A successful road to recovery can be a challenging path when one is looking to find a good fit that isn't part of the 12-Step process. Here are a few organizations that offer alternative recovery options:
LifeRing, www.lifering.org. Begun in 1999, this group provides secular self-help for abstinence from drugs and alcohol. The philosophy is one of the "3S": 1. Sobriety, 2. Secularity, 3. Self-help.
Moderation Management, www.moderation.org. This group began in 1993, providing peer support for reduction of drinking-either to lower levels or total abstinence. They state they provide (but do not say how) a variety of behavioral change guidelines and measures for success. They offer 9 Steps Toward Moderation and Positive Lifestyle Change.
SMART Recovery ®, www.smartrecovery.org. SMART=Self-Management and Recovery Training groups teach tools for recovery based on research. They state that they provide a 4-point program: 1. Building and Maintaining Motivation; 2. Coping with Urges; 3. Managing Thoughts, Feelings & Behaviors; 4. Living a Balanced Life. Incorporating the treatment tool of Stages of Change with several of the worksheets from that book, they also have many other types of worksheets and what appear to be lectures. Most of the material is located on the website.
Secular Organizations for Sobriety/Save Ourselves, www.sossobriety.org. This group is also non-affiliated with a Higher Power concept and empowers the individual to recover from addiction. They offer 6 guidelines to follow for responsible recovery and abstinence.
Women for Sobriety, www.womenforsobriety.org. This is a for-women-only sobriety group which 1976. They offer a "New Life" program with 13 statements, instead of 12 steps.
While they all appear to eschew both a 12-step format and a Higher Power concept, they all include at least several bullet-point terms to change of behaviors linked to active addiction. A couple of these also include instructional manuals for learning to become a group leader. The more structured of these programs sometimes need to find a group with trained leaders in order to become a new group, taking someone from the group to the new one as their leader or becoming adept at running a gathering by being trained.
Support groups provide a safe haven for those who seek abstinence as a way of life. Just as they had a group with whom they enjoyed the conviviality of drinking/drugging, the companionship and caring of a group of people traveling the path of recovery is important for success.