Meetings
Meetings
“Our fellowship is open to women and men, regardless of age, race, religion, ethnic background, marital status, or occupation. We welcome members of any sexual identity or orientation, whether they are gay, lesbian, straight, bisexual, or transgender.”
“Meetings are the heart of the SAA fellowship.” (Sex Addicts Anonymous, p. 10) They are places where we can hear the message of recovery and share about our own struggles with people who are like us and who understand us.
The primary purpose of meetings is to carry our message of recovery to the addict who still suffers. Meetings explain the program, help keep us sober, and provide healthy opportunities for fellowship with other recovering addicts.
In meetings we learn how to live in the solution. Meetings keep our focus on recovery and on the importance of maintaining abstinence. Especially early in recovery, meetings give us a sober place to go rather than engage in addictive behavior.
We suggest attending at least six meetings before deciding whether SAA is for you. Attending several different meetings may be helpful, as each has its own format and atmosphere.
Face to Face or Local Meetings
Many of us have gotten sober at mixed meetings while others have found sobriety in women-only meetings. No one type of meeting works for all women. The type of meeting you choose to attend is a personal decision. Look under the Meetings tab of this website to find a list of meetings in your area.
Telemeetings
Women can attend a variety of meetings throughout the day via telephone. There is at least one women-only tele-meeting every day of the week. Some of us have gained and maintained sobriety attending only tele-meetings. Others have attended both face-to-face meetings and tele-meetings. A list of telemeetings can be found on the Electronic Meetings page, under the Meetings tab.
Other Meeting Options
Some women may be unable to attend either face-to-face or tele-meetings. When you are unable to attend either local meetings or telemeetings, audio recordings can serve as a meeting any time. More information about these recordings may be found in MP3 format or on CDs.
“An SAA group consists of two or more individuals who, using the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of SAA, meet regularly for the purpose of recovering from their addictive sexual behavior. At our meetings we read SAA literature and share our experience, strength and hope with each other, focusing on how the SAA program works in our lives.
There are no professional or outside facilitators. We meet as equals, sex addicts helping one another to achieve sexual sobriety and to practice a new way of life.”
“Because of the sensitive nature of sexual addiction, many of our groups are ‘closed’, meaning that only those with a desire to stop addictive sexual behavior may attend. Anyone else interested in finding out more about SAA may attend ‘open’ meetings.”