List of Twelve-Step groups
Encyclopedia
This is a list of twelve-step groups based on the set of guiding principles for recovery from addictive, compulsive
, or other behavior
al problems that were originally developed by Alcoholics Anonymous
. The twelve-step method has been adapted widely by fellowships of people recovering from various addictions, compulsive behaviors, and mental health problems. Additionally, some programs have adapted the twelve-step approach in part.
of Alcoholics Anonymous
.
, and credit its influence but do not necessary follow both the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
of AA.
Compulsive behavior
Compulsive behavior is behavior which a person does compulsively—in other words, not because they want to behave that way, but because they feel they have to do so....
, or other behavior
Behavior
Behavior or behaviour refers to the actions and mannerisms made by organisms, systems, or artificial entities in conjunction with its environment, which includes the other systems or organisms around as well as the physical environment...
al problems that were originally developed by Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...
. The twelve-step method has been adapted widely by fellowships of people recovering from various addictions, compulsive behaviors, and mental health problems. Additionally, some programs have adapted the twelve-step approach in part.
Programs patterned after Alcoholics Anonymous
Fellowships in this section follow reasonably close variations of the Twelve Steps and Twelve TraditionsTwelve Traditions
The Twelve Traditions of twelve-step programs provide guidelines for relationships between the twelve-step groups, members, other groups, the global fellowship, and society at large. Questions of finance, public relations, donations, and purpose are addressed in the Traditions...
of Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...
.
- AA - Alcoholics AnonymousAlcoholics AnonymousAlcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...
- ACA - Adult Children of AlcoholicsAdult Children of AlcoholicsAdult Children of Alcoholics is an organization that is intended to provide a forum to individuals who desire to recover from the effects of growing up in an alcoholic or otherwise dysfunctional family. ACA membership has few formal requirements. ACA does not receive any outside economic...
- Al-Anon/AlateenAl-Anon/AlateenAl-Anon/Alateen, known as Al-Anon Family Groups, is an international "fellowship of relatives and friends of alcoholicswho share their experience, strength, and hope in order to solve their common problems." They "help families of alcoholics by practicing the Twelve Steps, by welcoming and giving...
, for friends and family members of alcoholicsAlcoholismAlcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing... - CA - Cocaine AnonymousCocaine AnonymousCocaine Anonymous is a twelve-step program for people who seek recovery from drug addiction. CA is patterned very closely after Alcoholics Anonymous, although the two groups are unaffiliated...
- CLA - Clutterers AnonymousClutterers anonymousClutterers Anonymous is a twelve-step program for people who share a common problem with accumulation of clutter. CLA does not exist to provide housekeeping hints, tips on sorting and filing, or lectures on time management, but instead focuses on the underlying issues made manifest by unnecessary...
- CMA - Crystal Meth AnonymousCrystal Meth AnonymousCrystal Meth Anonymous is a California Non-Profit, Public Benefit Corporation working as a twelve-step fellowship of recovered and recovering crystal meth addicts. Participants in local groups of varying sizes meet in order to help others recover from methamphetamine addiction...
- Co-Anon, for friends and family of addicts
- CoDA - Co-Dependents AnonymousCo-Dependents AnonymousCo-Dependents Anonymous is a twelve-step program for people who share a common desire to develop functional and healthy relationships. CoDA was founded in 1986 in Phoenix, Arizona...
, for people working to end patterns of dysfunctional relationships and develop functional and healthy relationships - COSA - Codependents of Sex AddictsCosaCosa was a Latin colonia founded under Roman influence in southwestern Tuscany in 273 BC, perhaps on land confiscated from the Etruscans...
- COSLAA - CoSex and Love Addicts Anonymous
- DA - Debtors AnonymousDebtors AnonymousDebtors Anonymous is a twelve-step program for people who want to stop incurring unsecured debt. Collectively they attend more than 500 weekly meetings in nine countries...
- EA - Emotions AnonymousEmotions AnonymousEmotions Anonymous is a twelve-step program for recovery from mental and emotional illness. there were approximately 1,100 EA groups active in the United States. EA is the largest of three organizations that have adapted the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous to create a program for people...
, for recovery from mental and emotional illness - EHA - Emotional Health Anonymous, for recovery from mental and emotional illness
- FA - Families AnonymousFamilies AnonymousFamilies Anonymous is a twelve-step program for relatives and friends of addicts. FA was founded in 1971 by a group of parents in Southern California concerned with their children's substance abuse. As of 2007 there are FA meetings in more than 20 countries and about 225 regular meetings in the...
, for relatives and friends of addicts - FA - Food Addicts in Recovery AnonymousFood Addicts in Recovery AnonymousFood Addicts in Recovery Anonymous is a twelve step program, based on the principles of Alcoholics Anonymous. Its members are people who could not control their eating behavior or were obsessed with food....
