Medication-Assisted Recovery Anonymous (MARA) has been welcoming individuals to its judgement-free recovery community since 2018. MARA was created in response to the need for a comfortable space for people taking medication for substance use disorders to support one another. In traditional recovery groups, individuals using prescribed medications sometimes feel shame around the medication component of their treatment; MARA groups are run with the intention to remove this shame.
“Whether shame is intended or not, the feeling is real,” MARA’s founder observes. “People who misuse drugs or alcohol often turn to substances to escape feelings. When they experience shame, many want to run from that, too, so they don’t return to the recovery group. MARA is designed to uplift our participants, not scare people away.”
With a goal of helping people live a safer lifestyle, MARA offers multiple Zoom-based meetings every day. Hyperlinks on the MARA website bring participants immediately into the meetings; no registration is required, and cameras are optional. In-person meetings are also available in approximately half of this country’s states. Pennsylvania’s chapters alone offer 14 meetings per week. Beyond the United States, MARA also operates in Australia. MARA’s website lists recommendations and steps for starting meetings, whether in-person, online, or hybrid.
The meetings focus on topics brought forth by the group leader or participants, discussion about living a safer lifestyle, or MARA’s non-traditional steps. All meetings, regardless of format, start with a reading of the MARA Preamble (figure 1), an opportunity (not a requirement) for participants to introduce themselves, and a reading of MARA’s Twelve Steps. Both online and in-person meetings typically run for 60 minutes, at which time the formal closing takes place. In-person meetings sometimes go beyond the formal closing, based on the needs of the participants.
The only participant requirement for MARA is a desire to live a safer lifestyle, which is symbolized by the Desire Chip (figure 2). “I’ve polled our participants about their preference for tokens marking lengths of time with MARA, such as 30 days, 1 year, or 5 years,” the founder explains. “Consistently, responses call for just the one Desire Chip. I suspect this is because having only one chip avoids any hint of a hierarchy. Quantity doesn’t equal quality. I also think that we all have different definitions of recovery. The chip isn’t necessarily indicating you’re living a safe lifestyle, but you have the desire to live one and are building your strength to do so.”
MARA Preamble
Medication-Assisted Recovery Anonymous is a support group of people who believe in the value of medication as a means to recovery. We understand that our individual needs may not be the same; our backgrounds may not be the same; our futures may not be the same. However, our desire to live a safe lifestyle joins us together.
Non-judgement is our code.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Approximately 11,000 tokens have been distributed since the launch of MARA. Growth has been by word-of-mouth, and the founder acknowledges that the Steps are usually what attract people, even drawing some directly to MARA before exploring traditional recovery communities. He hopes the recent publication of the book, Medication-Assisted Recovery Anonymous—which includes Steps, Traditions, and real-life stories of MARA participants—will provide guidance for establishing MARA in other locations and settings, such as in jails and prisons.
“Exiting incarceration without support can be dangerous for individuals with substance use disorders,” MARA’s founder says. “As more correctional facilities provide medication-assisted treatment, I can clearly see how MARA can help during custody and reentry into the community. Traditional recovery communities don’t help everyone; MARA provides an alternative. Step One really could be simplified to, ‘We came for help; we received hope!'”
For more information on attending or starting a MARA meeting, visit MARA’s website.
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