improving mutual aid engagement - setting out the skills and experience keyworkers need to help patients engage with mutual aid

Yes, come along that's how many of us got clean; through regular attendance and seeing others do it the courage and resolve to stop grew within us Addict. The word we use to refer to members because they see the problem as addiction itself rather than the actual drug Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc., ed. (1986) [1976]. NA White Booklet (PDF). Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 6, 2007. , reproduced in Who, What, How, and Why. Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc. 1986. IP No.1. Archived from the original on November 19, 2007. Because no attendance records are kept, it is impossible to estimate what percentages of those who come to Narcotics Anonymous remain active in NA over time. The only sure indicator of the program's success in attracting members is the rapid growth in the number of registered Narcotics Anonymous meetings in recent decades and the rapid spread of Narcotics Anonymous outside North America. NA is currently referred to in the UK as a Mutual Aid organisation. NA helps addicts to stop taking drugs, get well and change the quality of their lives. We mutually help each other. We consider those that are new to NA to be the most important people in our meetings because we have learnt that helping others is a gift that reinforces our motivation and desire to stay drug free.Commitment to NA, and regular attendance to meetings, cannot by themselves guarantee your future sobriety and recovery from addiction. However, through the support of other members and the structure provided by the twelve-steps, NA has proved to be very effective in helping thousands of people all over the world to successfully overcome their drug addiction.

The twelve steps of the NA program are based upon spiritual principles, three of which are honesty, open-mindedness, and willingness, embodied in the first three steps. These three are hardly exhaustive. The Basic Text of NA says, in Chapter Four, about all twelve steps, "These are the principles which made our recovery possible". According to NA members these principles, when followed to the best of one's ability, allow for a new way of life.Jimmy K then thought about how a 12 steps program could also benefit people with drug abuse issues. He established NA and held NA meetings based on this new 12 step program. The Sixth Edition Basic Text was published in 2008, and there was also a special edition released that same year known as the 25th Anniversary Commemorative (of the First Edition Basic Text) Sixth Edition Basic Text. To feel most comfortable, many NA members have sponsors of the same sex although members are free to choose any other member as a sponsor. It is also suggested that one should find a sponsor who has worked all 12 steps of Narcotics Anonymous. Cocaine Anonymous - And All Other Mind-Altering Substances". Ca.org. Archived from the original on March 4, 2009 . Retrieved March 5, 2009. Admittance to NA is completely free, and while consistent attendance to meetings is recommended, there is no pressure placed on you to attend when it’s inconvenient.

However, one of the biggest advantages that comes with NA is the support you will receive from other NA attendees. http://www.na.org/admin/include/spaw2/uploads/pdf/naway/en/World_Regional_Mtg_Map_May2010.pdf [ bare URL PDF] The Group (PDF). Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc. 1988. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 11, 2007. Short answer no. NA is not a religious organisation, nor does it discriminate against anyone holding religious, spiritual or secular views, you are free to believe, or not believe, anything you want. Though some of our meetings are held in church halls it is simply because they are available, amenable and affordable. We have no affiliation with any of these establishments we simply rent rooms as do many other community organisations. facilitating access to mutual aid ( FAMA) - an evidence-based 3-step intervention plan for key workers

What Are The Twelve Steps Of Narcotics Anonymous?

Group support is an integral part of both organizations. Many studies have supported the therapeutic benefit of participants collaborating with other members. That terminology should help you navigate your way in your first NA meeting. There are many more, but these will suffice as an introduction to NA lingo. The Strength of Group Narcotic Therapy