Hello BlueChair, and pleased to "meet" you.
Originally Posted by
BlueChair 
Ive been trying for a while to figure out al-anon. I guess my main question is what is it based on? I know the meetings are sharing but they also have books and conference approved literature. Where does it come from, is it based on principles of AA?
Al-anon is just another "12-step fellowship", of which there are well over 100. Both Al-anon and AA are based on the same "12 steps". All the "12-step fellowships" are considered to be in "parallel" to each other. In the professional mental health community they are classified under "Self-help groups".
The foundation of all these "12-step fellowships" is the "12-steps". All the rest of the literature, of which there are easily hundreds of books, are just commentary on those steps; examples, opinions, suggestions, advice and expansion on the "12 steps".
The "12 steps" are _very loosely_ based on the "Oxford groups", which were a conservative Christian movement, with political aims, from the early 1930's in the NorthWest USA. "Loosely based" is the operative term, because there's only a handful of therapeutic techniques from the Oxford groups that are incorporated in the 12 steps.
The Oxford groups based their approach on the works of Carl Jung and William James, who were two of the founders of what later became the fields of Psychology and Psychiatry.
The fundamentals of all forms of counseling / therapy, including the "12 steps" are based on 3 principles: "Awareness, Acceptance, Action". Those happen to be a "slogan" in some of the 12 step fellowships, but that is just pleasant plagiarism.
That is the long version of the foundation of "12 step programs". The short version is that they are just a form of group therapy not much different from all the other forms. If you want to get technical, AA is classified as a "self help / behavior control" and al-anon comes under "self help / stress coping". Most of the larger universities will have courses at the Master's level that explore these forms of therapy in some detail, but unless you are total geek it's not very interesting.
In real life there is a huge amount of variation from one group to another, based primarily on the individuals who happen to attend. Groups that are formally organized under an umbrella corporation or institution, such as Celebrate Recovery, tend to be much more homogeneous. The general rule of thumb is that you have to "shop around" much the way you search for a Therapist or Dentist in order to find a group that is a "good fit" for your needs.
Mike
Moderator, SoberRecovery