Healthy Meetings

What does it mean to have a healthy ACA meeting?

Please select one of the buttons below to navigate to a specific topic on this page:

Meeting Issues

The following information is adapted from ACA WSO page on Meeting Issues:

Are you not feeling satisfied with your current ACA meeting?

There might be a problem with the meeting, or it might be that you had a strong reaction to an individual that triggered something from your past.

If this is occurring for you, please consider using the following options:

  1. Talk to someone in the group about it. Don’t bottle it up.
  2. If you don’t feel comfortable speaking to someone from the group, talk to your sponsor/fellow traveler if you have one, a counselor, or someone else you trust.
  3. If you attend an ACA meeting and you don’t feel comfortable or it doesn’t resonate with you, please try another meeting
  4. Each meeting is autonomous, which means the group has a certain amount of freedom in making decisions about how they conduct their meeting. ACA meetings can be as different as people are different from each other.
  5. Please see the Healthy Meeting Practices section
  6. Contact another local group or Intergroup for advice.
    • You can find meetings here
    • You can find information on the ACA Oregon Intergroup here
    • Contact ACA World Services here or call 310-534-1815

Centering the Twelve Traditions

The ACA 12 Traditions (Taken From The Fellowship Text)
PDF Download / Google Docs

The following is a quote from the Big Red Book, page 490:

We have learned from our own experience that the Twelve Traditions are nonnegotiable. The principles of each Tradition fully complement one another and are not in conflict with one another. For example, the principle of unity in Tradition One resonates with each principle in the following eleven Traditions.

Group decisions that follow the Traditions and their intent have a signature that we learn to recognize as a group conscience. By adhering to the Traditions, we begin to see God's footprints in our group decisions. We begin to understand how we feel about what we are doing for ACA through the group and service structure.

When making significant group conscience decisions, we recommend reading the Tradition Two meditation together, found in the BRB, page 502:

Higher Power. I understand that you make your voice heard in a group conscience. I ask you to remind me that the life of my program and, therefore, my own recovery depends upon my willingness to put the group's welfare above my own will. Where I disagree with the common view of my fellows in service, allow me to state my case honestly and respectfully. Allow me to listen to and consider the views of others. May I state my view and support all group decisions, including the ones I might disagree with. Your will, not mine, be done.

When encountering issues with conflict and safety in a meeting, it's important to anchor discussion using the 12 Traditions of ACA.

Group Conscience

For more information on Business Meeting general practices, please see the literature linked here:

Conducting a Business Meeting Trifold (Document from WSO on AdultChildren.org)
PDF Download

Below is a description of the concept of "Group Conscience", from the Big Red Book, page 502:

Our group conscience is a spiritual method by which a Higher Power is expressed in our discussions and our decisions. Most of our decisions are based on what is best for most, instead of what is best for the few. Through humility, we surrender our egos and place the group first in our decisions on ACA matters. Humility does not mean we are a doormat or that we have no opinion. It means we are willing to stay focused on ACA principles. We open the door to listen to direction from our Higher Power. We bring our Twelve Step experience to these discussions. We apply surrender, hope, willingness, forgiveness, and other Step principles in our group business meetings and group discussions. We learn discernment and see that some ideas appear good and appealing; however, they can divert us from seeking the best for ACA. We can expect the best from our decisions and get it. 

The following is an excerpt from the Big Red Book, page 575 about intervening when persistent crosstalk occurs. This can also apply to other meeting interruptions that may require a group conscience to resolve:

If the cross talk is more serious or a nuisance, the chairperson or the person who has been cross talked can ask for an immediate group conscience vote. Under this scenario the chairperson would stop the meeting and say: "I would like to have a group conscience vote at this time. Would the group members like the cross talk to discontinue?"

A group vote can strengthen the group's resolve to stop cross talk. Each cross talk situation can be different. We want to balance keeping our groups safe from cross talk with our own responsibility to educate new members about group decorum. In most cases, a general reminder works. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

307278

Service Norms

ACA Suggested Service Norms (Document published by WSO)
PDF Download / WSO Posting

The suggested service norms is a document aimed at ACA groups engaging in the group conscience process. The document linked above outlines expectations of service members, and guidelines for addressing issues with service in the group.

Below is a brief outline of the topics covered in this document. Opening the links above with give you access to these topics in more detail, along with examples of service norm problems and potential solutions and resources.

  1. Keeping Myself Fit for Service
  2. Promoting Healthy Communication and Dealing with Conflict — Potential Service Challenges
  3. Unity and Mutual Respect
  4. Establishing and Affirming of Service Norms
  5. Resolving Conflicts
  6. Repeated Violation of Norms

Healthy Meeting Practices List

Healthy Meeting Practices List (Document from WSO on AdultChildren.org)
PDF Download

For the newcomer:

  1. If a Phone List exists, is there an understanding of the best practices for using it?
  2. Are Newcomers acknowledged and welcomed?
  3. Is there language/guidance on “No Crosstalk”? How is Crosstalk resolved? Is the Crosstalk procedure clear and understood by all? Is there clarity around who and when Crosstalk would get handled?
  4. Does the Meeting read the Steps and Traditions? (BRB, pp.562-565)
  5. Does the Meeting make important decisions on a group level by holding a Group Conscience?
  6. In accordance with the Sample Meeting Format in the fellowship text does the meeting read the Problem and/or the Laundry List and the Solution? (BRB, pp.562-565)
  7. Does the meeting have regularly scheduled Business Meetings?
  8. Are there rotating Service Positions?
  9. Everything in this list is suggested.

