5 Great Outpatient Substance Abuse Treatment Programs for Addicts Who Don’t Like AA

The addiction treatment industry in America tops around $35 billion in profit every year. It’s no wonder that outpatient substance abuse treatment programs are a dime a dozen. For addicts not interested in AA, the choices are plentiful but can be confusing to research. Here are five of the best AA alternative treatment programs to research when looking for an addiction recovery group.

1. Women For Sobriety

Women for Sobriety was built for women who have alcohol problems and don’t think AA is right for them. It stands in opposition to the tenets of AA, which include humility and limiting self-centeredness. The organization is built on empowering women to talk about their struggles with each other as a way to empower themselves. It was founded in the mid-1970s by a sociologist. This program is dedicated to helping women achieve sobriety through a 13-step program created specifically for them. It uses processes that encourage spiritual and emotional growth.

2. SMART Recovery

Found all over America and around the globe, SMART Recovery is an alternative AA program that uses cognitive-behavioral programs to help addicts find sobriety. The group helps all sorts of addicts with its four-point program. It utilizes both in-person and online meetings to generate communities that focus on addiction recovery. The group also hosts online message boards and chat rooms for those times that addicts need someone to talk to and meetings are not being held. The group also focuses on scientific advancements for addiction recovery, enabling addicts to learn new productive ways to stay sober.

3. Secular Organizations for Sobriety

SOS was founded in the mid-1980s by an alcoholic who had trouble with the notion that AA required some Christian perspective to be useful. He decided instead to build an organization based on a person’s:

  • agency
  • self-reliance
  • personal responsibility

This non-profit organization has no set program. It does provide meetings all over the world, as well as online meetings, to talk about addiction recovery approaches. As with other alternative outpatient substance abuse treatment programs, the key is in staying motivated and engaged with meetings.  SOS helps with that by allowing addicts to create their own meetings wherever they live.

4. LifeRing Secular Recovery

LSR is an offshoot of SOS  It has been around for about a decade. It follows the same vein of using personal responsibility and human intervention as tenets for recovery. It differs from SOS in that it provides addicts with access to like-minded people and offers loose guidelines on how an addict can stay sober. This alternative to AA is a great choice for secular people who believe they have the power to control their addiction and recovery.

5. Celebrate Recovery

Celebrate Recovery is an alternative substance abuse program for addicts who don’t believe AA can help them but want an alternative that follows Christian principles. CR is part of the Saddleback Church and has eight biblically-based principles for recovery. By using the Bible and other religious texts, addicts are given the tools necessary to stay clean and sober. The group does not offer online resources. However, conferences and annual events are available, all of which use Christian guidelines to support addicts in recovery.

Choosing to get clean is easy, but following through with that can require some support. AA is a great resource, but it’s not for everyone. These five great outpatient substance abuse treatment programs for addicts who don’t want to attend AA are a good place to start searching for the perfect program.