Cooperation with the Professional Community Committee

District 21 Duties and Guidelines

The CPC Chair provides the professional community (which comes into contact with alcoholics), with information about what AA is, what AA can & can’t do, and how to contact local AA. Duties: To attend all monthly District meetings, seek new ways of carrying the message, provide informed speakers for professional groups who wish to know how AA can help, and attend all Area 72 CPC Committee quarterlies.

Cooperation with the Professional Community (C.P.C.) is A.A.’s official contact with members of the professional community. If you are sober and have a desire to serve, we need your help! 

When anyone anywhere reaches out for help, I want the hand of A.A. always to be there. And for that… I AM RESPONSIBLE.

What We Do

A.A.’s Committee for the Cooperation with the Professional Community (C.P.C.) provides information about A.A. to members of the community whose profession may bring them into contact with people who may suffer from the disease of alcoholism. These professionals can include, but are not limited to:

  • Physicians
  •  Clergy
  • Attorneys
  • Medical 
  • Business Professionals
  • Students at Professional Schools
  • Social Workers
  • Psychologists
  • Educators
  • Alcohol and Drug Counselors
  • Union Leaders

In practice, the message we carry is simply an extension of the 12-step approach: we carry the A.A. message to the alcoholic who still suffers by informing the person in a position of trust of what A.A. is, what A.A. does, what A.A. does not do, and how to find A.A.

Our hope is that, with this information, the professional will feel confident referring patients, clients, or employees to A.A.

Why We Do It

In the depths of despair, many practicing alcoholics come into contact with a lot of professionals: they might be getting a divorce, in trouble at work, losing all of their teeth, in trouble with creditors, and constantly visiting doctors or clergy members looking for answers…

It might never occur to the practicing alcoholic to look up Alcoholics Anonymous in the phone book! And he or she may never cross the path of a sober member of A.A. who could point them in the right direction.

But many professionals have not had the opportunity to find out that the A.A. program of recovery works. Unless we reach out to these professionals, many practicing alcoholics may never find us.

We do not teach the professional – we do not try to change the way they do their jobs. We simply inform them about Alcoholics Anonymous and let them know that we are eager to help.

How Can You Help?

The C.P.C. committee needs all types of volunteers, from the shy to the bold:

  • We need people to help plan events, to stuff envelopes, and to quietly fill literature racks in lawyers’ offices.
  • We need people who love speaking to groups or as part of a panel, and who are excited at the prospect of calling on a professional.
  • We need people who would speak to other A.A. members about C.P.C.
  • We need people who would speak to non-A.A. members about A.A.
  • We need people who will give their own doctor, or lawyer, or H.R. rep., a packet of information about A.A.

This type of service work does not require much time. Due to its nature, very often it can be done at your convenience. Yet it is still a very rewarding type of service work. You could learn a lot more about A.A. and how it works. You could grow personally from conquering your fears and trying new activities. You could have the satisfaction of knowing that a professional, who may eventually come into contact with hundreds of still-suffering alcoholics, now knows that there is Hope.

AA Guidelines from GSO

A.A. Guidelines are compiled from the shared experience of A.A. members in various service areas. They also reflect guidance given through the Twelve Traditions and the General Service Conference (U.S. and Canada). The purpose of these Guidelines is to assist in reaching an informed group conscience….[View AA Guidlines]