Best Programs to Quit Drinking

Self-Management and Recovery Training (SMART) is a nonprofit organization offering a four-point program: motivation for change; dealing with urges; what to do about unhelpful thoughts, emotions, and actions; and how to achieve balance in life.

The SMART program is based on the idea that substance use is a way to cope with life stressors that begins as a coping strategy but becomes a problem. The program makes use of research on addiction to help participants achieve abstinence from alcohol and drugs.

SMART support group meetings are available worldwide and focus on self-empowerment and making healthy lifestyle changes. They are designed to help you learn ways to change your approach to life so that you don't need addictive behaviors to cope. In other words, once you become happier and more content with your daily life, substance use won't need to be a part of it.

In addition to healthy lifestyle changes, group meetings focus on developing the motivation to change. Members learn how beliefs keep them stuck and emotions trigger them to use alcohol or substances. Finding pleasure in other activities is one cornerstone of the program.

Support groups are run by facilitators who lead members through a structured program that delves into mental health and addiction with a focus on the present instead of the past.

SMART meetings are free for members, but donations are collected at every meeting to help support the organization.

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a well-known organization dedicated to helping individuals struggling with addiction achieve sobriety. Its groups run worldwide and are open to anyone looking to beat a drinking problem.

The organization was started in 1935 with the mission of bringing relief to those struggling with alcohol use. In general, AA operates with the understanding that members work toward the greater good of the group, as well as spread the message to others who may need help.

The program operates under the framework of a 12-step program that is rooted in spirituality. Principles include the belief that individuals are not able to solve their addiction on their own and need the help of a power greater than themselves. One of the 12 steps involves recognizing people who have been hurt by your addiction and formulating a plan to make amends.

Local Alcoholics Anonymous groups can be found through the organization's website via a location-based search. Online gatherings and meetings are also available.

While meetings are free to join, donations from members are accepted to help support local chapters.

Women for Sobriety is a nonprofit organization founded in 1975 to help women overcome substance abuse. WFS was founded by a sociologist who wanted to treat addiction by examining how identity loss, guilt, and depression could play a role in substance use.

The WFS programs are based on "acceptance statements" that help women to achieve emotional and spiritual growth and engage in better thinking patterns. Members are given a list of 13 statements that they must review each morning. They are also asked to choose one statement for the day that they will focus on.

WFS offers both in-person and online support groups (although in-person offerings can be sparse outside urban areas). These groups are run by certified moderators and leaders. Phone volunteers also provide one-on-one support.

The program is based on healthy coping mechanisms (diet, exercise, relaxation), positive reinforcement, and cognitive restructuring. The goal of the program and the groups is to empower women to make changes in their lives to achieve sobriety.

Meetings and chat groups are free to attend. Donations of roughly $2 to $5 per meeting are suggested, but no one is ever turned away if they can't afford to donate.

Secular Organizations for Sobriety (S.O.S.) is a nonprofit, international network of local, non-professional groups operating autonomously to help individuals achieve sobriety from alcohol, drugs, food, and other addictions.

S.O.S. was founded in 1985 by James Christopher, a sober alcoholic since 1978. He is the author of two books on the topic of addiction and sobriety: "SOS Sobriety" and "Unhooked: Staying Sober and Drug-Free."

Secular Organizations for Sobriety offers an alternative path to the faith-based 12-step model. The groups that operate within the framework welcome anyone looking to find a path to sobriety, including those who are religious. However, they are run in a secular setting.

In opposition to the traditional 12-step model, Secular Organizations for Sobriety place the locus of control for achieving and/or maintaining a sober lifestyle within the individual. This means that when sobriety is achieved, the credit for this achievement also rests with the individual.

The network accepts and respects any path that is chosen toward sobriety and is not opposed to or in competition with programs offered through other networks (such as Alcoholics Anonymous). Rather, any path to sobriety that the individual chooses is respected in this model.

Group meetings that fall within the network for S.O.S. are held throughout the world in different cities. If there is not a meeting near you, it is possible to start a new group. They are free to join.

The Loosid app is designed to connect people seeking sobriety with others on the same journey. The motto of Loosid is "sober shouldn't be somber." This means that those who choose sobriety don't need to resign themselves to also losing their social connections.

The Loosid app includes chat groups for meeting other people in your local area who are practicing sobriety. In addition, the app has a Sobriety Help component with tips on how to stay sober and what to do after a relapse.

Loosid also includes Boozeless Guides to help you find restaurants, travel destinations, or events that make it easy not to drink alcohol. There is also a dating community for those looking for others who are practicing sobriety and looking for a relationship.

Loosid community members also operate 24/7 hotline support groups to help people with recovery, relapse, getting through bad days, resisting urges, and dealing with holidays or other triggers.

Loosid is best if you are worried about losing the social aspect that you connect with alcohol. The Loosid app is free for anyone to download and use.

Self Recovery was founded by board-certified psychiatrist Daniel Hochman, MD, based on his experience as a private practitioner and consultant for facilities treating individuals for addiction.

Self Recovery uses a holistic treatment model that considers the underlying causes of addiction and incorporates these into a self-help program. The program also takes into account life stressors such as busy schedules, family obligations, financial problems, and judgment from others.

The program is delivered fully online and on-demand, enabling private access to recovery for those with a busy schedule. The goal of Self Recovery is to help you understand what has caused your addiction and to use evidence-based strategies to recover in the context of real life, including your family, career, relationships, etc.

Self Recovery has the aim that everyone can achieve deep and lasting change in their choices and beliefs. Through its holistic and scientific approach, Dr. Hochman aims to translate addiction recovery from the one-on-one treatment sphere into an easily accessible self-help program.

The Recovery Village was established in 2013 by Mitchell Eisenberg, MD, and Lewis Gold, MD, co-founders of Sheridan Healthcare, a nationwide healthcare company from which they eventually retired. The goal was to address an unmet need to provide treatment for substance use along with underlying mental health issues.

The Recovery Village offers teletherapy and telepsychiatry with licensed professionals and has locations across the United States. Its comprehensive treatment programs address not only substance use but also any other accompanying mental health disorders. In this way, The Recovery Village offers a full spectrum of care for your path to recovery.

Some of the services that you can expect to access through The Recovery Village include medical detox services, residential services, outpatient programs, mental health counseling, personalized addiction recovery plans, and aftercare programs. The entire treatment model is based on evidence-based addiction treatment and the delivery of high-quality care.

The Recovery Village is focused on lifelong wellness, respectful and compassionate treatment provision, and long-term recovery. The company holds the value that anyone can recover and that treatment should address both physical and psychological concerns.

A fee-based program, The Recovery Village provides access to addiction experts, social workers, registered nurses, and licensed mental health therapists.