Addiction-Specific Support Groups

Addiction-specific support groups consist of groups of people who meet on a regular basis to facilitate and maintain their recovery from substance abuse. Also known as self-help groups, peer-based recovery groups, and mutual-aid support groups, they have voluntary members and are based on the notion that those who have experienced addiction and recovered from it are in a unique position to help those who are suffering from drug and alcohol dependence. The best-known addiction-specific support group is Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), which uses 12 steps to recovery. Other popular 12-step programs include Narcotics Anonymous (NA), Cocaine Anonymous (CA), and Gamblers Anonymous (GA). The 12-step groups are spiritually based but do not adhere to religious doctrine. In contrast, some faith-based groups have developed recovery support groups focused on their particular religious beliefs. For example, The Most Excellent Way offers Christian solutions for addictions. Non-faith-based groups also exist, such as Secular Organizations for Sobriety (SOS) and SMART Recovery. Women for Sobriety (WFS) is based on the New Life Program and includes a spiritual dimension. Some women who attend WFS also attend AA meetings, but many of the WFS attendees interviewed in one study said they like the opportunity afforded them in a gender-based group to focus on women's issues.

Studies have shown that active involvement in an addiction support group correlates with higher rates of sobriety, and that addicts are more like to heed advice from those who share their illness.

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Although the terms support group and self-help group are often used interchangeably, Linda Farris Kurtz notes that self-help groups are a larger and more complex form of group, with a clear mission of helping members change some aspects of themselves. Support groups are smaller and less complicated, and they seek to comfort rather than to change their members. Based on this distinction, 12-step programs, such as AA and NA, and other groups designed to bring about change in addictive behaviors would be classified as self-help groups. For purposes of this discussion, however, the terms self-help and support group are used equivalently.