A free guide from Cima Find Care

Family support when someone you love is drinking or using: Al-Anon, Nar-Anon, CRAFT and more

You don't have to wait for your loved one to change to get help for yourself. Free groups meet in person, by phone and online across Texas: Al-Anon if the problem is drinking, Nar-Anon if it's drugs, Alateen and Narateen for teens, plus Families Anonymous and SMART Recovery Family & Friends. If your goal is getting your loved one into treatment, CRAFT, a counseling method for families, has the strongest research behind it. Here's how each one works, what the studies found, and where to find a meeting in Texas.

Updated October 27, 2026. General information, not medical, legal or mental health advice. We link to each group's own meeting list instead of copying it, because meetings change.

If you need help now: call 911 in an emergency. In a mental health or substance use crisis, call or text 988, any time. SAMHSA's National Helpline, 1-800-662-4357, is free, confidential and open 24/7 for treatment referrals. If you're not safe at home, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline, 1-800-799-7233, free and open 24/7. Texas teens and parents can call the Texas Youth Helpline, 1-800-989-6884, any time.

The short version

Get support for yourself first. Al-Anon is for anyone affected by someone else's drinking; Nar-Anon is for family and friends of someone with a drug problem. Both are free and need no sign-up.
Try more than one meeting. Groups differ. Phone and online meetings let you start tonight from home.
Want your loved one in treatment? Ask a counselor about CRAFT, or join a free SMART Recovery Family & Friends meeting, which uses CRAFT tools.
Teens have their own groups: Alateen and Narateen.
Keep yourself and your children safe. If there's violence, call 911 or the hotline above.

Our guide to how to help an alcoholic covers what to say, what backfires and safe detox. This page is about support for you.

Which group fits

Group	Who it's for	How it works	Cost
Al-Anon	Anyone affected by someone else's drinking: partners, parents, adult children, friends	12 steps; members share their experience. You go for yourself, not to change the drinker.	Free; groups accept donations
Alateen	Teens affected by someone else's drinking	Part of Al-Anon, with certified adult sponsors at every meeting	Free
Nar-Anon	Anyone with a relative or friend who has a drug problem	12 steps and 12 traditions, run by members, not professionals	No dues or fees
Narateen	Teens affected by someone else's addiction; suggested from age 13	Part of Nar-Anon	Free
Families Anonymous	Families and friends worried about someone's destructive behavior from drugs, alcohol or related problems	12 steps; first names only	No dues or fees
SMART Recovery Family & Friends	Family members, partners and friends affected by a loved one's addictive behavior	Not 12-step: SMART Recovery's tools plus CRAFT, with trained facilitators	Free
CRAFT counseling	A family member who wants their loved one to start treatment	Sessions with a counselor trained in the method, for you	Depends on the counselor and your insurance

Many families use more than one: a group for steady support, and CRAFT for a plan to get their loved one to treatment.

Al-Anon: support for families of alcoholics

Al-Anon's basics (it's free, it's for you, and it isn't AA) are in our guide to helping an alcoholic. What else to know before your first meeting:

Three ways to attend: face-to-face, by phone and online. Online meetings use video, chat and messaging apps. Find all three in the meeting search on al-anon.org or in the Al-Anon Family Groups app.
Talk to someone first: call 1-888-425-2666 (1-888-4AL-ANON) to find a meeting or speak with a local member. Al-Anon's phone agents answer weekdays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern.
No referral, no notice: you don't have to call ahead or bring a written referral, and there's no obligation. Go as often or as rarely as you like.
Worried about drugs, not alcohol? Al-Anon says Nar-Anon may fit better, but you're welcome to try Al-Anon too.

Nar-Anon: for families of someone using drugs

Nar-Anon Family Groups is a worldwide fellowship for relatives and friends of people with addiction. Its only requirement for membership is a problem of drugs or addiction in a relative or friend.

How it works: Nar-Anon's own Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions. Groups run their own meetings: sharing, step or tradition study, a topic or a speaker.
Not treatment: Nar-Anon is run by members, not professionals, and says it doesn't replace professional help.
Free: no dues or fees. Groups are supported by members' voluntary contributions. You join simply by going to a meeting.
Find a meeting: Nar-Anon's meeting page lists in-person and virtual groups, with the day, time zone and language. Its regional sites list includes a Texas region, the Lone Star Region.

