12 Step Communities

 

Adult Children of Alcoholics

Never before in the history of Twelve Step programs has a fellowship brought together such a diverse group of recovering people that includes adult children of alcoholics, codependents, and addicts of various sorts. The program is Adult Children of Alcoholics. The term “adult child” is used to describe adults who grew up in alcoholic or dysfunctional homes and who exhibit identifiable traits that reveal past abuse or neglect. The group includes adults raised in homes without the presence of alcohol or drugs. These ACA members have the trademark presence of abuse, shame, and abandonment found in alcoholic homes.

Our 30 years of experience has shown that adult children who attend our meetings, work the Twelve Steps, and find a Higher Power experience astonishing improvement in body, mind, and spirit. Ours is one of the few Twelve Step fellowships that embraces the difficult task of trauma work, which can often lead to an exciting journey to the Inner Child or True Self. Along with sponsorship, we encourage informed counseling to help the adult child accomplish the greatest level of emotional healing from an abusive upbringing.

 

Al-Anon Anonymous

Friends and families of problem drinkers find understanding and support at Al-Anon and Alateen meetings. Al‑Anon members come to understand problem drinking as a family illness that affects everyone in the family. By listening to Al‑Anon members speak at Al‑Anon meetings, you can hear how they came to understand their own role in this family illness. This insight put them in a better position to play a positive role in the family’s future.

 

Co-Dependents Anonymous (CODA)

Co-Dependents Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women whose common purpose is to develop healthy relationships. The only requirement for membership is a desire for healthy and loving relationships. We gather together to support and share with each other in a journey of self-discovery — learning to love the self. Living the program allows each of us to become increasingly honest with ourselves about our personal histories and our own codependent behaviors.

 

Co-Dependents of Sex Addicts Anonymous (COSA)

Co-Dependents of Sex Addicts was founded in 1980 as a Twelve Step recovery program for men and women whose lives have been affected by another person’s compulsive sexual behavior. Adapted from Alcoholics Anonymous and Al-Anon, COSA is a program for our spiritual development, no matter what our religious beliefs. As we meet to share our experience, strength, and hope while working the Twelve Steps, we grow stronger in spirit. We begin to lead our lives more serenely and in deeper fulfillment, little by little, one day at a time. Only in this way can we be of help to others. The only requirement for membership in COSA is to have been affected by compulsive sexual behavior.

 

Partners of Sex Addicts Resource Center (POSA)

Partners of Sex Addicts is NOT a 12 step community, however it is important to add it to this list. POSA provides a trauma focused community support group for partners. Lili Bee, Founder POSARC, partner’s coach and consultant, explains:

Slowly, we began to get a clear picture of what this thing called sex addiction was, how it operated for both the addict and the partner. What was largely missing from the extant literature and recovery community was how this addiction really affected the partner. We partners were instructed to work on on our own recoveries only. That’s it. We were left wondering, where was the empathy for all that we had endured? Our felt experiences were not accurately described, the full scope was minimized and often disregarded as a mild aside to the addict’s condition. We found this puzzling: frequently, the addicts were not showing a shred of discomfort while the partner was on the verge of total breakdown. Where was this imbalance being documented, we wondered? It seemed the addict had the addiction and we partners had the toxic side-effects!

POSA is for each every partner of a sex addict who has ever spent a night in soul-destroying anguish, crying out in pain, hopelessness and despair. “This website is our gift to you. May we help restore your hope and your hearts on this incredible path of thorns.”

 

Recovering Couples Anonymous (RCA)

Recovering Couples Anonymous are couples committed to restoring healthy communication, caring, and greater intimacy to our coupleships. We suffer from many problems, some identified and some not, some treated and some not. We also come from different levels of brokenness. Many of us have been separated or near divorce. Some of us are new in our coupleships and seek to build intimacy together. We have all sought healing in Recovering Couples Anonymous.

RCA Trailblazers

This group is organized and registered through the World Service Organization of Recovering Couples Anonymous.  The only requirement for RCA membership is a desire to remain in a committed relationship.  The meetings follow a 12 Step format and we adhere to the 12 Steps and 12 Traditions, using RCA’s “4th edition of the Basic Text“ as the guide for our group conduct, work, and meetings.

Sunday Online Video Meeting is open to both Couples and Singles.