Meetings

Meetings policy.

Meetings are open to anyone with a desire to recover from sexual addiction. Members can have any religious belief, or no belief at all. In general our meetings are open to male, female, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer sex addicts. However, because of the nature of our addiction, some meetings are only for men, and one meeting is only for women. One meeting (Thursday in Norfolk) concentrates more on issues specific to women and LGBT, but is open to all sex addicts.

Closed meetings.

Unless otherwise specified, all SAA meetings in this area are closed meetings, meaning that only those with a desire to stop addictive sexual behavior may attend.

New members will be asked to "qualify" for attendance at a closed meeting. While the specifics of qualification are determined by the individual meeting, the usual requirement is to share with the group the behaviors that led the new-comer to seek a meeting, and the desire to stop those behaviors. Some meetings allow new-comers to qualify with one or two individuals, if desired, rather than with the whole meeting.

Open meetings.

In general, open meetings are open to anyone who desires to find out about sex addiction. However, due to the sensitive nature of sex addiction, some meetings have specific guidelines. Check the meeting page, or call the meeting contact, before attending as a non-sex addict.

Anonymity and confidentiality.

Meeting size.

Some members are more comfortable in smaller meetings, having greater opportunity to share about specific issues in their lives. Others are happier in large meetings, with a greater diversity of experience and less pressure to share. For this reason, the list below indicates typical attendance at each meeting as follows:

Many of us have found it helpful to attend a variety of meetings, including meetings of different sizes, to help us select those meetings which provide what we most need to help in our recovery. Also, we may find that our needs change over time, as we gain sexual sobriety and confidence in our recovery.

* Meetings annotated "+ COSA": in addition to this SAA meeting, at the same location, there is a COSA meeting for spouses of sex addicts.