Alateen and Narateen: groups for teens

A teen who lives with a parent's or sibling's drinking or drug use is affected too, and has groups of their own.

	Alateen	Narateen
For	Teens affected by someone else's drinking	Teens affected by someone else's addiction; Nar-Anon suggests starting at 13
Safety	Each group has one or two adult sponsors: Al-Anon members who completed their area's certification process. A group can't meet without one, and they're the only adults allowed.	In virtual Narateen meetings, members must be visible on screen, for safety.
Also welcome at	Any Al-Anon meeting	Nar-Anon meetings
Find one	al-anon.org meeting search, the Al-Anon app (which lists Alateen phone meetings), or Texas Al-Anon's Alateen page	Find a Narateen meeting, email [email protected], or call Nar-Anon's World Service Office, 800-477-6291

If a teen isn't safe at home, call 911, or the Texas Youth Helpline at 1-800-989-6884. If the teen is the one drinking or using, see drug and alcohol treatment for Texas teens and when to get help for your teenager.

Families Anonymous and SMART Recovery Family & Friends

Families Anonymous is a 12-step fellowship for parents, grandparents, siblings, spouses, partners, other relatives and friends of someone with a current, suspected or former drug problem, or related behavior problems. Groups meet in person, online or by phone, usually weekly, and online meetings run every day of the week. There are no dues or fees, members use first names only, and it isn't tied to any treatment program or agency. See familiesanonymous.org.

SMART Recovery Family & Friends is a mutual-support program for family members, partners and friends of someone with an addictive behavior. It isn't a 12-step program: its methods are based on SMART Recovery's tools and on CRAFT, and some groups also use the Invitation to Change approach. What to know:

Free, led by trained facilitators, in person and online across the country, with no long-term commitment.
Finding one takes a filter: in SMART's meeting finder, choose "Family & Friends" from the Program menu, or you'll only see meetings for the person with the addiction. Pick "Online" to see meetings you can join from anywhere in Texas.
Most online meetings use Zoom; some use Microsoft Teams. SMART also runs an online message board for support any time.

CRAFT: what the research found

CRAFT (Community Reinforcement and Family Training) is counseling for you, the family member. You learn to reward sober time, stop making drinking or drug use easier, talk without fighting, and spot the moment your loved one might say yes to treatment. Our guide to helping an alcoholic explains the skills. Here is what the main studies found:

Study	Who took part	What it found
Miller, Meyers and Tonigan, 1999 (randomized trial)	130 family members of people with a drinking problem who refused treatment. Each got 12 hours of counseling in one of three approaches.	Their loved one started treatment in 64% of CRAFT families, 30% after a Johnson-style confrontational intervention and 13% after counseling that encouraged Al-Anon. Most families prepared for a confrontation (70%) decided not to go through with it. Family members' own well-being improved about equally in all three. Treatment usually started after 4 to 6 sessions, and parents succeeded more often than spouses.
Roozen and others, 2010 (review of 4 trials)	264 family members of people with alcohol or drug problems who refused treatment	CRAFT led to about 3 times as much treatment entry as Al-Anon or Nar-Anon facilitation, and about 2 times as much as the Johnson intervention. About two-thirds of loved ones went to treatment, usually after 4 to 6 CRAFT sessions.
Siljeholm and others, 2024 (randomized trial, Stockholm)	Parents of young adults, 18 to 24, with hazardous substance use who refused treatment	No statistically significant difference in treatment entry between CRAFT and a structured counseling program. Both groups saw less substance use and better relationships. There was no group without counseling to compare.

What it means for you: CRAFT clearly did better than confrontation and better than counseling aimed at Al-Anon, for getting a loved one into treatment. Against another structured counseling program for parents, it didn't do better. So the practical step is the same: get structured help for yourself from a counselor, and ask how they'd help you get your loved one to treatment. Al-Anon and Nar-Anon still help you cope: in the 1999 trial, family members' own well-being improved as much with the Al-Anon approach.

