Looking for a meeting in the Dallas Area? Find a meeting schedule here.
We welcome friends and family members to join us in one of our many OPEN meetings. Remember you there to support the person you care about through their addiction. While we fully respect the interest of our visitors, if you attend a meeting that is CLOSED it is asked that you respect the atmosphere and wait outside or attend an OPEN meeting. The meetings will be indicated as open or closed on the schedule.
Open and Closed Meetings:
- An OPEN MEETING is an NA meeting that may be attended by anyone (e.g., judges, probation officers, professionals, family members) interested in how we have found recovery from the disease of addiction. Verbal participation, however, is limited to NA members only. An open meeting in Narcotics Anonymous allows people from outside of the fellowship to observe what Narcotics Anonymous is and how it functions. This can be very helpful to those individuals who are striving to reach a decision regarding their personal status as an addict. An open meeting in Narcotics Anonymous is one method our groups use to achieve their primary purpose of carrying the message to the addict who still suffers. Some groups also have open meetings as a way of allowing non-addict friends and relatives of NA members to celebrate recovery anniversaries with them.
- A CLOSED MEETING in Narcotics Anonymous is for those individuals who identify themselves as addicts or for those who are uncertain and think they might have a drug problem. A closed Narcotics Anonymous meeting provides a freedom that is necessary for more personal and intimate sharing by Narcotics Anonymous members. It does so by providing an atmosphere in which addicts can feel more certain that those attending will be able to identify with them, and share their own experience, strength, and hope.
General information that applies to NA meetings:
- We are not concerned with types or amounts of drugs used; we focus on the ways addiction and recovery affect our lives. NA meetings are not classes or group therapy sessions.
- We do not teach lessons or provide counseling. We simply share our personal experiences with addiction and recovery.
- Meetings are often held in churches, treatment centers, or other facilities, because these places tend to be affordable, available, or convenient. NA is not a part of or connected to any other group, organization, or institution.
- To respect the anonymity of all of our members, we ask that people who attend our meetings not talk about who our members are or what they share in meetings.
- NA has no membership fees or dues, but it does cost money to hold meetings and provide other services to further our primary purpose. Our members make voluntary contributions at meetings to support the group and other efforts to carry our message. Nonmembers are asked not to contribute so NA can remain fully self-supporting.
A few things you might expect to see or experience in our meetings:
NA meetings come in all shapes and sizes and things can be done differently depending on the city, country or even the night of the week where you live. But no matter the differences, there are still a lot of things that most NA meetings around the world have in common.
- Meetings are usually either discussion or speaker meetings. Discussion meetings allow members to take turns sharing. Speaker meetings allow one or more members to share for an extended period of time.
- Visitors and newcomers are usually asked to introduce themselves by their first name. Newcomers are usually welcomed with a hug or handshake and a welcome keytag.
- In most places, it is customary for members to gather in a circle to end the meeting with a short prayer or NA reading. Though you may hear prayers in meetings, ours is a spiritual, not religious program.
- Groups often mark or sign attendance sheets or court cards as a courtesy to people who request it, but some groups and members choose not to do so. If needed, it is best to ask how the group handles this before the meeting begins.
- Most groups provide schedules or directories of other local NA meetings.
Some helpful NA terms
- Addict—the term we use to refer to ourselves because we see addiction itself as the problem, rather than the use of a specific drug
- Basic Text—the book that contains our core ideas, entitled Narcotics Anonymous
- Closed Meeting—meeting only for addicts or those who think they might have a drug problem
- Group—members who hold one or more regularly scheduled NA meetings (see IP #2, The Group)
- Higher Power—any loving force that helps a member stay clean and seek recovery
- IPs—information pamphlets about NA
- Newcomers—new NA members
- Open Meeting—meeting that welcomes anyone to attend, including interested non-addicts
- Relapse—a brief or extended return to drug use
- Sharing—offering personal experience with addiction and recovery
- Sponsor—experienced member who offers guidance and support through the Twelve Steps (see IP #11, Sponsorship)
- Sponsor—a person who attends the a NA meeting with an addict who isn’t an addict themselves
- Trusted Servants—members who have service positions in NA