Back to main page, recovery page
http://www.sexaa.org/GGuide1.htm
Starting a Group
What is an SAA Group?
A Sex Addicts Anonymous group consists of two or more individuals who - using the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of SAA - meet together regularly for the purpose of recovering from their compulsive sexual behavior. An SAA group is self-supporting, and is not affiliated with any other organization. A Sex Addicts Anonymous meeting is a safe place. It is a gathering of equals who keep confidences, refrain from judgment, and who support one another through sharing their experience, strength and hope in seeking the common goal of recovering from sexual addiction.
How to start an SAA Group.
There is no perfect way to start an SAA group. Here are some suggestions:
Find some people to join you.
First, you will need to find one or more people to join you. You will need to take some risks and let others know about your plans. Do some brainstorming. Who might know someone else? Who would respect your anonymity? Remember others have done it successfully all across the country. Act as if your life depended on your success. It does!
Find a place to meet.
You will need to find a meeting place. Initially, if you are meeting with people you have not met, you may want to meet in a quiet, neutral, safe place, such as a coffee shop. You will need to set a regular meeting time and place. Meeting places are generally not that hard to find. Check where other Twelve Step or self help groups meet. They are likely to be open to you. Identify churches, social service organizations, neighborhood community centers, or hospitals that have a reputation for reaching out to the community.
Approach them. You may choose to tell the person in charge that you are starting an S.A.A meeting, or you may simply say that you are forming a Twelve Step support group. Find a place where you are comfortable with the receptions you receive. Decide if and how your group will be identified on their schedule. More and more groups are going openly with Sex Addicts Anonymous, however others use names like Serenity Group, Shame to Grace group or support group. Use your group conscience to decide.
Establish a way that you can be contacted.
You will need a way to be contacted by people interested in your group. As soon as possible, it is a good to get the contact point in the name of the group rather than an individual. Many groups use a post office box as an effective way of being contacted. It is inexpensive, protects anonymity and is more reliable than the use of an individual's address or phone. Your group may also choose to receive calls with a voice mailbox. Again, this is an inexpensive method of reaching newcomers. When you rely on an individual's phone or address you may discover that suddenly no one is there. They may move, slip back into addiction, or any number of things.
Get SAA literature.
Obtaining SAA literature is an important way to ground your group in the Program and begin to focus on the Twelve Steps. Many find literature indispensable, especially in the early stages of recovery. Drawing from the experience, strength and hope of others is how we learn what the program is about and how it might work for us. Literature is a direct link to members of the fellowship outside of your group.
Register with the International Service Organization of SAA
You need to make some decisions on the make up and format of your meeting and then register with the International Service Organization of SAA Registering with ISO gives your group the opportunity to share experience, strength and hope with groups from around the world. By registering, you gain voice as an S.A.A member group and obtain information regarding concerns that develop within the fellowship. When issues arise that affect the fellowship as a whole, your group will have a voice in decisions. Registered groups get newcomers referred to them by the International Service Office.
Determine how you wish to reach out to other addicts
Now that you have started meeting you will need to get the word out so that others can find you. Print a simple flyer or secure brochures from the ISO Contact SAA intergroups, crisis phone lines, recovery publications and referral agencies. Let them know about your group. You can list your group phone number in the yellow pages, or place an announcement in the newspaper that says something like "Recovery from sexual addiction, for more information write to PO Box 12345"
Begin to network with other local SAA groups.
It is also important, once your group is established, that you link up with other SAA groups in your area by joining or forming an intergroup. (See section on intergroups.)
See also: