NA Steps, Traditions & Concepts

The Serenity Prayer

God grant us the serenity
to accept the things we cannot change;
courage to change the things we can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

The Twelve Steps of Narcotics Anonymous

  1. We admitted that we were powerless over our addiction, that our lives had become unmanageable.
  2. We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
  3. We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
  4. We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
  5. We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
  6. We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
  7. We humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
  8. We made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
  9. We made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
  10. We continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
  11. We 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.
  12. Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to addicts, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

The Twelve Traditions of Narcotics Anonymous

  1. Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends on NA unity.
  2. For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority—a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.
  3. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop using.
  4. Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or NA as a whole.
  5. Each group has but one primary purpose – to carry the message to the addict who still suffers.
  6. An NA group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the NA name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, or prestige divert us from our primary purpose.
  7. Every NA group ought to be fully self supporting, declining outside contributions.
  8. Narcotics Anonymous should remain forever non-professional, but our service centres may employ special workers.
  9. NA, as such, ought never be organized, but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.
  10. Narcotics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the NA name ought never be drawn into public controversy.
  11. Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, and films.
  12. Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.

Twelve Steps & Traditions reprinted for adaptation by permission of AA World Services, Inc.

The Twelve Concepts of NA Service

  1. To fulfil our fellowship’s primary purpose, the NA groups have joined together to create a structure which develops, coordinates, and maintains services on behalf of NA as a whole.
  2. The final responsibility and authority for NA services rests with the NA groups.
  3. The NA groups delegate to the service structure the authority necessary to fulfil the responsibilities assigned to it.
  4. Effective leadership is highly valued in Narcotics Anonymous. Leadership qualities should be carefully considered when selecting trusted servants.
  5. For each responsibility assigned to the service structure, a single point of decision and accountability should be clearly defined.
  6. Group conscience is the spiritual means by which we invite a loving God to influence our decisions.
  7. All members of a service body bear substantial responsibility for that body’s decisions and should be allowed to fully participate in its decision making processes.
  8. Our service structure depends on the integrity and effectiveness of our communications.
  9. All elements of our service structure have the responsibility to carefully consider all viewpoints in their decision making processes.
  10. Any member of a service body can petition that body for the redress of a personal grievance, without fear of reprisal.
  11. NA funds are to be used to further our primary purpose, and must be managed responsibly.
  12. In keeping with the spiritual nature of Narcotics Anonymous, our structure should always be one of service, never of government.

The Twelve Concepts for NA Service were modelled on AA’s Twelve Concepts for World Service, published by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., and have evolved specific to the needs of Narcotics Anonymous.

Useful Information:
What to Expect at Your First NA Meeting: requires a pdf reader
useful information on attending Narcotics Anonymous Meetings for the 1st time:

UKNA Website www.ukna.org
UKNA Helpline No. 0300 999 1212.