5 Alternatives to 12-Step Programs like AA

When I first started figuring out what sobriety was going to look like for me, almost everything pointed to AA. It’s what most people bring up. It’s what a lot of treatment centers mention. And there’s a reason for that. AA has helped a lot of people get sober and stay that way. I have nothing but respect for how people overcome their demons and start living fulfilling lives.

However, when I looked at what the program offered, it didn’t feel like something that would fit me well, and I know that there are many people out there who are the same as me. It’s just something about the way the meetings are structured. The idea that you had to call yourself powerless when I wanted to feel powerful. The lack of input on my behalf. Surrendering wasn’t really on my get-sober bingo card.  All of that made it harder for me to connect fully. Not wanting to fail, I felt that I would need to search for something else (or a combination of things) that suited me better. 

So,I went through outpatient rehab, and along the way, I found cognitive behavioral therapy. I started tracking what led to my urges instead of just reacting to them. I practised noticing my thoughts before they spiraled. I also got back into my body through yoga and meditation, which helped me understand my triggers and slow down when things felt overwhelming. 

As I progressed, I added another string to my bow. SMART Recovery made a huge difference. The fact that you could talk back and forth, that people could share openly with one another, helped me feel like I wasn’t alone. I felt I needed something more tangible. More practical.  We’d go through things like cost-benefit analysis or play-the-tape-forward exercises that helped me understand my patterns. It gave me something real to hold onto.

I’m not here to say AA doesn’t work. It absolutely does for a lot of people. But it’s not the only way. And if it hasn’t worked for you, that doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong. It just means you might need a different approach. 

There are other ways to get and stay sober. These are five that made a real impact on me and many people I have met on my journey to clarity.

1. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, is one of the most widely studied and clinically supported methods for treating addiction. Unlike programs that focus on surrendering to a higher power or following a fixed set of steps, CBT helps you identify your thought patterns and behaviors, and then shift them in a deliberate, meaningful way. It teaches you how to interrupt the cycle well before you find yourself on the way to the liquor store. You learn how to spot the thought that leads to the urge, and then trace it back even further to figure out what triggered that thought in the first place.

CBT is used by licensed therapists and is backed by decades of research. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, CBT is effective for preventing relapse and can be just as powerful as medication-assisted treatment. It gives you a framework to work on a really personal level, adapting the technique so it fits your needs.

The key difference between CBT and AA is that CBT centers on skill-building and individualized strategy. AA leans into group-based sharing and spiritual surrender. You don’t have to believe in a higher power to use CBT. You just have to be willing to examine yourself honestly and consistently.

2. SMART Recovery

SMART Recovery stands for Self-Management and Recovery Training. It’s a secular, science-based program designed to help people overcome addiction using practical tools rooted in cognitive and behavioral psychology. Unlike AA, it doesn’t ask you to admit powerlessness or turn your life over to a higher power. Instead, it helps users build motivation, cope with urges, manage emotions, and create a balanced life.

One of the things that sets SMART apart is its emphasis on tools. Every meeting focuses on a specific technique, things like cost-benefit analysis, playing the tape forward, or identifying irrational beliefs. It’s less about storytelling and more about problem-solving. You don’t just talk about how hard things are. You work on how to change them.

Another major difference from AA is the way group dynamics work. In SMART Recovery, cross-talk is encouraged. That means people can respond to each other, share personal experiences, and have real conversations. There’s no rigid script or forced silence while someone else shares. That interaction was a big part of what made it resonate for me.

SMART Recovery gives you something to do. It’s active, flexible, and built on evidence. If AA’s structure feels like a mismatch for you, SMART might be a more engaging, practical alternative that still gives you community, accountability, and momentum.

3. Therapy

Therapy isn’t just a technique or a support group. It’s a space where you sit across from someone whose job is to help you understand yourself without judgment. For a lot of people, including me, that’s something completely new. You’re not working through a script. You’re working through your patterns, your triggers, your choices, and your pain. It’s personal. It’s not always comfortable. But it’s one of the most effective ways to make real, lasting change.

