Meetings are seen as a safe environment where each person speaking is listened to without interruption or comment and is not given advice.
When we are ready, we can begin sharing our authentic feelings and experiences in the safe environment of meetings.
For some of us this can be the first time in our lives that we are listened to without being interrupted, misinterpreted, or criticized. There is never any requirement to speak if we do not wish to.
CoDA is a spiritual program, rather than a religious one. You don’t need to have any experience or belief in God. It is suggested that people new to CoDA have an open mind about spiritual matters. The CoDA programme uses the word God to describe a power greater than ourselves. What a person chooses to call that power (if anything) is up to the individual.
It is suggested that a person attend several meetings, before deciding if CoDA is right for them.
Meetings are not all the same. A person may not feel they fit in at their first meeting, but they may find that the next week, if they return, there are different people there, and they may feel more comfortable.