SAN FRANCISCO AA Meetings, Counseling, & Support

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Bay Area, SF AA Meetings

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an international fellowship of people who suffer with alcoholism. It’s available just about everywhere, including the San Francisco Bay Area in California. Though the fellowship was founded as a support group for alcoholics, today, many people who are addicted to other substances also attend AA meetings. Membership to AA is open to anyone who has a desire to stop drinking. It’s free to attend and there are no leaders, medical professionals, or therapists, and there is no accountability for attendance. Nonetheless, there are many people who achieve long-lasting recovery by going to AA and working the program.

How Does Alcoholics Anonymous Work?

Alcoholics Anonymous uses a 12-step approach to addiction recovery. The 12-step model is based on the premise that alcoholics in recovery can help other alcoholics attain and sustain abstinence from alcohol or drugs. This is achieved through AA meetings, in which members share their experience, strength, and hope with one another and provide support for each other.

Members of AA are encouraged to work with a sponsor through the 12 steps of the program, though nothing is required. Only first names are used in meetings so that anonymity is kept, and members are not allowed to talk about what is said within the group outside of meetings.

Benefits of AA Meetings

There are numerous benefits of AA meetings for people in recovery, including:

No cost – 12-step programs are free to anyone who wants to work on their sobriety. Members can donate to the program, should they want to, to cover expenses like coffee and AA literature.
Structured meetings – AA meetings are typically one hour, and they start and end on time.
Accessibility – Meetings are available all over the world. In bigger cities, like San Francisco and the Bay Area, there may be hundreds of meetings offered each month, at different times of the day, and in different formats, so there is nearly always support available.
Sponsorship – AA uses sponsorship as the main recovery tool. Members are encouraged to work through the 12 steps with someone who has more sober time and has been through the steps themselves.
Community – AA is a fellowship where members offer support without judgement. The sense of community within AA groups is typically very strong.

Finding an AA Meeting in the San Francisco Bay Area

In the SF Bay Area, there are over a hundred AA meetings each week, from early morning until late night every day, all over the region. Anyone living in the Bay Area who wants to find a meeting will have no problem doing so. While Alcoholics Anonymous isn’t a substitute for addiction treatment for those who need it, the program is a very helpful recovery tool. Many rehab centers encourage individuals to go to 12-step meetings regularly after they complete treatment.