Last Updated on 15 September 2026
HOW in Australia
Most SLAA meetings – both in person and online – within Australia use the “HOW Concept.” Originally inspired by similar ideas within other 12-step fellowships, HOW is one particular way of working the steps. HOW began in Australia and has since spread to other SLAA groups around the world, but especially within the United Kingdom. Many find that the HOW concept which encourages members to make daily outreach calls, attend 3 meetings weekly and follow the HOW guide to working the steps is very helpful for achieving both sobriety and recovery.
Honest,
Open-minded and
Willing…
this is the HOW of the programme.
The SLAA HOW program is designed for those who want a disciplined and structured approach to recovery. HOW means being Honest, Open-minded, and Willing. Using the 12 Steps and 12 Traditions, HOW invites full commitment to the program for lasting sobriety.
Instead of suggesting guidelines, HOW sees its defined tools as requirements for recovery. They aim for clear black and white boundaries to navigate life’s grey areas.
HOW uses a set of tools to manage sex and love addiction on a daily basis:
In HOW, each sex & love addict works with a sponsor to identify their personal bottom-line behaviours. We become sober when we have a minimum of thirty consecutive days free from our bottom lines.
We use daily writing assignments, based on SLAA and AA literature, as tools of examination and release.
We attend a minimum of three meetings per week. Meetings are dedicated to the concept of remaining honest, open-minded, and willing to listen. This is the “HOW” of the program.
We make four calls a day: one to our sponsor and three outreach calls to other SLAA members. The phone is like a lifeline; we need the contact. It can be like a mini-meeting.
We practice daily prayer and meditation to develop a relationship with a power greater than ourselves that can guide and sustain us in recovery.
Whether it’s helping out at meetings, setting up, welcoming newcomers, organising literature, or facilitating group-level decisions—service frees us from the bondage of self. It’s how we give back what we’ve freely and lovingly received. Sobriety is a service to ourselves and to the group.
A SLAA HOW sponsor is a member with at least 30 days of continuous sobriety who has taken the first three Steps in HOW. Discretion, common sense, and our Higher Power guide us in our selection.
With the exception of bottom-line sobriety,
after the first three Steps
the requirements set out above become suggestions.