- FAA - Food Addicts AnonymousFood Addicts AnonymousFood Addicts Anonymous is a twelve-step program for people with a bio chemical food addictions, patterned after Alcoholics Anonymous. The program is based on the premise that some people are addicted to refined high-carbohydrate foods and need to abstain from those foods in order to avoid...
- GA - Gamblers AnonymousGamblers AnonymousGamblers Anonymous is a twelve-step program for problem gamblers. GA began in Los Angeles on September 13, 1957. As of 2005 there were over 1000 GA meetings in the United States and meetings established in the United Kingdom, Spain, New Zealand, Australia, Brazil, Israel, Kenya, Uganda, Korea and...
- Gam-Anon/Gam-A-Teen, for friends and family members of problem gamblers
- HA - Heroin AnonymousHeroin AnonymousHeroin Anonymous is a non-profit group founded in Phoenix, AZ in 2004 to help heroin addicts achieve and maintain sobriety. Modeled after Alcoholics Anonymous, HA is a fellowship of heroin addicts who meet regularly to help each other practice complete abstinence from all drugs and alcohol...
- MA - Marijuana AnonymousMarijuana AnonymousMarijuana Anonymous is a Twelve-step program for people with common desire to maintain abstinence from marijuana.- History :Marijuana Anonymous formed in June 1989 to address compulsive use of cannabis. Since its inception, MA has followed the Twelve Traditions and suggests practicing the Twelve...
- NA - Narcotics AnonymousNarcotics AnonymousNarcotics Anonymous is a twelve-step program modeled after Alcoholics Anonymous describing itself as a "fellowship or society of men and women for whom drugs had become a major problem," and it is the second-largest 12-step organization...
- NAIL - Neurotics Anonymous, for recovery from mental and emotional illness
- Nar-AnonNar-AnonNar-Anon is a twelve-step program for friends and family members of drug addicts. Nar-Anon is complementary to, but separate from, Narcotics Anonymous , analogous to Al-Anon with respect to Alcoholics Anonymous; Nar-Anon's traditions state that it should "always cooperate with Narcotics Anonymous."...
, for friends and family members of addicts - NicA - Nicotine AnonymousNicotine AnonymousNicotine Anonymous is a twelve-step program for people desiring to quit smoking and live nicotine free. As of May, 2008 there are 600 meetings in thirty-eight countries worldwide with the overwhelming majority of these meetings occurring in the United States, followed by Canada, Brazil, Australia...
- OA - Overeaters AnonymousOvereaters AnonymousOvereaters Anonymous is a twelve-step program for people with problems related to food including, but not limited to, compulsive overeaters, those with binge eating disorder, bulimics and anorexics...
- OLGA - Online Gamers AnonymousOnline Gamers AnonymousOn-Line Gamers Anonymous is a twelve-step program for recovery from video game addiction established as a non-profit organization in the United States. OLGA was founded by Elizabeth Woolley in 2002 after her son, Shawn Woolley, committed suicide while logged in to EverQuest...
- PA - Pills AnonymousPills AnonymousPills Anonymous is a twelve-step program for people who seek recovery from prescription drug addiction. PA is patterned very closely after Alcoholics Anonymous, although the two groups are not affiliated....
, for recovery from presciption pill addiction. - SA - Sexaholics AnonymousSexaholics AnonymousSexaholics Anonymous is one of several twelve-step programs for hypersexuality based on the original Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. SA takes its place among various 12-step groups that seek recovery from sexual addiction: Sex Addicts Anonymous, Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous, Sexual...
- SA - Smokers Anonymous
- SAA - Sex Addicts AnonymousSex Addicts AnonymousSex Addicts Anonymous is an organization that describes itself as providing a twelve-step program for recovery from what it calls sex addiction. SAA was founded in 1977 by several men who wanted a greater sense of anonymity than what they perceived in other twelve step programs for sex addicts...
- SCA - Sexual Compulsives AnonymousSexual Compulsives AnonymousSexual Compulsives Anonymous is an organization that describes itself as providing a twelve-step program for recovery from what it terms sexual compulsion. SCA's founding is attributed variously to 1982 in New York City and to 1973 in Los Angeles...
- SIA - Survivors of Incest AnonymousSurvivors of Incest AnonymousSurvivors of Incest Anonymous is a twelve-step fellowship for recovery from consequences of childhood sexual abuse. SIA was founded during 1982 in Baltimore, Maryland by women who believed their experience in other twelve-step fellowships could assist in recovery from sexual trauma...
- SLAA - Sex and Love Addicts AnonymousSex and Love Addicts AnonymousSex and Love Addicts Anonymous is a twelve-step program for people recovering from what they call sex addiction and love addiction. SLAA was founded in Boston, Massachusetts in 1976, by a member of Alcoholics Anonymous . Though he had been a member of AA for many years, he repeatedly acted out and...
