Women for Sobriety

Domain V · Systemic, relational, group & community · Jean Kirkpatrick · 1975 · Quakertown, Pennsylvania, USA

What it is

WFS is a free, peer-led, abstinence-based mutual-aid fellowship for women with alcohol or other substance use disorders. Sociologist Jean Kirkpatrick, PhD founded it after she failed to stay sober during three years in AA. WFS dates its founding to 1975; Wikipedia gives 1976. It is not a therapy…

Format

• Not a phased treatment. The six Levels are a self-paced developmental map, not sessions. Each Level is tied to particular Acceptance Statements. Kirkpatrick gives no time frame for any Level and no formal criteria for moving on. She explicitly says a woman may go back to earlier exercises when…
• Level 1: Accepting the disorder (Statement 1). Accept that the substance problem is physical and life-threatening, commit to abstinence, learn about the disorder and what alcohol does to body and mind, and end isolation through the group. Suggested resources are early-recovery booklets such as…

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Certified Facilitator (CF). Requirements are at least one year of continuous sobriety, thorough knowledge of the New Life Program, familiarity with Turnabout, Goodbye Hangovers, Hello Life or the Beginner's Collection, and certification through WFS. In-person CFs must also: commit to at least six months of weekly meetings;
• Board-required training. New CFs must finish all of it within six months of certification, or they become Inactive and cannot facilitate. As of 2022 the required trainings were a review of the Moderator's Manual and an anti-racism training ("Healing Recovery Spaces") or similar.
• What it is. WFS is a free, peer-led, abstinence-based mutual-aid fellowship for women with alcohol or other substance use disorders. Sociologist Jean Kirkpatrick, PhD founded it after she failed to stay sober during three years in AA. WFS dates its founding to 1975; Wikipedia gives 1976. It is not a therapy that a clinician delivers. Trained peer volunteers, called Certified Facilitators (CFs), run its meetings.…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• How do you and the practitioner understand what is happening, in spiritual or cultural terms? Is that a source of comfort, worry, or both?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• reluctance to call anyone. Rehearse a first call in session.
• responsibility turning into self-blame for things outside her control.
• this becoming perfectionism or a source of shame where money is limited.
• taking on service as over-functioning or caretaking, the Level 5 pattern.
• "openness" being urged within an abusive relationship. Assess safety first.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.