How to find CRAFT in Texas

Ask counselors directly: "Do you work with family members using CRAFT, Community Reinforcement and Family Training?" Licensed chemical dependency counselors (LCDCs), LPCs, LCSWs and LMFTs may offer it. Search Texas providers on Cima Find Care, or browse addiction counselors in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Austin. How to choose a therapist explains the credentials.
Free, CRAFT-based groups: SMART Recovery Family & Friends, above.
Paying for it: counseling for you may be covered by your own health plan. Texas Medicaid and CHIP cover individual, family and group therapy. See using insurance for therapy in Texas and what therapy costs in Texas.
No insurance? Low-cost counseling by city: Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio and El Paso.

Al-Anon and family meetings in Texas cities

Texas Al-Anon's own site says the most up-to-date meeting information is on al-anon.org, so start with its meeting search. Local Al-Anon offices, from Texas Al-Anon's contact page, can help by phone:

City	Local Al-Anon contact
Austin	Al-Anon/Alateen Information Center, 512-441-8591
Dallas	Al-Anon Information Service, 214-363-0461; in Spanish, 214-941-6599
Fort Worth	Fort Worth Al-Anon and Alateen Information Service
Houston	Al-Anon Literature Distribution Center, 713-683-7227; Houston Hispanic Intergroup, 713-681-1296
San Antonio	San Antonio Al-Anon Information Service
El Paso and elsewhere	The al-anon.org meeting search, or 1-888-425-2666

For other groups: Nar-Anon's meeting page (search for Texas, or join a virtual group), Families Anonymous's meeting list, and SMART's Family & Friends page. Online meetings from any of them work anywhere in Texas.

Can family members go to AA meetings?

Yes, to open AA meetings, which anyone may attend as an observer. Closed meetings are only for people with a drinking problem. Going to an open meeting can help you understand what your loved one would find there, but the meeting is about the drinker's recovery. For support of your own, Al-Anon is the group for families. Our guide to AA and NA meetings in Texas lists each city's official meeting finder, if your loved one wants to try one.

When your loved one is ready

Have options ready before the moment comes:

Where to start: answer four questions to see which level of care fits, or search Texas programs by insurance. Of the Texas programs on Cima Find Care, 131 offer detox and 339 offer outpatient care, for example detox in Houston and outpatient programs in Dallas or Fort Worth.
Who pays: does insurance cover rehab?, the insurance call script for rehab, and free rehab in Texas for people without insurance.
After treatment: sober living, recovery coaches and mutual-help meetings, 12-step or not.
If they refuse: what CRAFT teaches, and what Texas law allows, are in how to help an alcoholic who's in denial and court-ordered rehab in Texas.

More plain-language guides are on our guides page.

Questions families ask

Are there AA meetings for family members of alcoholics?

The group for family members is Al-Anon, a free 12-step group for people affected by someone else's drinking. Family members can also sit in on open AA meetings as observers.

What's the difference between Al-Anon and Nar-Anon?

Al-Anon is for people affected by someone else's drinking; Nar-Anon is for relatives and friends of someone with a drug problem. Both are free 12-step groups. Al-Anon welcomes people worried about drugs too, so go to whichever helps.

Are Al-Anon and Nar-Anon meetings free?

Yes. Neither charges dues or fees. Groups pass a basket for voluntary contributions.

Can I go to Al-Anon online or by phone?

Yes. Al-Anon holds meetings face-to-face, by phone and online, listed on al-anon.org and in the Al-Anon app. Nar-Anon, Families Anonymous and SMART Family & Friends also meet online.

Is there a support group for parents of addicts in Texas?

Yes. Nar-Anon, Families Anonymous and SMART Recovery Family & Friends all welcome parents, online and in person where local groups meet. If the problem is drinking, Al-Anon. For a plan to get your child into treatment, ask a counselor about CRAFT.

Does CRAFT really work?

In randomized trials, CRAFT got more loved ones into treatment than a confrontational intervention or counseling aimed at Al-Anon: in one trial, 64% versus 30% and 13%. A 2024 trial for parents of young adults found it did about as well as another structured counseling program. Either way, structured help for the family is worth getting.

What is Alateen, and how old do you have to be?

Alateen is Al-Anon's group for teens affected by someone else's drinking, with certified adult sponsors at every meeting. Teens can also attend regular Al-Anon meetings. Nar-Anon's Narateen, for teens affected by someone's drug use, suggests starting at 13.