Sensible Evidence-based Recovery and Support Groups

1. SMART: Self Management And Recovery Training.
   http://www.smartrecovery.org/
   Rational, sane, common-sense recovery techniques. Based on Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy, the brainchild of Dr. Albert Ellis.
   • SMART online chat groups, http://smartrecovery.infopop.cc/paraentry.php, and
   • SMART message boards, http://smartrecovery.infopop.cc/eve/ubb.x
   • Also see the book, When AA Doesn't Work for You, Rational Steps to Quitting Alcohol by Albert Ellis, Ph.D., and Emmett Velten, Ph.D.

2. http://www.womenforsobriety.org/
   WFS, Women For Sobriety (guys ignore this one)
   WFS also has online chat groups:
   http://www.womenforsobriety.org/news_conferences/chat.html
   For local group meetings in your area you can also call 1-800-333-1606.

3. http://www.sossobriety.org/ == SOS,
   Also:
   http://www.cfiwest.org/sos
   Secular Organizations for Sobriety, a.k.a. "Save Our Selves".
   SOS is an alternative recovery method for those alcoholics or drug addicts who are uncomfortable with the spiritual or superstitious content of widely available 12-Step programs.
   
   • Another web site: http://www.sos-rochester.org/ — Rochester, NY, SOS on the web.
     
   • Also see the book, SOS Sobriety, The Proven Alternative to 12-Step Programs by James Christopher

4. http://www.lifering.org/ == LifeRing Secular Recovery (LSR)
   also:
   http://www.unhooked.com/index.htm == LifeRing Secular Recovery (LSR)
   LifeRing provides live, online meetings on the Internet, and they are also starting meeting groups in various cities.
   
   • http://www.unhooked.com/chat/Chat.html — the Unhooked chat
   • http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/LSRmail/ — a Yahoogroup, "LifeRing Secular Recovery"

5. Harm reduction, Abstinence, and Moderation Support (HAMS)
   http://hamsnetwork.org
   HAMS is peer-led and free of charge. HAMS offers information and support via a chat room, an email group, and live meetings — as well is the articles on this web site.
   • http://hamsnetwork.org/chat == chat room
   • http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/hamshrn == email group
   • http://hamsnetwork.org/live == live meetings

6. Moderation Management
   http://www.moderation.org/
   Moderation Management is oriented towards cutting down to moderate, responsible, controlled drinking, rather than total abstinence.

7. Rational Recovery
   http://www.rational.org/
   Rational Recovery is no longer "a recovery group", it's a book, and a technique called AVRT — Addictive Voice Recognition Therapy — basically the same idea as the Lizard Brain Addiction Monster.

8. Naltrexone and the Sinclair Method.
   http://www.sinclairmethod.com/
   Also see this letter for more information:
   http://www.orange-papers.org/orange-letters318.html#naltrexone
   This is also not a recovery group, it's a treatment that uses Naltrexone to reduce the pleasant effects of alcohol. I'm hearing a lot of good things about it lately.

9. Baclofen worked for her.

10. And then there are these forums and message groups:

    • http://www.orange-papers.org/forum/ — the Orange Papers forum

    • http://xsteppers.multiply.com/ — X-Steppers, have moved from MSN and found a new home on Multiply.
      

    • http://stinkin-thinkin.com/ — Stinkin' Thinkin', an outreach project to bring change to the addiction treatment industry
      http://www.youtube.com/user/SToutreach — Stinkin' Thinkin' Outreach on YouTube
      Alas, S.T. is shutting down. But they still have a lot of good articles archived.

    • http://groups.yahoo.com/group/12-step-free — Self-described as: 'This is a large yahoo group of ex-AA and ex-"XA" (meaning any "anonymous" program based on the 12 steps originally created by AA) people. It is very open to debate and free thinking, but it's main point is for those needing to be free of the 12 steps.'

    • http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/EFTCoaa
      Self-described as: 'This group is called Escaping From The Cult of AA. Despite only one membership "drive", it has continuously grown over a year's time.'

    • http://groups.yahoo.com/group/without_aa/ — Without A.A.

    • http://groups.google.com/group/alt.recovery.from-12-steps/ — the newsgroup alt.recovery.from-12-steps
      (This one is problematic, in that many 12-Steppers lurk and troll and attack posters.)

11. You can also get some more links from the start of the links page.

12. Additional Recovery Resources can be found at http://www.expaa.org/apps/links/ == "Expose AA"

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Last updated 18 April 2015.
The most recent version of this file can be found at http://www.orange-papers.org/orange-alt_list.html