Guidelines for Group Operation

1. First and most important, it is critical that at least one group member be sober

in her/his eating disorder. Great harm can come to all involved if this is not the case. If

everyone is still gripped by their mental obsession and acting out with anorexic or bulimic behaviour, the group will be unable to offer hope to anyone, and especially to the

newcomer. Indeed, you may drive newcomers even further away from recovery than they

were before. They may leave your presence in deeper despair instead of with a flicker of

hope. If no one is sober in your group, we suggest that everyone attend ABA Phone

Meetings and open meetings of other 12-Step Fellowships, and begin working with a

long-distance ABA sponsor. Once at least one person is sober, you can recommence

face-to-face ABA meetings.

2. What is sobriety and how do you get sober and stay sober in your eating? These

questions are answered in clear and comprehensive detail in our basic textbook,

Anorexics and Bulimics Anonymous: The Fellowship Details Its Program of Recovery for

Anorexia and Bulimia. If your group members have not yet studied this text, we strongly

urge you to do so before going any further with your meetings. One complimentary copy

is included with this kit of materials, and ordering information may be found on our

website. Our book includes specific information needed for recovery from anorexia and

bulimia, and is always displayed prominently at meetings. We also suggest that your

group use two books from the A.A. literature: Alcoholics anonymous and Twelve Steps

and Twelve Traditions. These books were the only texts available to our pioneers, and

they remain important sources of information for our youthful ABA Fellowship.

3. We have found sponsorship a vital tool for authentic recovery from our disease.

No one heals in isolation. To effectively work the 12-Step Program, guidance from a

sober and experienced ABA member is essential. Please study the detailed information

on sponsorship in our textbook (pp 157-161) before selecting a sponsor. If your ABA

group is the first one in your area, you may require long-distance sponsorship from an

ABA member living in a place where meetings are already established. To learn more

about this, consult the document “Guidelines for Long-Distance Sponsorship” distributed to every ABA group.

4. In conducting meetings, we recommend using the entire Preamble for Meetings

found on pp 142-148 of our textbook. This will give your meeting focus and direction. A

master copy of the Preamble was sent out in the Starter Pack to your group’s founding

member; if you need another, please contact the office or download it from the ABA

website on the ‘Documents’ page. Many groups have copies of the Preamble available

for members to use during meetings. Some groups also invite newcomers to take a copy

of this home, to peruse later. We suggest making your meetings 75 or 90 minutes in

length, unless the group is very small (60 min is ample in that case.) For a discussion

topic, you may want to choose a section from the book and read it aloud before opening

the meeting for sharing. “Cross-talk” (i.e. responding directly to what others have shared,

giving advice, answering questions others have posed as they shared, or interrupting them when they have the floor) is not advisable and should be strongly discouraged. The

chairperson can gently and compassionately stop a member who is engaging in cross-talk. Remember that this person is usually oblivious to what they are doing, and knows no better. Treat everyone kindly; we are all very sick people!

5. To be affiliated with ABA, we strongly advise adherence to the 12 Traditions,

guidelines for group operation developed by AA and adopted in 1950. We earnestly

entreat all groups to thoroughly study these Traditions, which are covered in some detail

in our text (pp 166-183) and in the AA book, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions. You

may decide to set aside one meeting per month wherein a tradition is read and discussed (e.g. Tradition 1 in January, Tradition 2 in February, and so on.) We have learned that when groups fail to abide by the Traditions, they flounder and eventually collapse.

6. You may wish to place a notice about your meeting on our website and in a public place in your city or town (e.g. a community centre bulletin board, a notice board in a hospital or treatment centre, the foyer of a public library, the entryway of a grocery

store, an information board in a local shopping mall, etc.) Such notices should be simple

and discreet (e.g. “Do you suffer from an eating disorder? You are not alone. Hope is

available through the 12-Step recovery program of Anorexics and Bulimics Anonymous.

Call for information about meetings.”) You could type the first name and phone number

of your group’s contact person at the bottom of the page, possibly on detachable strips

that people can tear off. However, publicizing a phone number in this way is solely at the

discretion of your group members and is done at your own risk! Please consider carefully

before doing so. If you decide not to publicize a member’s phone number, you could

simply place details about the meeting time and location on the notice itself, provided you are meeting in a neutral location and not in someone’s home.

