A.A. stays useful by remaining clear about what it does not do
A.A. offers meetings, the Twelve Steps, sponsorship, and the shared experience of alcoholics helping one another recover from alcoholism. It does not become a medical provider, social-service agency, religious body, monitoring authority, research institution, or outside advocate.
These boundaries do not mean A.A. refuses cooperation. They identify which needs belong inside A.A.’s primary purpose and which should be handled by qualified professionals, agencies, courts, faith communities, or other resources.
A.A. does not manufacture motivation, recruit, or control members
A.A.W.S. says A.A. does not furnish initial motivation for alcoholics to recover
, solicit members
, or follow up or try to control its members.
(A.A. at a Glance)
A.A. makes its recovery experience available to people who seek help. It does not compel belief, chase people who leave, supervise personal conduct, or promise that exposure to A.A. will create willingness or recovery.
A.A. does not provide clinical or medical treatment
A.A. does not make medical or psychological diagnoses or prognoses
or provide detox, rehabilitation or nursing services, hospitalization, drugs, or any medical or psychiatric treatment.
(If You Are a Professional)
A meeting is not a clinic, a sponsor is not a prescriber, and a group does not create treatment plans. Medical, psychiatric, psychological, medication, withdrawal, and emergency needs belong with qualified professionals and services.
A.A. does not offer professional counseling or facilities
A.A.W.S. says no professional services or facilities are ever offered or performed under A.A. sponsorship
and lists provide domestic or vocational counseling
among the things A.A. does not do. (Does A.A. operate hospitals or rehabilitation centers for alcoholics?; Experience, Strength and Hope)
A.A. members may be counselors, clinicians, social workers, or facility staff in their professional lives, but those services come from their professional role – not from A.A. membership, sponsorship, or an A.A. group.
A.A. does not provide housing, jobs, money, or welfare services
A.A.W.S. says A.A. does not provide housing, food, clothing, jobs, money, or any other welfare or social services.
(A.A. as a Resource for Drug and Alcohol Court Professionals)
A member may personally offer kindness or help, but an A.A. group is not a housing program, employment service, lender, food provider, or benefits agency. Those needs should be directed to organizations equipped to meet them.
A.A. does not keep member files, monitor cases, or provide reference letters
A.A. does not keep membership files or attendance records
, and it does not keep attendance records or case histories
or provide letters of reference to parole boards, lawyers, court officials.
(If I go to an A.A. meeting, does that commit me to anything?; A.A. at a Glance; A.A. as a Resource for Drug and Alcohol Court Professionals)
A.A. does not build a personal file, evaluate progress, report on recovery, or recommend someone to an employer, lawyer, court, probation office, or parole board. Limited attendance acknowledgment, where a group chooses to provide it, is not case management.
A.A. does not conduct research or professional education about alcohol
A.A.W.S. says A.A. does not engage in or sponsor research
or engage in education about alcohol.
(Experience, Strength and Hope)
A.A. can explain what it is, what it does, and how its members recover. It does not present itself as a scientific research body, academic authority, public-health educator, or credentialing organization.
A.A. does not provide religious services or retreats
A.A.W.S. includes offer religious services or host/sponsor retreats
among the things A.A. does not do. (Experience, Strength and Hope)
A.A. uses spiritual language but does not conduct worship, prescribe theology, operate as a denomination, or replace a person’s relationship with a faith community. Individual members remain free to hold their own beliefs or none.
A.A. does not endorse outside enterprises or take positions on outside issues
An A.A. group does not endorse, finance, or lend the A.A. name to any related facility or outside enterprise
, and A.A. has no opinion on outside issues.
(The Twelve Traditions)
A.A. can cooperate with treatment providers, courts, hospitals, professionals, faith communities, and other fellowships without endorsing them or joining their controversies. Cooperation supplies accurate information and access while each organization keeps its own identity.
A.A. does not sell recovery or depend on outside contributions
Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.
(Inside A.A. Finances)
There are no dues or fees for A.A. membership. Voluntary member contributions support A.A. work; payment does not buy membership, sponsorship, sobriety, treatment, or influence over a group.