The Many Types of Twelve Step Meetings: Something for Everyone

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The Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) are so well-known and successful that the 12-Step concept has been adapted again and again to support people struggling with all kinds of addictions and other troubling behaviors.

What Are the Twelve Steps?

In the early days of Alcoholics Anonymous, founder Bill W. drafted a series of twelve steps that he believed would create a solid path to recovery from alcohol addiction.  These steps outlined a series of actions:

• Admitting to being powerless over alcohol
• Surrendering to a higher power and asking for help through prayer and meditation
• Making amends to those harmed by the alcoholic’s actions
• Sharing the steps with other alcoholics to help them recover

The Twelve-Step Model for Recovery

The original twelve steps reflect a time when alcoholism and other kinds of addictions were thought to be just a failure of willpower or a lapse in character.  These steps provided a framework and direction for people struggling with sobriety.

Today, though, the original twelve steps have been modified to reflect changing circumstances and societal expectations. Now, some version of the twelve steps can be found in nearly every model of rehab and recovery as an important component of a broader treatment model that can include medication, counseling, and rehab.

Twelve Step Help for Addictions of All Kinds

Outside of Alcoholics Anonymous itself, the best-known adaptation of the twelve steps comes from Narcotics Anonymous (NA), which uses the same model to help people recover from addictions to narcotics and other drugs. The twelve steps have also become an essential element of many other recovery programs, including Workaholics Anonymous, Sex Addicts Anonymous and even Clutterers Anonymous, for those who struggle with hoarding and similar behaviors.  All these variations emphasize the same key points: acknowledging the addiction, realizing the need for help and staying vigilant to prevent relapsing.

What to Know About the Types of AA Meetings

If you’ve decided to attend Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), the meetings can provide an additional type of support in your recovery journey. Research indicates that attending AA meetings—specifically 12-step meetings—is associated with positive recovery outcomes. However, while 12-step meetings are perhaps the best-known types of AA meetings, AA offers a variety of meeting types to help you find the peer support that is most empowering and motivating in your personal recovery. Open vs. Closed Meetings When you think about AA meetings, you may assume that you know which type of people will be in the circle with you. In many cases,…

Twelve Step Adaptations – Something For Everyone

As originally written, the twelve steps draw from a Christian tradition that may not resonate with people of other belief systems and cultures. The Twelve Steps acknowledge this by adding “as we understand him” to references to God as a higher power. Still, discomfort with the echoes of Christian tradition in the Twelve Steps has led to the creation of alternative versions, including:

• The Twelve Steps for Agnostics: This version of the steps replaces references to God and surrender to a higher power with statements about personal responsibility to self and others
• The Secular Steps: This modern adaptation removes references to God and surrender, replacing them with steps about taking responsibility and action
• The Buddhist’s Twelve Steps: This version of the Steps emphasizes a holistic world view and reminds people that “harming others” can take many forms
• The White Bison Steps: This is a Native American version of the Steps that strips each one down to the value it expresses, such as “Honesty,” “Responsibility,” and “Strength.”

The original Twelve Steps were written in 1939 to help alcoholics get sober. Since then, these simple statements have encouraged individuals throughout the world to admit their addictions and take responsibility for changing their lives. That timeless message explains why AA’s Twelve Step model endures today, helping addicts of all kinds find their way to recovery.

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