Alcoholics Anonymous Meetings in Washington

What Is Alcoholics Anonymous?

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an international fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other so that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism.

Downtown Washington AA Groups

• Monday 8PM – Discussion meeting
• Tuesday 8PM – Speaker meeting
• Thursday 8PM – Big Book study

Capitol Hill AA Groups

• Sunday 10AM – Open speaker
• Wednesday 6PM – Closed discussion

West End Washington AA Meetings

• Saturday 9AM – Big Book study
• Friday 8PM – Speaker meeting

The 12 Steps of AA

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) outlines a 12-step program to help members achieve and maintain sobriety. The steps aim to motivate members toward positive change across Washington.

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable. Members admit that alcohol has made their lives chaotic and uncontrollable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. Members start believing in a higher power that can help bring stability into their lives.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. Members make the decision to give control of their lives over to their higher power.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. Members take an honest look at their wrongs, faults, and behaviors.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. Members share their moral inventory with their higher power, themselves, and someone else.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character. Members become willing and open to having their higher power remove their shortcomings.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings. Members ask, with humility, for their shortcomings to be taken away by their higher power.
8. Made a list of all the people we had harmed and became willing to make amends with them all. Members make a list of all those they have harmed and become willing to make up for the harm done.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. Members make amends with those they have harmed if it will not cause further injury.
10. Continued to take personal inventory, and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it. Members keep evaluating themselves and quickly admit when they are wrong.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out. Members pray and meditate to better connect with and understand their higher power.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs. Members share their spiritual experience from following these steps to help other alcoholics. They also apply these principles in all aspects of their lives.

Getting Started with AA in Washington

Use the meeting search on udetc.org to find local meetings in your area. Washington has both in-person and online/virtual AA meetings available.

Attending Your First Local AA Meeting

AA meetings in Washington can be “open” or “closed.” Here’s a table distinguishing the meeting types:

If you’re new, arrive early and introduce yourself as a new local member. Share your experiences if you feel comfortable. You may receive welcome keychain tags at your first meeting to mark milestones in your recovery journey, such as:

• 30 days
• 60 days
• 90 days
• 6 months
• 9 months
• 1 year