(800) 533-6166

  • 800-533-6166

    Get 24/7 help now All calls free and confidential.

Recovery Programs » Adult Children of Alcoholics

Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACA)

Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACA) is a 12-step, 12-tradition program for men and women raised in alcoholic families. We talk about our experiences growing up in a home where we were subjected to abuse, negligence, and trauma.

Family dysfunction is a disorder that affects us as kids and impacts us as grownups, according to the ACA program. Further, our membership also includes adults who grew up in homes with no alcohol or drugs, but there was abuse, neglect, or harmful conduct.

We talk about our experiences and recoveries in a respectful environment. Further, we learn how alcohol and other forms of family dysfunction influenced us in the past and how they continue to influence us now. Also, we start to notice the negative aspects of our upbringing. Further, we achieve freedom by following the Twelve Steps, concentrating on the ACA Solution, and embracing a loving Higher Power from our interpretation.

Center Spotlight

Books, Pamphlets, Meeting Formats, Group Readings, Step Guides, Audios, Videos and more.

Tony A, Bob Earl, Monica & Kevin, Cynthia, Tim N, Lisa and more.

Find Directories of Live and Online ACA Meetings in all 50 States and Worldwide.

What are the 12 Steps ACA?

Millions of ACA members have used these Twelve Steps, which were derived from Alcoholics Anonymous' Twelve Steps, as a tool for spiritual development. ACA members, at meetings, discuss the things they've learned through doing these Steps.

  1. We admitted we were powerless over the effects of alcoholism or other family dysfunction, that our lives had become unmanageable.
  2. Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
  3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understand God.
  4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
  5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
  6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
  7. Humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings.
  8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.
  9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
  10. Continued to take personal inventory and, when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.
  11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understand God, praying only for knowledge of God’s will for us and the power to carry that out.
  12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to others who still suffer, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

The Twelve Steps are reprinted and adapted from the original Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous and are used with the permission of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.

Why We First Came to ACA

Our choices and life responses failed. Unmanageable. We tried everything to find happiness. Creativity, adaptability, and comedy frequently disappeared. Continuing as before was impossible. However, we couldn't give up on fixing ourselves. We felt exhausted and hoped a new relationship, career, or change would help. Certainly, we needed assistance.

We "keep coming back."

The ACA encourages members to "keep coming back" to sessions. Why? We discovered listeners in meetings. Nobody judged us. We weren't fixed, and we weren't interrupted. They said if we regularly attended meetings, we'd feel better. True.

The Recovery HQ Team is here to help.

If you or a loved are looking for information on Adult Children of Alcoholics, ACA Literature, ACA Meetings, or treatment centers for alcohol abuse, substance abuse, drug addiction or other behavior addictions, the Recovery HQ Team is here to assist you. Please contact our dedicated team and we will do all we can to help.

Center Spotlight