Pressure to conform
Rigid rules, an insistence that one group has all the answers, or pressure to follow a leader.
EXPERIENCES. UNDERSTANDING. A WAY FORWARD.
A place to make sense
of your experience.
Stories and resources for people exploring their experiences with Midtown and other high-control AA groups.
Take your time. Start wherever feels useful.
Something feels wrong.
Explore patterns described in high-control groups.
02 / REFLECTYou have questions.
Read perspectives on sponsorship, boundaries, and choice.
03 / EXPLOREYou want to learn more.
Browse publications and downloadable reading materials.
NEW READING NOTE · SEPTEMBER 22, 2026
Reading the Guardian’s Midtown investigation
A link to the Guardian investigation, with a note on reading at your own pace.
Read the new postOur mission is to provide a safe and supportive environment for individuals who are struggling with recovery from abusive AA cults and high control groups. We believe that addiction is a disease and that recovery is possible through the 12-step program. However, a destructive cult is “any group that uses unethical mind control to pursue its ends—whether religious, political, or commercial.” Our blog is a place where we can share our experiences and offer information, education, and hope to those who are still suffering from the abuse of Midtown and other cult-like AA groups. We invite you to read our stories, share your own, and be part of our community.
About Midtown · original site introduction
The Midtown AA group is a destructive cult that has been operating outside of Washington, DC for decades. Currently, it is a constellation of AA meetings in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia. Our blog is a great place to share your experiences, stories, and thoughts. We encourage you to participate and be part of our community.
Source content last edited September 2024.
RECOGNIZING THE PATTERNS
Give your questions some space.
Distance from others
Discouragement from seeing family, friends, or people outside the group.
Less room for choice
Shame or fear around changing sponsors, asking questions, or leaving a meeting.
EXPERIENCES & PERSPECTIVES
From the story archive.
FROM THE ARCHIVE01
Many AA Members Upset with Revealing Coercive AA Group
Reflections on the response to sharing stories about Midtown in an online AA community.
FROM THE ARCHIVE02
What is Midtown and Who is "Mike" Q.?
Background on the Midtown group and the reporting referenced in the original story.
FROM THE ARCHIVE03
Criteria for Mind Control
An excerpt exploring Robert Jay Lifton’s eight criteria for ideological totalism.