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In general, Sexaholics Anonymous meetings in the Lower Mainland are open to both men and women.  However, both meetings in Abbotsford are for men only.

www.savancouver.org/meetings

Anyone with a desire to stop lusting and become sexually sober is welcome to attend SA meetings.  Sobriety, for us, means no form of sex with oneself or with partners other than one’s heterosexual, marriage spouse.  This can seem daunting to newcomers.  Don’t get overwhelmed.  If you have a desire to get help with lust, then just come to a meeting and try it out!

Sexaholics Anonymous (SA) is an unincorporated association of individuals and groups offering a Twelve Step recovery program to people who are addicted to lust, sex, dependency relationships and various forms of self-destructive sexual thinking and behaviour.

Sexaholics Anonymous is a relatively new Twelve Step fellowship.  SA received permission from Alcoholics Anonymous to use its Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions in 1979.  The first regular Sexaholics Anonymous meeting was started in 1981 in the USA.  By 1997 there were 1200 SA groups in twelve countries around the world.  There are now active Sexaholics Anonymous fellowships in 59 countries worldwide.

We can only speak for ourselves. The specialized nature of Sexaholics Anonymous can best be understood in terms of what we call the sexaholic. The sexaholic has taken himself or herself out of the whole context of what is right or wrong. He or she has lost control, no longer has the power of choice, and is not free to stop. Lust has become an addiction. Our situation is like that of the alcoholic who can no longer tolerate alcohol and must stop drinking altogether but is hooked and cannot stop. So it is with the sexaholic, or sex drunk, who can no longer tolerate lust but cannot stop.

Thus, for the sexaholic, any form of sex with one’s self or with partners other than the spouse is progressively addictive and destructive. We also see that lust is the driving force behind our sexual acting out, and true sobriety includes progressive victory over lust. These conclusions were forced upon us in the crucible of our experiences and recover; we have no other options. But we have found that acceptance of these facts is the key to a happy and joyous freedom we could otherwise never know.

This will and should discourage many inquirers who admit to sexual obsession or compulsion but who simply want to control and enjoy it, much as the alcoholic would like to control and enjoy drinking. Until we had been driven to the point of despair, until we really wanted to stop but could not, we did not give ourselves to this program of recovery. Sexaholics Anonymous is for those who know they have no other option but to stop, and their own enlightened self-interest must tell them this.

Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities (SA Tradition 12).  In meetings we use our first names only.  Our culture is that we do not share specifics about our profession, religious affiliation, or other personal details.  We focus on our primary purpose: to achieve sexual sobriety and to carry the message of recovery to the still suffering sexaholic.  Members are reminded at each meeting that “what we say here, let it stay here.”

The SA meeting is a safe place for everyone to be rigorously honest.

SA has a tradition of co-operation rather than affiliation with the professional community.  SA’s Tradition 6 states: “an SA group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the SA name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.”  And Tradition 8 ensures the non-professional nature of our fellowship: “Sexaholics Anonymous should remain forever non-professional, but our service centers may employ special workers.”

Sexaholics Anonymous welcomes the co-operation of those in government, the clergy, the helping professions and voluntary organisations. In turn SA is happy to co-operate with others interested in Sexaholics Anonymous by: providing information, speakers, literature and contact information about recovery through the SA fellowship.

Helping professionals interested in SA are encouraged to contact us right away!  We also suggest reading the following invitation from our local group: Outreach Letter To Helping Professionals.

SA’s Tradition 10 states that “SA has no opinion on outside issues; hence the Sexaholics Anonymous name ought never be drawn into public controversy”. There is nothing to stop an individual SA member expressing his or her personal opinions on an issue, but no one can speak for Sexaholics Anonymous.  In SA, our culture is that we can only speak for ourselves.  We share our personal experience, strength and hope; and we do not consider ourselves authorities with the final word on sexual addiction recovery.

Every SA group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.  (Tradition 7).

No. Sexaholics Anonymous has no religious affiliations. Although the recovery programme is “spiritual”, it is essentially practical. Sexaholics Anonymous members include: Atheists, Agnostics, Christians, Hindus, Jews, Muslims. In fact almost every denomination.