • Recovery Dharma was founded 2019 with the mission of supporting peer-led groups using Buddhist practices and principles for recovery. The program stresses renunciation (abstinence), meditation, meetings, understanding the Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path of Buddhism, engaging in a structured process of self-reflection with others, and supporting others in the program through mentorship.

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  • LifeRing Secular Recovery is a nonprofit organization that provides peer-run recovery groups. LifeRing encourages members to stay abstinent from drugs and alcohol, and its doctrine holds that everyone has a “sober self inside them.” Their approach is through the lens of LifeRing's 3-S philosophy of Sobriety, Secularity, and Self-Help.

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