Best Online Addiction Support Groups

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an international association for anyone who has ever had a problem with alcohol. It is open to anyone regardless of gender, age, or background and is available worldwide.

Founded in 1935, AA follows a 12-step program based on spiritual principles, including the following:

• Admitting that you are powerless over alcohol
• Believing that a power greater than yourself could restore you
• Making a list of people who you harmed and making amends to those people

AA also operates on the tradition that the group's common welfare comes first, and the only requirement for membership is the desire to stop drinking. Ultimately, the goal of the group is to carry its message to alcoholics who are still suffering.

You can find an AA group near you by using the local resources locator on the AA website and searching by your zip code or postal code. AA also runs online groups and meetings for those who do not wish to attend in person.

There is no fee to join AA, but members accept donations to help support local groups since they do not accept outside contributions.

Self-Management and Recovery Training (SMART) offers global support meetings for recovery from addiction through self-empowerment. The goal of the program is to promote abstinence from alcohol and other substances through positive lifestyle changes. It's designed to empower individuals and transform lives from self-destructive to positive, constructive, and enjoyable.

The premise of SMART is that addiction serves a purpose in coping in the short-term with life problems but turns into a long-term problem. It's based heavily on addiction research and focuses on a four-point program involving the following components: motivation to change, coping with urges, managing thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, and living a balanced lifestyle.

The program has a strong psychological focus by helping individuals develop the motivation to make changes that serve them better in the long-term, change beliefs surrounding addiction, manage emotions that trigger addiction, and replace addictive behaviors with more enjoyable activities.

Meeting facilitators follow a structured program focusing on mental health and education. They are not focused on the past but the present and future.

SMART meetings are free to attend, but donations are accepted near the end of every meeting.

Loosid is a community for people looking to thrive and enjoy fun events and activities while abstaining from alcohol and other substances.

With Loosid, this includes "Boozeless Guides" that direct you to places you can go where there will be no pressure to drink alcohol, such as restaurants, events, and travel spots. The company also offers a sober dating community for those who are single and looking to met someone.

The group's motto is "Sober shouldn't be somber," reflecting the idea that people can still have fun even while not drinking alcohol or using other substances. This is best for people who feel as though their life will be lacking excitement if they are sober.

Loosid offers chat groups to help sober people meet one another where they live, make new sober friendships, and find people to do activities that don't revolve around alcohol. In addition to its social components, Loosid also works as a recovery app, with a Sobriety Help feature to help individuals work through a recent relapse and how people can maintain sobriety.

The company also offers six hotline support groups available 24/7 on the following topics: urges, bad days, early recovery advice, recent relapse, weekend/holiday issues, and just needing help. These hotlines are operated by community members who share what has worked for them.

The Loosid app is free to download.

LifeRing promotes an abstinent lifestyle through self-empowerment rather than belief in a higher power. Its three principles are sobriety, secularity, and self-help.

While members may also attend different groups or follow other sobriety teachings, some people come to LifeRing after finding that other programs did not work for them. LifeRing focuses on the present day rather than the past and promotes the idea that what will work for each person is unique.

Prominent within the LifeRing philosophy is the idea of the "Sober Self," or the part of you that has the power to overcome addiction. While this part of you may be weakened and overpowered by the "Addict Self," it is still there and can be re-awakened.

Therefore, the goal of LifeRing is to strengthen a person's Sober Self and weaken their Addict Self by connecting with others and sharing encouragement, advice, and strength. LifeRing does not require you to follow a step-by-step program; instead, you design your own program, as only you know the best path forward and the changes you need to make.

LifeRing offers online meetings and email groups. There is no cost to join LifeRing, but donations are accepted.

Club Soda bills itself as the "Mindful Drinking Movement" and was designed for those who want to cut down, stop briefly, or quit drinking altogether. It offers a "How to Drink Mindfully" program and also a one-month reset refresher course. Club Soda also published a book, "How to Be a Mindful Drinker," and has a monthly podcast with tips to change your drinking, events, and interviews.

Club Soda is based in the U.K. but has members worldwide and hosts Mindful Drinking Festivals. It also works with the hospitality industry to encourage more offerings to people who choose not to drink alcohol.

Club Soda is a great group option if you are looking for live events that you can attend, a mindfulness approach to sobriety, as well as a searchable guide to alternatives to drinking alcohol. Club Soda might be best used as an add-on resource to other sobriety groups or 12-step programs since there is no inherent support group built into the program.

Club Soda courses cost around $50 each, and donations are accepted from members.

Women for Sobriety (WFS) was founded in 1975 as a not-for-profit organization helping women recover from substance use. The organization offers both online and in-person support groups run by certified moderators and chat leaders. If you wish to speak to someone one-on-one, there are also phone volunteers who can help you.

The program's foundation comes from a sociologist who believed that addiction among women could be traced to loss of identity, competing roles in society, and low self-esteem, depression, and guilt.

Some of the group's strategies include positive reinforcement, cognitive restructuring, relaxation, diet, and exercise. With these tactics, there is a focus on self-empowerment to overcome addiction.

The program is based on 13 Acceptance Statements encouraging spiritual and emotional growth. When these mantras are internalized, they provide a new way of thinking. Members are asked to wake up 15 minutes early each day, go over the 13 acceptance statements, and think about each one. Then, they are to choose one statement to focus on for the day.

There is no cost to attend meetings. However, silent donations are collected at all meetings, and the suggested amount is about $2 to $5.

Tempest is a unique membership-based sobriety support group focused on helping individuals free themselves from addiction.

The basic level of membership, named "Core" ($59/month), offers 24/7 access to a private online community and virtual support groups/events, as well as building your own personalized Tempest Recovery Roadmap and daily affirmation emails. Their "Intensive" level is available as an add-on for a one-time payment of $399 and offers a four-week intensive, clinically proven program to help change your relationship with alcohol forever. 

Tempest members also have the option to sign up for Accountability Coaching. For $199, you’ll receive four sessions with a trauma-informed Tempest coach to help identify your goals and create a plan to stay on track and achieve them.

Tempest's membership focuses on the underlying causes of addiction and how they show up in people's lives, how addiction affects all areas of your life, and why creativity, meaning, and purpose are crucial to breaking addiction.

Tempest operates under the assumption that addiction is the result of trying to escape from something else but that alcohol eventually becomes a problem on its own. For this reason, the membership programs involve looking deeply at the underlying causes of addiction, in addition to the secondary problem (the addiction itself).

Visit their website for membership discounts when you sign up in-full.