ISO’s 2025 Annual Conference in St. Louis

Update from Sharon S., ISO Chair:

In April we convened ISO’s Annual Conference in St. Louis — in person for the first time since 2019! We also welcomed folks from around the world via Zoom. A huge thanks to the planning committee for hosting a great meeting!

ISO’s Annual Conference is our fellowship’s business meeting, where we share how and what SCA meetings and intergroups are doing across the world. We talk about how best to reach newcomers and support members. We note our progress and challenge ourselves to do more.

It was fantastic to be together in person this year! I’ve been on many of Zoom calls with SCA Executive Committee members and fellows I feel quite connected to that I have never actually been in the same room with. Meeting in person strengthened our relationships and deepened trust. 

Here are some meeting highlights from our three-day conference:

New Characteristic about sexual anorexia

One of the most significant decisions made at this year’s ISO was to add a new Characteristic about sexual anorexia/avoidance to The Characteristics Most of Us Seem to Have in Common. You can read the history of this decision in the minutes. Here is the new characteristic:

We were sexually anorexic: in despair about our lack of physical and emotional intimacy with ourselves and others, yet unaware of how much we feared and avoided it.

SCA has a YouTube Channel

Gary S. and his Outreach team built a SCA YouTube Channel in 2024! Check it out to see the great content they’re creating and be sure to subscribe! (https://www.youtube.com/@SCA-Recovery) 

Audio Recovery Book in development

Gordon B., our Fiduciary Chair, is working to create an audio version of SCA’s Recovery Book that will be available for purchase on Amazon. We’ll keep you posted.

Executive Board Elections

Gary S. was reelected for a two-year term as Outreach Chair

Randy S. was elected as Director at Large, stepping in for Charles D. who resigned the position earlier this year. Thank you, Charles, for your service!

Tami V. was reelected for another one-year term as Outside Director

I was elected for a two-year term as ISO Chair

Emphasis on our 7th Tradition

We budgeted $4,000 for the 2025 ISO Annual Conference, and I’m happy to report that we came in under budget at $3,053!

ISO’s modest budget supports meetings, our website, literature creation and translation, and outreach to newcomers. As we built our 2026 budget, we reflected on the importance of our 7th tradition — that SCA is self-supporting through the contributions of its members. Your gifts help meetings buy literature, rent meeting space, and sponsor workshops. ISO receives a portion of the contributions you make to your meetings and intergroups. Please consider chipping in when you attend a meeting — your donations are vital in helping us reach the still-suffering addict.

If you’d like to read the Minutes from the Conference, contact the SCAnner editor. A Special thanks to Recording Secretary Maranda T. for her efforts!

QUESTIONS & THOUGHTS

Legal Outreach

The following is a sample letter that SCA Los Angeles uses to let the local legal system know about our program.  Please help the addict who still suffers by doing some “Outreach” in your area:

May 2024
To Whom It May Concern:
Sexual Compulsives Anonymous (SCA) is a 12-step program adapted from the 12 Steps of
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). SCA has had a relationship with the court systems in Los Angeles
and Orange Counties since SCA’s founding more than forty-five years ago. Our program and
meetings are like those of AA. We are not professionals or educators. We do not offer classes.
We are an anonymous fellowship comprised of members who volunteer their time as trusted
servants to lead 12-step meetings and perform other service work without compensation to keep
SCA operating.
Our 12-step program of recovery offers an opportunity to change for those who identify as
sexually compulsive, as well as those sent to SCA meetings via the courts. We are not group
therapy nor an organization led by licensed professionals specializing in sexual addiction or
compulsion or trauma from cases of sexual abuse.
The only service we provide to members who have been sent by the courts is attendance
verification. In keeping with our 12 Traditions, which govern the structure of SCA, and in
particular the anonymous nature of our program, SCA does not provide any reporting beyond
attendance verification. For example, we do not provide official letters of progress, participation,
or similar reports. Participation during meetings by all attendees is encouraged. However,
participation can come in many forms. For some, participating means simply attending a
meeting, either in person or via Zoom. For others, it may include sharing, being of service, or
some combination of these items.
Pursuant to our 12 Traditions, each of our meetings is autonomous, deciding whether and how
it provides attendance verification. For our in-person meetings, we generally provide a signature
on a piece of paper, often called a “court card,” with the name and date of the meeting attended.
For our Zoom meetings, we may provide another form of verification, such as an email or
electronic signature on a PDF court card. It is the responsibility of each attendee seeking
verification to track his, her, or their attendance. In furtherance of our principle of anonymity,
we do not maintain membership lists or track attendance for any attendee.
At the end of the day, our hope for those sent by the courts is that they have positive experiences
that free them from sexually compulsive behavior. If you have any questions about an attendee’s
participation or progress, it is best to ask the individuals themselves about what they learned or
gained from attending SCA meetings. We would be disappointed to learn that someone sent to
our meetings was punished because our program, given its nature, does not provide progress
reports or certificates of participation.
If you have any further questions, you can call us at 323-570-2659 or email us at
court@scalosangeles.org.