- WA - Workaholics AnonymousWorkaholics AnonymousWorkaholics Anonymous is a twelve-step program for people identifying themselves as "powerless over compulsive work, worry, or activity" including, but not limited to, workaholics–including overworkers and those who suffer from unmanageable procrastination or work aversion. Anybody with a desire...
Programs partially patterned after Alcoholics Anonymous
Fellowships in this section use material from Alcoholics AnonymousAlcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...
, and credit its influence but do not necessary follow both the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Twelve Traditions
The Twelve Traditions of twelve-step programs provide guidelines for relationships between the twelve-step groups, members, other groups, the global fellowship, and society at large. Questions of finance, public relations, donations, and purpose are addressed in the Traditions...
of AA.
- Celebrate RecoveryCelebrate RecoveryCelebrate Recovery was founded in 1991 by Pastor John Baker of Saddleback Church with the goal of overcoming life's issues with a twelve-step program based on Christian principles. This recovery program addresses all types of habits, hurts and hang-ups. Other churches and some prisons implemented...
, Christian-focused twelve-step program for recovery from various behaviors - GROWGROWGROW is a peer support and mutual-aid organization for recovery from, and prevention of, serious mental illness. GROW was founded in Sydney, Australia in 1957 by Father Cornelius B. "Con" Keogh, a Roman Catholic priest, and psychiatric patients who sought help with their mental illness in...
, a peer support and mutual aid organization for recovery from, and prevention of, serious mental illnessMental illnessA mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern generally associated with subjective distress or disability that occurs in an individual, and which is not a part of normal development or culture. Such a disorder may consist of a combination of affective, behavioural,... - Courage InternationalCourage InternationalCourage International is an apostolate and Christian ministry of the Roman Catholic Church, which "ministers to those with same-sex attractions,"...
, Catholic ministry which ministers to those with same-sex attractions - Homosexuals AnonymousHomosexuals AnonymousHomosexuals Anonymous is an ex-gay group which practices conversion therapy to change the sexual orientation of homosexual clients. Its mission statement describes it as "a fellowship of men and women, who through their common emotional experience, have chosen to help each other live in freedom...
, group of people using a modified version of the 12 steps to help each other to live an ex-gayEx-gayThe ex-gay movement consists of people and organizations that seek to get people to refrain from entering or pursuing same-sex relationships, to eliminate homosexual desires, to develop heterosexual desires, or to enter into a heterosexual relationship...
lifestyle - Horizon ServicesHorizon ServicesHorizon Services, Inc. is a nonprofit social service organization providing alcohol and drug treatment and recovery, mental health recovery, and substance abuse prevention services in Alameda, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. The executive director is...
, social service nonprofit based in the San Francisco Bay AreaSan Francisco Bay AreaThe San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
which uses the NA and AA models extensively, along with other methods of recovery - LDS Family ServicesLDS Family ServicesLDS Family Services is a private nonprofit corporation owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . It offers members of the church and others adoption services, marital and family counseling, addiction and drug dependency counseling, general psychotherapy, and counseling...
Addiction Recovery Program, program affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that uses twelve-step principles
- Parents AnonymousParents AnonymousParents Anonymous is a self-help group for parents who have abused their children. PA was founded in 1967 by a 29 year-old single mother, Jolly K. and psychiatric social worker Leonard L. Lieber. Jolly K. was under Lieber's care at the time, and he suggested she meet with another child-abusing...
(PA), for parents who have abused childrenChild abuseChild abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or... - Pagans In RecoveryPagans In RecoveryPagans in Recovery is the phrase which is frequently used to describe the collective efforts of Neopagans to achieve abstinence or the remission of compulsive/addictive behaviors through twelve-step programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous, Nicotine Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Overeaters...
(PIR), for neopagans recovering from various compulsive/addictive behaviors - Schizophrenics AnonymousSchizophrenics AnonymousSchizophrenics Anonymous is a self-help group to help people who are affected by schizophrenia to cope with the disease.-History:The program was established in the Detroit area in 1985. The founder was Joanne Verbanic,and the co-founder was Dr. David R. Hawkins, M.D, PhD. who had been diagnosed...
(SA), for people who are affected by schizophreniaSchizophreniaSchizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
See also
- Addiction recovery groupsAddiction recovery groupsAddiction recovery groups are voluntary associations of people who share a common desire to overcome drug addiction. Different groups use different methods, ranging from completely secular to explicitly spiritual. One survey of members found active involvement in any addiction recovery group...
- Self-help groups for mental healthSelf-help groups for mental healthSelf-help groups for mental health are voluntary associations of people who share a common desire to overcome mental illness or otherwise increase their level of cognitive or emotional wellbeing. There are several international mental health self-help organizations including Emotions Anonymous, the...
- Twelve-step programTwelve-step programA Twelve-Step Program is a set of guiding principles outlining a course of action for recovery from addiction, compulsion, or other behavioral problems...