What makes therapy different from AA or even group models like SMART Recovery is the level of individual focus. You're not fitting into a system or step count. You're unpacking your life, at your pace, with someone who’s trained to listen for what you’re not saying.

There’s no hiding in a room of one. I showed up, week after week, and little by little, I figured out where my substance abuse was coming from. Not just the triggers, but the avoidance, the fear, the way I beat myself up when I wasn’t perfect, the feeling that I wasn’t good enough without something extra.

I think some people use AA instead of therapy. And I get it. Therapy’s expensive. But they’re not the same. If you’re not doing the inner work, you’re missing the point. For me, therapy was the thing that helped me stay sober in the long run.

4. Replacement Therapy

One of the biggest misconceptions about sobriety is that you can force yourself to be ‘good’. Just remove the alcohol, and the rest will work itself out. But urges don’t vanish because you’ve decided to be a saint. The brain doesn’t respond to logic. It responds to reward. So the real question becomes: what are you going to replace your old reward with?

Replacement therapy is about finding something that gives you a better high. Not chemically, but mentally, physically, and emotionally. It’s about switching out the destructive thrill for something that actually fuels you. You can’t just take away the dopamine hit of a drink and expect the craving to disappear. You have to build a new loop. You have to find something that lights you up just as much.

For me, that was travel. I’m talking about standing on the edge of a cliff in Peru after five hours of hiking and feeling your whole body come alive kind-of-travel. I have revelled in getting lost in the backstreets of a city I’ve never been to and realized I haven’t thought about drinking all day. The novelty of this opens something in your brain. It gets you out of autopilot. It demands your attention in a way that alcohol used to. And the best part is that it gives you stories you want to remember without the hanxiety on the morning after.

If travel isn’t your thing, that’s fine. But the principle still stands. You need to find your better high. Something that excites you, scares you a little, and makes you proud when you wake up. That replacement will eventually embed itself in your brain and become the norm.

5. Build a community 

In early sobriety, I thought what I needed was to retreat. Keep to myself and avoid the risk of screwing up by staying quiet. But what helped me most was the exact opposite. I needed a community to help me recreate my life.

In my search, I joined WiFi Tribe. They aren’t a sober support group. In fact, many of their members indulge from time to time. However, they are a crew of forward-thinking digital nomads who prioritize clarity and connection above all else. On month-long colives, I met people from all over the world who had different careers, fabulous stories, and ways of looking at the world I hadn’t thought of yet. Listening to them changed everything. I realized how little I had listened before, how few honest reflections I had had up to that point. With my new community, I was able to be vulnerable without performance and replace surface-level interactions with ones that brought me joy. 

With a community of people who understand you, you can go much further. You’re less likely to be dragged back into the mud. You can hold yourself accountable much better, too! Without that experience, I doubt I would’ve had the clarity or confidence to start Capsule Adventures. Hearing other people talk about what they’d struggled with, how they made decisions, and how they changed made me look at my own choices more closely.

You don’t need a coliving group to access this. It could be a friend, a group chat, a support forum, or a creative group. What matters is creating space for mutual reflection. Not just dumping your thoughts, but hearing others and letting their perspective stretch you. It takes self-discipline to pause, to not cling to my version of things. But when I do, I feel less stuck in my own story. It reminds me I’m part of something bigger. That kind of connection has helped me stay sober more than any rule or ritual ever could.

Make Capsule Adventures part of your sober journey

A Capsule Adventure can mean a lot of different things. For some, it’s a hard stop. For others, it’s a moment to pause and reflect. I created this business because I wanted people to feel the significance of choosing sobriety and have a way to express that choice through something joyful and real. Travel gave me my life back. 

The people I’ve met along the way, the places I’ve been, the moments I’ve held onto are part of my story now. They’ve helped me build a life that feels worth being present for. This path is about finding what makes you feel alive and building from there. Whether you’re marking a soberversary or just giving yourself something to look forward to, I’d love to meet you on a trip and share the kind of joy that’s kept me sober and happy.