Benefits of CR / SAA as an atheist

I am asking the same question. Did you get your answer?

 

I went to Sex Addicts Anonymous for a while, and it seemed to help, but the twelve steps have five that mention God. 12-step groups are all based on religion, whether the members admit it or not, as surely you realize and I gather that that is why you are inquiring about them before you go. I say, Don't go.

I recommend Secular Organizations for Sobriety (SOS), AKA Save OurSelves; and SMART Self-Management And Recovery Training (smartrecovery.org).

SOS is an umbrella organization and has meetings in many cities and other places around the world. It is for addiction and compulsion recovery, and is meant to coexist with other recovery programs so that you do both at the same time.

SMART is a specific recovery program with four main points, no steps, but many tools to recover. Please check out their website, and see whether they meet in your town. I highly recommend them!

Good luck, and may you be well and happy!
~Al

 

I went to SAA for about a month and I just couldn't get past the religious undertones from it. They say it's not religious, but it's more like it is and they don't want to admit it. Though I commend them for trying to be inclusive, I just have super strong objections to dogma.

Thanks for the recommendation, I think I heard of this a while back and will have to check it out.

 

After having attended SAA and SLAA myself in years past, I have to agree with everyone here that the program does hang on a lot of religious undertones, even if it advertises that participants can use anything in the place of the "Higher Power". Unfortunately, being in our culture, many tend to automatically gravitate towards God in some form or another as that Higher Power. Not all of them do, but many and perhaps most. And Celebrate Recovery, which I also attended before SAA, is completely centered on the Christian God as its Higher Power. I found myself unable to make much progress in either after a while as they both just reinforced a lot of guilt and shame within me that hindered my progress. I plan on trying SMART RECOVERY as they seems to steer away from spiritual matters, and I believe I have a few groups in my area. Like someone suggested before, perhaps you could try them as well.