Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an international, spiritually oriented society of recovering alcoholics who meet in small groups regularly. The chief purpose of AA members is basically to remain sober and assist other alcoholics to do the same. AA created the original twelve-step program that has been the main source and model for all other recovery groups like Gamblers Anonymous, Sexaholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Overeaters Anonymous, etc.

In the early part of the 20th Century, alcoholics without the financial means to go to a psychiatrist or admit themselves to a private health center could only find help in jails, through street ministries or state hospitals. Alcoholics Anonymous marked the first approach to aiding the recovery of the alcoholic, notwithstanding their financial standing.

One major aspect of Alcoholics Anonymous is their definition of the term alcoholism. They see it as a progressive disease afflicting an alcoholic. AA prescribes that alcoholism cannot be cured, and the alcoholic has no alternative but to wholly abstain from alcohol.

Today, there are several alcohol rehabilitation programs along the lines of AA. Most of these centers are run by other recovered alcoholics who believe that the recovereing alcoholic has a special ability to connect with other alcoholics.

AA literature explains the difference between an "alcoholic" and a "problem drinker" with the logic that a problem drinker may drink alcohol, but has the will to stop or decrease the amount he or she drinks. On the other hand, an alcoholic has a permanent disease and is incapable of moderating the consumption of alcohol.