Beyond 12-step · UK
Search AA, NA and other UK recovery meetings by postcode, town, or fellowship, in person or online. No sign-up. No tracking of who you are. Just the door, the time, and how to get there.
Whilst the core of this site is 12-step meetings, our core value is that recovery should be freely accessible to everyone, no matter what path they choose to take. Some people go to both 12-step and non-12-step groups; some pick one or the other. The most important thing is finding something that works for you, so we are continuing to grow our alternatives and adding them here too.
If what you typed into a search bar was something like "how to stay sober without AA" or "quit drinking without AA", the short answer is: yes, people do, and these are the main free options in the UK. 12stepfinder currently lists more than 1,000 of these non-12-step meetings across the UK, in person and online. Every group below runs real meetings you can join today, listed on this site with days and times. No steps, no sponsor, no higher power, unless you want them later.
SMART Recovery (Self-Management and Recovery Training) is a non-12-step recovery programme. There are no steps, no sponsor, and no higher power. Meetings are facilitated group discussions built around practical tools that SMART describes as drawn from cognitive behavioural and motivational psychology. They are organised around a four-point programme: building motivation, coping with urges, managing thoughts and feelings, and living a balanced life.
SMART Recovery began in the United States in 1994 as a secular, self-help alternative to 12-step groups. UK SMART Recovery was set up in the mid-2000s and is now a registered charity. It runs free mutual-aid meetings for alcohol, drug, and other addictive behaviours across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, both in person and online. It is the largest non-12-step option in the UK: 12stepfinder lists more than 450 SMART Recovery meetings, most of them in person.
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Recovery Dharma is a non-12-step approach to addiction recovery based on Buddhist practice, using meditation, mindfulness, and peer support. It is member-led and non-theistic, and it does not use the idea of powerlessness that runs through the 12-step model. Meetings are run by the community, not by a single teacher or authority.
It is a younger programme, formed in 2019 out of the wider Buddhist recovery movement. Its core text, the Recovery Dharma book, was written collectively and is free to read or download. UK groups meet in person and online, drawing on the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path as a framework for recovery. 12stepfinder lists more than 300 Recovery Dharma meetings, most of them online.
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LifeRing is a fully secular, abstinence-based recovery network. There are no steps, no sponsors, and no spiritual language of any kind. Meetings are conversational: people talk about their week, what worked and what did not, on the idea that each person builds their own personal recovery programme rather than following a set one. LifeRing describes this as strengthening your "sober self".
It began in the United States and has a smaller UK presence, with most UK-joinable meetings running online, which also means they are available wherever you live. 12stepfinder lists more than 100 LifeRing meetings, all online.
Women for Sobriety is an abstinence-based programme created specifically for women, founded in 1975. Its "New Life" programme is built around thirteen affirming statements focused on self-worth, emotional growth, and letting go of guilt, rather than steps or powerlessness. Meetings are women-only and peer-led.
Like LifeRing, its UK presence is mostly online, so meetings are joinable from anywhere in the UK. Many women attend alongside, or instead of, mixed fellowships. 12stepfinder lists more than 80 Women for Sobriety meetings, all online.
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The main difference is structure and language. 12-step fellowships such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous work through twelve steps, usually with a sponsor and the idea of a higher power. Non-12-step options like SMART Recovery and Recovery Dharma do not use steps, sponsors, or a higher power. Some people find one approach fits better than the other, and some use both. None of these groups is a treatment service or a replacement for medical care.
Alongside the 12-step groups, there are non-12-step options such as SMART Recovery, Recovery Dharma, LifeRing Secular Recovery and Women for Sobriety, among others. More are added here over time.
Yes. SMART Recovery, Recovery Dharma and LifeRing are all non-theistic, and many 12-step meetings are run in a secular or agnostic-friendly way. Listings note this where it is known.
No approach is better in general. Different ones suit different people, and many people use more than one over time. The question worth asking is which one you will keep coming back to.
No. Moving between approaches, or mixing them, is common and entirely normal.
Yes. UK SMART Recovery is a registered charity and its mutual-aid meetings are free to attend, in person and online. Some groups invite a small voluntary contribution toward room costs, but it is never required.
AA uses the 12 steps, a sponsor, and the idea of a higher power. SMART Recovery uses none of these; it is secular and built around practical self-management tools. Both are free and peer-based. Many people try one, the other, or both before settling on what fits.