Substance Use Support Groups: Being an Active Member

Topic Overview

If you are in a self-help or group program, you can get more out of the program by being an active member. Here are some suggestions that may help you be more active in your group:

• Serve as a greeter at the meeting or arrive a few minutes early and stay a few minutes late. This will give you a chance to talk to people and get to know them and help them get to know you.
• When you first join a group, introduce yourself. If you meet people you'd like to know better, find out how to contact them outside of the group.
• Help set up or clean up the meeting place. Offer to make coffee for your group.
• Bring up a topic to discuss. Give feedback on a topic based on your own experience.
• If you are asked, lead a meeting, be a speaker, or be a reader. If you feel okay about it, ask if you can do any of these.
• Celebrate your own and others' anniversaries of being clean or sober.
• If you don't have a sponsor, ask someone to be a temporary sponsor or to agree to help you with your recovery. A sponsor has been in recovery for a long time and helps you stay drug-free.