Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous

Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous, commonly abbreviated SLAA and also known as the Augustine Fellowship, is a Twelve-Step recovery fellowship for people who identify patterns of compulsive sexual, romantic, or intimacy-related behavior in their lives. It was established in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1976 by a member of Alcoholics Anonymous who had participated in AA for years but continued to experience recurring sexual and romantic behavior that he regarded as destructive, including repeated infidelity. SLAA adapted the peer-support and spiritual framework of Alcoholics Anonymous to a set of problems involving sex, romance, attachment, and avoidance of intimacy. The fellowship does not prescribe one universal definition of problematic behavior. Instead, members are encouraged to identify their own “bottom-line behaviors”: actions, patterns, or forms of avoidance that lead to loss of control and significant spiritual, mental, physical, emotional, or moral harm. Depending on the individual, these may include anonymous or casual sex, infidelity, compulsive masturbation, pornography use, obsessive sexual or romantic fantasy, repeated involvement with unavailable or abusive partners, compulsive pursuit of relationships, or compulsive avoidance of sexual and emotional intimacy. Members generally define sobriety as abstaining from their individually identified bottom-line behaviors, while recognizing that those boundaries may be revised as recovery develops. SLAA meetings and related fellowship activities are peer-led rather than conventional commercial treatment services. Common elements include meetings, sponsorship, Twelve-Step work, personal inventories, accountability, telephone or online contact with other members, and participation in a recovery community. The program also addresses related forms of self-deprivation sometimes described as sexual anorexia, emotional anorexia, and social anorexia. These patterns involve avoidance, isolation, or deprivation rather than compulsive pursuit, and are treated as potentially connected to the broader cycle of addictive sexual and romantic behavior. The fellowship’s name reflects its broad scope: it addresses both sexual compulsion and compulsive romantic attachment, as well as avoidance of intimacy. Early participants associated their experiences with descriptions of desire and attachment in Saint Augustine of Hippo’s Confessions, which led to the alternative name “Augustine Fellowship.” A related Twelve-Step organization, COSLAA, was created for partners, family members, and friends affected by another person’s sex or love addiction. SLAA publishes and approves recovery literature for use within its fellowship, including the book Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous. The program has also attracted criticism. Feminist theorist Christine Saulnier argued that the fellowship’s principal book gives insufficient attention to the social and political circumstances in which sexual conduct is interpreted, regulated, and labeled deviant, particularly in relation to Black women. As with other peer-recovery fellowships, SLAA’s framework is based on members’ self-identification and shared recovery practice rather than on a universally accepted medical classification. Publicly available reference material does not establish a conventional corporate ownership structure, commercial revenue model, current headquarters, or a single worldwide administrative office.

SLAA originated in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1976. Its founder is identified in reference material only as a member of Alcoholics Anonymous, rather than by a publicly established personal name. Although he had maintained long-term involvement with AA, he continued to experience compulsive sexual and romantic behavior, including serial infidelity. He formed SLAA to apply the Twelve-Step recovery model to problems that were not adequately addressed by an alcohol-focused fellowship. The fellowship developed a broader conception of addiction than one limited to sexual acts. Its members could identify compulsive pursuit of sex or romance, but also compulsive fantasy, pornography use, repeated attachment to unavailable partners, infidelity, and avoidance of intimacy. The defining criterion was not a fixed list of conduct but a recurring loss of control and resulting harm. Members therefore established personal “bottom lines” and defined sobriety in relation to those behaviors. The boundaries could change as a member gained insight into patterns and recovery needs. SLAA became known as the Augustine Fellowship because early members connected their experiences with Saint Augustine’s reflections on desire, attachment, and moral struggle in Confessions. The alternate name continued alongside the more descriptive Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous name. The fellowship’s approach also expanded to include sexual, emotional, and social anorexia, terms used within the program for patterns of self-denial, avoidance, and isolation that may accompany compulsive sexual or romantic behavior. Like other Twelve-Step organizations, SLAA relies primarily on mutual aid, meetings, sponsorship, step work, and fellowship literature. It is not presented as a conventional commercial treatment provider, and the available reference material does not establish a corporate parent, owner, public listing, or centralized global headquarters. The fellowship has supported meetings and related activity in the United States and other countries, including the United Kingdom, while online and remote formats have broadened access. A related fellowship, COSLAA, serves partners, relatives, and friends of people affected by sex and love addiction. SLAA also produced approved literature, including Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous, which sets out the fellowship’s concepts and recovery practices. The program has been subject to critical analysis, including Christine Saulnier’s feminist critique that its principal literature does not adequately account for social and political forces shaping how sexual behavior is understood and judged, especially for Black women. Available source material does not document a distinct corporate reorganization, major acquisition, public financial event, or named executive leadership history.

• 1976

  SLAA is founded in Boston

  [1]Sex and Love Addicts Anonymousen.wikipedia.org

  An Alcoholics Anonymous member establishes Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous in Boston, Massachusetts, to address persistent compulsive sexual and romantic behavior through a Twelve-Step approach.

• The Augustine Fellowship name emerges

  [1]Sex and Love Addicts Anonymousen.wikipedia.org

  Early members associate their experiences with Saint Augustine of Hippo’s Confessions, giving SLAA the alternative name Augustine Fellowship.

• COSLAA develops as a related fellowship

  [1]Sex and Love Addicts Anonymousen.wikipedia.org

  A separate Twelve-Step fellowship is created to support family members and friends of people affected by sex and love addiction.

A peer-led, spiritually oriented Twelve-Step fellowship focused on compulsive sexual behavior, compulsive romantic attachment, intimacy avoidance, and related isolation patterns. SLAA positions recovery as an individualized process based on self-defined bottom-line behaviors, abstinence from those behaviors, fellowship support, and progressive development of healthier relationships.

• Peer recovery program · 1976

  SLAA Twelve-Step program

  The core SLAA offering adapts Twelve-Step recovery to compulsive sexual behavior, romantic obsession, intimacy avoidance, and related patterns. Members attend meetings, work with sponsors, examine recurring behavior, and define individualized bottom-line behaviors. Sobriety is generally understood as abstinence from those personally identified behaviors rather than compliance with one universal list.

• Recovery literature

  Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous

  A book approved for use within the SLAA fellowship. It explains the fellowship’s understanding of sex and love addiction, describes patterns such as compulsive pursuit and intimacy avoidance, and presents recovery concepts used by members in meetings and Twelve-Step work.

• Peer-support service

  SLAA meetings and fellowship support

  Meetings provide a setting for members to share experiences, seek accountability, work through recovery steps, and build support networks. The fellowship has used in-person, telephone, and online formats, although the available reference material does not provide a complete current directory or global count.

• Adoption of individualized bottom-line behaviorsStrategy

  Background

  SLAA addresses a wide range of sexual, romantic, and intimacy-avoidant patterns that differ substantially between members.

  Action taken

  The fellowship asks each member to identify behaviors that produce loss of control and serious harm, and to define sobriety around abstaining from those behaviors rather than following a single universal prohibition list.

  Aftermath

  This individualized model became a central feature of SLAA’s recovery framework and allows members to revise their boundaries as their understanding of their behavior changes.

  Source

1. 1Sex and Love Addicts Anonymousen.wikipedia.org