For the member with time in the program:

  1. Does the Meeting make decisions on a group level by Group Conscience Process using simple majority and make the Meeting's important decisions by using Substantial Unanimity while always hearing the voice of the minority? (Tradition 4 and BRB, p.596)
  2. Does the Meeting ask its trusted servants to review the Suggested Commitment to Service? (BRB, p.601)
  3. During Business Meetings is Safety in the Meeting discussed? (BRB, p.584)
  4. Does the Meeting adhere to Tradition XII on anonymity and placing principles before personalities? (BRB, p.489)
  5. Does the Meeting read the Steps and Traditions? (BRB, pp.562-565)
  6. Is Robert’s Rules of Order or a similar process of submitting items and voting used in the meeting?
  7. Are there rotating Service Positions with a group conscience acceptance of the corresponding responsibilities?
  8. Everything in this list is suggested.

Group Inventory

Linked below is a document outlining the process of a Group/Meeting Inventory. It gives an idea on inventorying how a meeting is doing, its strengths and weaknesses, and places where group safety can be improved while we continue to carry the ACA message of recovery.

This was developed by the Greater East Bay ACA Intergroup and published on the WSO website linked here.

Group Inventory Form (Document from WSO on AdultChildren.org)
PDF Download

Suggested Inventory Questions:

  1. How do we treat newcomers?
    1. Are we welcoming?
    2. Do we talk with newcomers before and after the meeting?
    3. Are newcomers acknowledged during the meeting?
    4. Do we give newcomers an overview of ACA? How?
    5. Are phone/email lists available?
    6. Do we practice safety in meetings with newcomers?
  2. Are ACA's foundational documents read as written at each meeting? (The Laundry List, The Solution, The Twelve Steps, and the Twelve Traditions)
  3. Does the meeting start and end on time?
  4. If the meeting goes for fellowship (coffee, food) do we announce that everyone is welcome to attend?
  5. Is sponsorship encouraged and modeled among our membership?
  6. Are service positions such as Secretary, Treasurer, and Literature, filled and regularly rotated?
  7. Do we give chips/medallions?
  8. Do we use, stock and sell ACA conference endorsed literature in our meetings? So we respect ACA copyrights by refraining from photocopying literature? (Some information from the adultchildren.org website may be downloaded and copied, for use by meetings)
  9. Do we elect a Group Service Rep (GSR) to represent our meeting in the wider ACA world, such as Intergroup, our Region, or WSO?
  10. Does the privilege of leading the meeting rotate among all regular attendees?
  11. Seventh Tradition
    1. Are donations sufficient to cover the needs of our group?
      • Rent, or donation for use of meeting space
      • Purchase of ACA literature
      • Other expenses
    2. Do we send a portion of our Seventh Tradition donations to help support our Intergroup, Region, and WSO? (The amount of the donation does not matter. Supporting the fellowship regularly, no matter the amount, is a spiritual practice that benefits our group. If every group sent even $5 each year to ACA, it would help immensely!)
    3. Do we announce service and support opportunities in committees, etc., throughout ACA's service structure?
  12. Is crosstalk, giving advice, interrupting one another avoided? How do we deal with crosstalk if it happens?
  13. Are group conscience meetings (business meetings) held monthly to make decisions about treasury, rotation of service, literature inventory, meeting issues, etc.?
  14. Is the group registered with ACA on the fellowship website, www.adultchildren.org? Is the listing updated yearly, or each time there is a change throughout a year's time?
  15. What is the group doing to carry the message of ACA recovery?
  16. Does the group practice anonymity by reminding members not to repeat who is seen or what personal sharing is heard at a meeting, and by omitting last names and professional titles?

Inventory Questions — Carrying the Message

  1. What is the basic purpose of the group?
  2. What more can the group do to carry the message?
  3. Is the group attracting ACA's from different backgrounds? Are we seeking a good cross-section of our community, including those with special needs?
  4. Do new members stick with us, or does turnover seem excessive? If so, why? What can we as a group do?
  5. Do we emphasize the importance of sponsorship? How effectively? How can we do better?
  6. Are we careful to preserve the anonymity of our group members and other ACA's outside meeting rooms? Do we also leave the confidences they share at meetings behind?
  7. Do we take the time to explain to all members the value to the group of keeping up with the kitchen/housekeeping chores and other essential services that are part-and-parcel of our Twelfth-step efforts?
  8. Are all members given the opportunity to speak at meetings and to participate in other group activities?
  9. Mindful that holding office is a great responsibility not to be viewed as the outcome of a popularity contest, are we choosing our officers with care?
  10. Are we doing all we can to provide an attractive and accessible meeting place?
  11. Does the group do its fair share toward participating in the purpose of ACA's—as it relates to our three Legacies of Recovery, Unity, and Service?
  12. What has the group done lately to bring ACA's message to the attention of professionals in the community—the physicians, clergy, court officials, educators, and others who are often the first to see ACA's in need of help?
  13. How is the group fulfilling its responsibility to the Seventh Tradition? Intergroup? WSO?
  14. Are there any changes we should consider to the meeting format, readings, secretary's script, trusted servant roles or the physical chair/table set up?
Back to Top
Right Menu Icon