What the SAA Recovery Program Includes: Twelve Steps, Sponsorship, and More

Updated

Sex Addicts Anonymous (SAA) is a Twelve-Step fellowship for people who want to stop compulsive sexual behavior. The program described on saa-recovery.org includes the Twelve Steps, the Twelve Traditions, sponsorship, meetings, service, and a set of readings and literature. It is built on members sharing experience, strength, and hope with one another, not on professional treatment. If you are wondering whether the program fits you, the site offers a self-assessment and a page on how to know if you are a sex addict.

The core of the program

SAA describes itself as "a fellowship of individuals who share their experience, strength, and hope with each other so they may overcome their sexual addiction and help others recover from sexual addiction or dependency." Two frameworks organize that fellowship:

  • The Twelve Steps — the personal recovery path members work through, typically with a sponsor.
  • The Twelve Traditions — the principles that guide how groups and the wider fellowship function.

The site also lists Sobriety, Spirituality, Sponsorship, and Service as distinct topics under "Our Program," which suggests each is treated as its own part of recovery rather than a single combined idea.

Sponsorship and service

Sponsorship is one of the program's named components. In practice, a sponsor is a fellow member who has worked the Steps and can guide another member through them — the site groups it alongside sobriety, spirituality, and service rather than presenting it as counseling.

Service is the other side of that relationship: members put their "experience, strength, hope, and skills" to use in the fellowship. The home page notes these opportunities are "many different areas" and "not limited to" any single role, so service can range from helping at a meeting to intergroup or international service work.

Meetings and what to expect

The site's meeting section is organized around a few practical entry points:

  • Find A Meeting and Meeting Search — ways to locate a meeting.
  • What to Expect At Your First SAA Meeting — a page aimed at newcomers.
  • Start a Meeting and a Group Registration Form — for people forming a new group.
  • Group Guide and Meeting Readings — materials a group uses to run its meetings.

If you have never attended, the "What to Expect" page is the natural first read, followed by a meeting search. The site does not state here whether meetings are open or closed, in person or online, or what any group's format is — those details would come from the individual meeting listing.

Readings, literature, and other resources

Beyond the Steps and Traditions, the site points to:

  • Literature and Meeting Readings for individual or group use.
  • SAA Newsletter and Today's Meditation.
  • A Store for SAA materials.
  • FAQs and a Self Assessment.

Literature is listed in English, español, français, and italiano, so some materials are available in those languages.

Who the program is designed to reach

The site's "Our Diversity" section names specific groups the fellowship addresses:

  • Women — including a "Women" section, "Help for Women Meetings," "Contacting Other Women," and FAQs.
  • LGBT members.
  • Men.
  • Prisoners.
  • A page on Intimacy and Sexual Avoidance.
  • A statement that "We Are Inclusive."

There is also a separate area Information for Professionals, with FAQs and testimonials from professionals, and a For the Media section.

How the fellowship is organized

SAA's structure appears in the site's navigation: Intergroups, a Board of Trustees, a Literature Committee, and the ISO (the international service organization). News and events include an SAA Newsletter and Conference/Convention information with Conference Delegates. The home page also carries a Contribute to the annual appeal prompt, which is a request for donations rather than a fee for membership — the site does not present the program as a paid service.

What the program is not

The description frames SAA as mutual help among members who share their own experience, not as professional therapy. The presence of an "Information for Professionals" section suggests the fellowship is willing to explain itself to clinicians, but the program's own materials are written for members and groups. If you are looking for a treatment provider, the site does not present itself as one.

Where to start

If you want to understand the program before attending, read SAA Program Info, The Twelve Steps, and The Twelve Traditions. If you are deciding whether you belong, the Self Assessment and How Do I Know if I'm a Sex Addict? pages are the direct route. If you are ready to attend, use Find A Meeting or Meeting Search, then read What to Expect At Your First SAA Meeting. If you want to form a group, the Group Guide, Group Registration Form, and Start a Meeting pages cover that path.