NA vs AA: Which Is Best for Recovery?

This often helps members feel more comfortable about opening up. Some criticize 12-step programs for failing to recognize emerging science-based approaches and offering a one-size-fits-all approach to a complex problem. There is also criticism of NA’s approach of focusing on spirituality and requiring members to identify as addicts. It’s difficult to measure how effective NA and other 12-step programs are for its members. Although studies show its effectiveness on participants under 12-step programs, it’s not a complete guarantee. Discussion meetings allow members to share their personal stories.

Multiple Addictions

Threats to the early survival of AA and NA were the same threats that could undermine any mutual aid recovery group. They include leadership relapse, struggle for consensus about the program, program infidelity and instability, professionalism, issues of money, and limits of inclusion and exclusion. Other groups fail by way of entanglements related to religion or politics or stagger under challenges to the group’s credibility. White talked about why AA was successful among the succession of mutual aid recovery groups. First, AA has been thriving and expanding since 1935, and membership surveys count two million members worldwide. Second, AA is accessible and available in an abundance of communities, whereas other recovery organizations may not have meetings in as many locations.

The original 12-step program

You’ll get another one after 30 days to commemorate the work you’ve put in. You’ll also get key tags when mirtazapine and alcohol you reach 60 days, 90 days, 6 months, 9 months, 1 year, 18 months, and then yearly from that point on.

We know more about alcohol and other drug dependence now

There may also be readings or group discussions about particular topics. Speaker meetings give members a chance to talk for longer. Members meet regularly to share their experiences and support each other to quit drugs. Typically, both NA and AA meetings begin with reading the 12 Steps. You may also hear people reciting the serenity prayer or the 12 Traditions.

1. Marlon checked into a 30-day treatment facility, where he learned more about Alcoholics Anonymous (AA).
2. Clients stated that their top two reasons for attending AA and NA were to (1) promote recovery/sobriety and to (2) find support, acceptance, and friendship.
3. If you’ve made the decision to turn your life around by getting sober – it’s time to find resources.
4. Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous follow the same format, have similar guidelines, and believe in the same tools to help those struggling with addiction.
5. For men and women, doing service and having a home group was predictive of sustained abstinence over 3 years.

We admitted we were powerless over our addiction and that our lives had become unmanageable. Since 2008, Florida’s behavioral health leader, Virtual-Counseling.com, is a convenient and worthwhile way to receive the support you need. Licensed medical professionals review material we publish on our site.

Meanwhile, speaker meetings involve one or more members speaking for most of the meeting. Many NA members believe regular meeting attendance rhinophyma and alcoholism is a helpful tool for staying drug-free. Neither AA nor NA is superior to the other, and each has different ways of achieving the same goal.

You might feel more comfortable (and have more time) addressing these issues in an individual or smaller group setting, Patterson notes. But therapy costs money and requires insurance, which not everyone has. Patterson and Marlon agree that it’s more important to find something that works for the individual than it is to debate the effectiveness of a recovery tool. Still, researchers found that there may be some benefits in going to NA meetings for people who are taking BMT.

While you may struggle with this step if you’re not religious, it’s intended to be an opportunity to let go of the things beyond your control and start working on the things within your control. There are other peer support programs now available like SMART Recovery and Hello Sunday Morning, as well as individual peer support workers. These may better suit those who are not aligned with the values and philosophy celebrities with fetal alcohol syndrome of AA. Both AA and NA are safe places — there is no judgment, only people with common problems gathering together to help each other find solutions. It doesn’t matter how long someone has been struggling from addiction, only that they are ready to take steps to become sober. Join our supportive sober community where each day becomes a step towards personal growth and lasting positive change.

You might hear about Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous and wonder what the difference is between the two, for example. In this article, we’ll talk about some of those differences, but we’ll also discuss some of the similarities. First, let’s go over some basic background behind each of these addiction treatment programs.

But a 2020 review of research on recovery options sheds some light on AA’s effectiveness. AA’s most recent membership survey of more than 6,000 members, done in 2014, said 22 percent of its members stayed sober for 20 or more years. Other programs, like Narcotics Anonymous (NA), which started in 1953, have used similar models. “Gradually, my drinking started squeezing all three of those out of my life,” Marlon says. After almost a year of going four times a week I can tell you that, without a shadow of a doubt, AA and NA is absolutely fucking terrible. There is only one requirement for membership, the desire to stop using.

In the Big Book he outlines the 12 steps and his own experience with them. From those first drafts and first meetings, an international organization was born. Hundreds of thousands of AA meetings can be found in almost every country on the planet today. The Oxford Group, an evangelical Christian fellowship that flourished in the United States and England in the early 1900s, had a strong influence on the origins of AA. The Oxford Group was non-denominational, and its members focused on erasing sin from daily life. The group did this by having members share their experiences with one another, make amends, examine themselves, make restitution for harm done, and engage in prayer.

Closed meetings are only for members of NA unless otherwise stated, where participants remain anonymous. Everyone agrees to keep the details of the sessions and those who attend private. This is part of the NA traditions and all 12-step programs. If you are considering undertaking the 12 steps of NA, you’re not alone. According to a 2020 study, approximately 45% of Americans who have recovered from substance addiction have used 12-step programs to do so. Like AA, NA is a free, community-based resource that anyone can access.

Proof of attendance at meetings is not part of A.A.’s procedure. Each group is autonomous and has the right to choose whether or not to provide proof of attendance at their meeting. These same formats may be applied to group meetings on the Big Book or the Twelve Traditions. Many groups make it a practice to read aloud pertinent material from the Big Book or Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions at the beginning of the meeting. Measuring success regarding specific data is challenging because NA members are anonymous.