A Road Less Traveled: Choosing the “Women for Sobriety” Program

Abstract

This paper introduces readers to the program philosophy and the membership of “Women for Sobriety” (WFS), a mutual aid organization for women with alcohol problems, founded in 1975 by Dr. Jean Kirkpatrick. Results are based on content analysis of program literature, and on ethnographic and survey methods. WFS meetings were observed and participants interviewed over a 4-month period, and 600 members in 125 WFS groups in the United States and Canada completed a membership survey in 1991 (response rate = 73%). The program focuses on improving self-esteem; members achieve sobriety by taking responsibility for their actions and by learning not to dwell on negative thoughts. Analysis of the program philosophy, and the demographic makeup of the WFS membership, suggest that the cognitive approach to recovery represented by WFS is especially attractive to white, well-educated, middle-aged, middle- and upper-class women. Relatively few of its members were referred there by a treatment agency, and the program remains somewhat ignored by providers as well as alcohol scholars. Explanations for this hidden nature of WFS are explored, and include the dominance of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), funding constraints associated with studying self-help programs, and individual and organizational considerations.