What AA meetings would you recommend in Austin, TX?

May 17, 2013 6:29 AM

Yesterday I made a commitment to sobriety, and I want to start attending AA meetings in Austin, TX. Where should I go?

Some requirements:
North Central meetings (especially 78757/78758) would work better as I am currently carless, though for a great meeting I'd be okay with taking the bus.
I'm under thirty, so a meeting that has a younger crowd would be awesome.
I definitely would prefer a meeting that has more atheist/agnostic leanings.

Bonus question: do you have recommendations for addiction recovery counselors? Again, North Central is better though for someone great I will travel. Funds are pretty limited right now, so a sliding scale place would be great.

Throwaway email: [e-mail].

posted by anonymous to Health & Fitness (5 answers total)

Here's the link to the north austin AA meeting list. I personally attend the Northland group and find it to be a wide variety of Pagans, Christians, Jews, and agnostics, and it seems very tolerant as far as that goes.

I can get you a rec for a counselor perhaps given a few hours -- I'll email in a bit. Also, feel free to hit me up via MeMail -- I'm not a Christian -- more of a universal spiritualist -- and am 15 years sober.
posted by Devils Rancher at 6:40 AM on May 17, 2013 [3 favorites]

12 step programs recommend attending many different meetings when you first start out. For some reason my memory is at least 7, but I'm not sure specifically. While I know a room of in-their-60s Christian dudes may not end up feeling that helpful to you, my experience is that most rooms have something to offer you - each one something different. So in short, I'd just suggest going to all the meetings that are convenient to you because you will then find out which ones you like, but also because that is part of the program.

(Note I don't have a super strong memory of AA - been a long time - but this is the way it works at other 12 step groups anyway.)
posted by latkes at 7:38 AM on May 17, 2013

Oh, and I commend you for your brave decision.
posted by latkes at 7:38 AM on May 17, 2013 [1 favorite]

I agree with Latkes on attending different meetings. Years ago I did a 12-step program (though not AA) and for a while I went to a meeting every day. Whatever meeting was going on at a time that was convenient for me. I was a lot younger than a lot of the other attendees, but in every instance I remember I was welcomed. By virtue of my age and being overwhelmed at what was going on in my life, I honestly can't remember one meeting where I actually talked. But I learned a lot just by listening to so many different people, from so many different walks of life.

So, while that's sort of a non-answer and I apologize for not directly addressing your question, I recommend just trying on a few different meetings for a while, and deciding later which ones fit.

Good for you for taking this step in your life!
posted by vignettist at 11:34 AM on May 17, 2013

This rehab facility's blog might be a useful resource for finding local AA meetings that you might find more sympatico. They're in the Austin area; the founder is the daughter of the late Gram Parsons
posted by echolalia67 at 5:00 PM on May 17, 2013