The Experiences of 12-Step Program Attendees Transitioning to Online Meetings during the COVID-19 Pandemic

ABSTRACT

When the COVID-19 pandemic began, many 12-step meetings rapidly transitioned from an in-person to an online format. In this qualitative focus group study, 17 attendees of 12-step programs from six U.S. states participated in one of two focus groups on Zoom platform in August 2021 in which their experiences of attending online versus in-person meetings were explored. Respondents praised the accessibility and convenience of online meetings, and the ability to interact with members from different geographic locations. However, they noted the loss of intensive social support found at in-person meetings and technological/procedural challenges that remain unsolved online.

KEYWORDS:

• 12-step meetings
• Alcoholics Anonymous
• Narcotics Anonymous
• COVID-19
• substance use disorder treatment
• alcohol
• drugs

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.