Author: Alex Thompson

AA vs NA: The Similarities and Differences

Across recovery stages, individuals were 4.1 to 8.6 times more likely to achieve sustained abstinence by continuous 12-Step meeting attendance and involvement. Eden Ministries director the Rev. James Cliffe recalled that for a couple of months, Earle adhered to the facility’s rules, abstaining from alcohol and drugs, and attending frequent 12-step meetings. AA has helped countless individuals worldwide in their journey to achieve and maintain sobriety. Its approach has been adapted into various other Twelve-Step programs aimed at addressing different forms of addiction, such as Narcotics Anonymous (NA) for drug addiction and Al-Anon for the families and friends of alcoholics. AA meetings can be found in many communities in the United States, making them accessible to those seeking help with alcoholism.

In looking at the key differences between these two groups, you can find the right one for you. Here at Northpoint Recovery, we recognize the fact that AA and NA are both important. Both of these organizations have been instrumental in people’s lives. In fact, there are many people who feel they could never have recovered from their addictions without them.

While AA has few set rules – and says it has no way of enforcing them anyway – its literature advises members against dating anyone until they have marked one year of sobriety. The theory is that a person struggling to quit drinking and put his or her life back together is unable to make sound emotional decisions. Romantic entanglements during that fragile period are unnecessarily confusing. As a relative newcomer to AA, Suzanne said, Karla had not yet chosen a sponsor, a customary part of the program. Typically, sponsors are peers who have longer-lasting sobriety, and who help guide others through the 12 faith-based steps. In her second stint in rehab, Karla roomed with a woman named Suzanne, and they became instant friends.

What about professional treatment?

Two third of AA members are men compared to a little over half in NA. Surprisingly, the employment rate is higher in NA likely due to the greater percentage of retired members in AA. Average length of continuous sobriety is comparable in the two fellowships.

Even 15 years into his recovery, Marlon still attends AA meetings about five times per week. To Victor Vieth, a former Minnesota prosecutor who now heads the National Child Protection Training Center in Minneapolis, none of these developments is surprising. Vieth has been involved in sexual abuse cases and prevention for 25 years and has become a nationally recognized expert in developing protective mechanisms for volunteers in service organizations. She was bored in her job, felt despondent about being single at 30, and once again began drinking and taking drugs. One weekday afternoon near Christmas, her mother, Jaroslava, found Karla asleep in her darkened bedroom. They agreed that perhaps another stay in rehab would help to establish a more lasting recovery.

1. Or, you might decide that you need to focus on your addiction (to alcohol or to another substance) as a whole and concentrate on yourself as an individual first.
2. White described current trends that will shape the future of AA and NA.
3. Marlon stuck with AA and went on to work in drug and alcohol treatment and recovery.
4. Though Karla preferred the high of pills, she drank with Earle, giving herself over to his drug of choice, Suzanne said.
5. The theory is that a person struggling to quit drinking and put his or her life back together is unable to make sound emotional decisions.
6. Other times, speakers may share their journeys with a major focus on their previous drug or alcohol use.

Some meetings may include speakers, or people sharing about their experiences. Both organizations also use the 12-step framework that guides members through their recovery. Santa Clarita Alcoholics Anonymous, which oversees the AA meetings in the area where Karla met Earle, did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the case. In 2007, stories in the Washington Post and Newsweekdescribed the sexual and emotional abuse of young women at a cultlike AA group in Washington, D.C., called Midtown. The stories included the accounts of young women who said they were pressured to have sex with many AA members, but especially with the group leader, Michael Quinones, who has since died.

Following the growth of the NA fellowship, other 12-step organizations developed around a single problem substance. Note however that in keeping with 12-step principles, these fellowships promote abstinence from all mind altering substances including alcohol, not solely from the specific substance that is their primary focus. The development and chronology of these organizations somewhat reflects specific substance use patterns in the US. Each of these organizations is independent according to a structure described in a later section.

4. Characteristic of membership in 12-step recovery fellowships for alcohol and drug dependence

“It’s like letting a wolf into the sheep’s den,” said Dee-Dee Stout, an Emeryville, California alcohol and drug counselor who offers alternatives to traditional 12-step treatment. Twelve-step adherents accept the notion of alcohol dependency as a disease that can be remedied by abstinence and attending meetings with others who are trying to stop drinking. Stout has been an outspoken critic of what she views as the medical and judicial overreliance on AA and its offshoots. AA primarily focuses on alcohol addiction, while NA is specifically designed for individuals recovering from narcotics addiction, which includes drugs like heroin, cocaine, and prescription narcotics.

The two brought their unusual ‘drunk talk’ therapy to other alcoholics in Akron hospitals with immediate success. After the pair helped another patient get sober the foundation of AA was set. We’ll explore the differences, similarities, and subtleties of NA vs AA to help you pick the right one to stay on the path of lifelong recovery. At 4-, 6-, and 8-year follow-up, girls (40% of the sample) had more abstinent days than boys. If respondents felt they could moderate their use of drugs and alcohol, rather than stop completely, this predicted less abstinence at each follow-up occasion. Even if someone doesn’t put it in your treatment plan, Patterson advises people to try a few different options, including CBT and SMART Recovery, at least once if possible.

Twelve Steps to Danger: How Alcoholics Anonymous Can Be a Playground for Violence-Prone Members

The initial group had difficulty finding places that would allow them to meet, and often had to meet in people’s homes. One of the most difficult places for NA to become established was in New York state where the Rockefeller drug laws had made it a crime for drug addicts to congregate for any reason, making N.A. Following a somewhat unstable period including several months in 1959 when there were no meetings held at all, the founding members dedicated themselves to restarting NA. The N.A. White Booklet was written in 1962, and became the heart of N.A. NA was called a “hip pocket program” because the entire literature could fit into a person’s hip pocket.

Making AA and NA Part of Treatment

She played softball and the saxophone and took kickboxing classes with her sister Sasha. She had excelled as a cosmetology student, but she didn’t feel the life of a hair stylist would provide the same security as her job at the medical firm, so she cut friends’ hair on the side. Internal AA documents show that when questioned about the sexual abuse of young women by other members, the organization’s leadership decided in 2009 that it could not do anything to screen potential members.

Similarities and differences between AA and drug-recovery fellowships

Her friend Suzanne, who had moved to a condominium down the street from Karla’s, started noticing strange things. A mother of three, she had regained custody of her children and would visit Karla, kids in tow. Karla had a key to the community pool, which Suzanne frequently borrowed.

We provide comprehensive and compassionate care to individuals struggling with addiction. Our approach combines evidence-based therapies, personalized treatment plans, and a supportive, calming environment to promote lasting recovery. NA has been instrumental in helping many people overcome their addiction to narcotics and other drugs. It provides a sense of community, support, and guidance to individuals seeking to rebuild their lives free from the grip of addiction. AA requires regular meetings that members should consistently attend. It aims to provide a safe and supportive environment for people to share their experiences, struggles, and successes in dealing with alcoholism.

“Gradually, my drinking started squeezing all three of those out of my life,” Marlon says. We do not receive any commission or fee that is dependent upon which treatment provider a caller chooses. In addition to some differences in philosophy, both AA and NA each have their own literature. Some time later, Karla called 911, and the Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies arrived. They photographed her bruises and her black eye, and carted Earle off to jail.