7. We strongly suggest that your group designate service positions and fill these

from your sober members. Some examples include: a Group Representative who

maintains contact with the GSA; a meeting Chairperson; a group Secretary who maintains a list of members and their phone numbers; a Treasurer who collects the 7th Tradition funds, keeps an accurate account of it, and pays the group’s bills; Coffee-preparer; someone to serve as Greeter at the door when newcomers walk in; Birthday Coordinator to arrange cards, medallions, and birthday cakes when members are celebrating the anniversary dates of their sobriety; Literature Coordinator to ensure ABA books and pamphlets are available for purchase at meetings. Obviously, if your group is small and quite new at this time, some of these service positions may be unnecessary, or may be combined and filled by one person. We recommend rotation of group members through these positions, for two reasons. First, sharing the responsibility for group work gives everyone an opportunity to reap the immense rewards that flow from service.

Secondly, regular rotation protects the group from one or more people dominating it and thus violating Tradition 2. Some examples of suggested terms for your service positions are: Group Rep, 2 yrs; Treasurer and Secretary, 1 yr; Coffee Person 1-2 mos; Meeting Chairperson, 1 month. You may also decide to require a certain length of sobriety for some positions, particularly Treasurer.

8. Vitally important to your group’s health is the principle of the group conscience

as outlined in Tradition 2. ABA believes that a collective Higher Power speaks through

the group conscience in all decision-making at the group level. Thus, the group

conscience is a sacred spiritual principle and should be regarded with the utmost respect.

A healthy group is never “governed” by one member or a small clique of members; all

group members have an equal voice in the group’s decisions, and any member may

request a group conscience meeting if they wish to re-examine the group’s policy on any

issue. Here are some examples of matters determined by group conscience: Are meetings open or closed? Does the group want only some meetings open (e.g. birthday meetings once per month)? How long should the meeting be? What prayers should be used to open and close the meeting? How are newcomers welcomed? Should there always be a “Speaker to the Newcomer” even if no one indicates they are new or coming back? Does the group want to place a time limit on sharing? If so, how will this be imposed? How are topics selected at discussion meetings-by the chairperson or from the floor? Should some meetings be “Speaker meetings” where a member or outside guest is invited to share their story for the entire meeting time? What does the group want to do with the funds flowing in through the 7th Tradition collection? Should coffee and tea be served at meetings? What tokens does the group want to use to acknowledge months of sobriety?

These are only a few examples of the many questions to be deliberated and decided by the majority vote or by consensus, thereby putting the group conscience to work. On a related note, once your group has developed a meeting procedure through its group conscience, we suggest compiling a simple document entitled, “Guide to Chairing Our Meeting,” type it up, laminate it, and leave it in a box or bag with your other meeting materials to make it available to everyone. In this way, anyone can take the initiative to chair your meeting. This printed guide may direct the chairperson to use the ”Preamble for Meetings” and also spells out other things that your group wants to state at meetings.

9. A group’s health and cohesion is enhanced by regular business meetings, usually

every 1-3 months. This is the forum to arrange the filling and rotation of service positions, hear a financial report from the group Treasurer, discuss group policies and

practices such as those mentioned above, make changes in group policy as necessary, deal with group problems as they arise (e.g. outgrowing the current meeting space, insufficient funds to pay your rent), and air grievances in a respectful manner. The business meeting may be held before or after a regular ABA meeting or may be called on a separate day. All group members are strongly encouraged to attend.

10. We invite your group to send monetary donations to the GSA as you are able. How much you send and how often are determined by group conscience. This money is used to support the growth of ABA worldwide, and contributing financially allows your group to be connected with the whole. All contributions are welcome, no matter how small, and are used to support various endeavours (e.g. maintaining the GSA office, publication of ABA literature, printing and distribution of materials to our groups, gifts of books to new groups.) Since all of this costs money, contributing to the GSA ensures that your group remains “self-supporting through its own contributions.” (Tradition 7).We encourage groups not to hoard money in excess of a “prudent reserve” (e.g. the amount of 2-3 months’ rent), since experience has shown that accumulation of money

has often proved detrimental to group health.

All donations are strictly accounted for and receipted by the GSA Bookkeeper, whose books are audited each year in advance of the GSA Annual General Meeting in March. You may make donations by credit card, debit, or PayPal account using the donation button on our website at