Free ACA Adult Children of Alcoholics Peer Support — Nationwide
Adult Children of Alcoholics & Dysfunctional Families (ACA, also written ACoA) is a 12-step, 12-tradition peer recovery program for adults who grew up in alcoholic or otherwise dysfunctional homes. Modeled on Alcoholics Anonymous, ACA offers a fellowship for people working through the long-term effects of childhood family dysfunction.
What to Expect
Confidential one-hour meetings featuring readings, member sharing, and structured topic discussions. Formats include Discussion Meetings (open sharing on a chosen topic), Speaker Meetings (one member shares their full story), Topic Meetings (focused on specific Traits or recovery themes), and Step Studies. ACA’s foundational text is the Big Red Book, and members work through the 14 Laundry List traits — patterns they identify in themselves from growing up in dysfunction (people-pleasing, fear of authority, hypervigilance, judging self harshly, etc.).
Meeting Formats
In-person meetings throughout the US and internationally. Online meetings via Zoom — the global online meetings calendar lists meetings in nearly every time zone, including beginners’ meetings, women-only, men-only, LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and step-study groups. Phone meetings for members who prefer audio-only. Meeting Map Search at adultchildren.org/global-fellowship lets newcomers find meetings worldwide.
Who This Group Is For
Adults whose lives were affected by being raised in an alcoholic or otherwise dysfunctional family. The only membership requirement is a desire to recover from the effects of growing up in such a family. ACA’s definition of “dysfunctional family” is broad — including families with active alcoholism, drug use, mental illness, chronic illness, abuse, neglect, religious extremism, or other patterns that produced trauma.
Why Peer Support Works
People raised in dysfunctional families often did not know their experience was unusual until adulthood. ACA gives words to the patterns, community to people who lived them, and a structured recovery process that addresses both the past traumas and the present-day relational and emotional patterns that grew from them.
How to Join
Walk in to any open meeting — no registration, dues, or fees. Use the meeting search at adultchildren.org/meeting-search or the Online Meetings Calendar at adultchildren.org/virtual-meetings-calendar to find a meeting that fits your needs and schedule.