A Note About Alcoholics Attending Al-Anon Meetings

They’re qualified to attend!

AI art created by the author at Night Cafe Studio.

Did you ever stop to think how Al-Anon might benefit not just those who love and live with alcoholics but also the alcoholics themselves?

Did you know that alcoholics are qualified to attend Al-Anon meetings simply by virtue of the fact that they must live with themselves, even if there is no other alcoholic (sister, mother, brother, aunt, uncle, grandparent, coworker) in the picture?

However, Al-Anon knows that seeing or hearing an alcohol-dependant person at a meeting could be triggering and downright frightening for some Al-Anoners, especially new members. That’s why Al-Anon has both open and closed meetings. This status will be on any meeting list you look up.

Open meetings should be indicated on the meeting schedule.

Open meetings are meetings anyone can attend: alcoholics, mental health professionals, psychology students, etc.

The green symbol means the meeting is closed.

Closed meetings mean that only those who are friends and family members of alcoholics can attend.