for pdf version: Court letter 2024

Two or More local or regional SCA meetings can have an Intergroup

Each meeting should elect and send a representative to the regularly scheduled Intergroup meeting  (the third Saturday of each month for the Los Angeles SCA Inergroup). If your meeting does not have a representative, this is a great opportunity to step up and be of service.  Add your voice to the discussion and carry the message back to your individual meetings.  Questions about intergroups can be sent to intergroup@scalosangeles.org

WHATSAPP DOC

The WhatsApp SCA Group is over a year old and has over 90 members.  You can easily download WhatsApp on your cell phone.  SCA Speakers will be sharing their experience, strength, using SCA Literature.  There have been some recent changes to our format to include one recorded long share on Wednesdays and readings of the SCA Daily Meditations. Members can now respond via recorded voice or by text.

To join the Saint Louis Whatsapp Group or invite others to join go to:  https://chat.whatsapp.com/J4hvQ5EZYdc0JxfNtO0yc1This is like having a meeting in your pocket that you can take anywhere.  For anyone new to the Fellowship, please go to the SCA Website, sca-recovery.org , to find in-person meetings or more information.

Questions & Thoughts

Question: I’ve heard that “you’ve got to hit a bottom for the program to work”. How do I know if I’ve hit BOTTOM?

https://scanneronline.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Photo-1.jpg

Please submit your Thoughts, Feelings or Experiences about this question to the e-mail address below. You can also submit a SCA related article, poem, post or etc. to be considered for publication to the same address:

scannereditor@sca-recovery.org

Thoughts:

My view on “hitting bottom” is best expressed by the late David N., who wrote most of the Afterword for our Characteristics Commentary (P. 52 of the SCA Recovery Book) his words: “Some have suggested that we hit bottom when we stop digging: we finally realize how deep the hole in us had become.”

Eventually, my overwhelming desire to sexually act out led to a period where I despaired of ever being able to stop my behaviors. For me, that was “hitting bottom”. I gave up trying to dig further, and looked up, but couldn’t see the sky. I decided that I might as well go to a Twelve-Step meeting —which I had been avoiding—to see if I might find some possibility of breaking out of my downward spiral.  — Anonymous

SCA TORONTO, CANADA

Toronto Meetings:  All SCA meetings in Toronto are Closed, i.e. for sexual compulsives only. We ask that only those qualifying under SCA’s Third Tradition “The only requirement for SCA membership is a desire to stop having compulsive sex” attend our meetings. Members of SCA also work on issues such as Love Addiction, Romantic Obsession and Sexual Anorexia, and individuals with these and similar problems are welcome at our meetings.

Please see the Area Meetings page for a list of SCA meetings in the Greater Toronto Area: https://sca-recovery.org/WP/meetings/tuesday-evening/?tsml-day=2&tsml-query=INPERSON&tsml-region=canada

SCA-JAPAN Convention 2023

SCA-JAPAN Convention 2023 will be held in Fukuoka for two days, November 4th(Sat)and 5th(Sun).

The first day is a closed meeting where people with sexual compulsion or think they may have 
it can participate. On the second day, in addition to those involved, family and friends, 
medical, supporters, and lawyers can also participate.

On the second day, we will invite Dr. Takeo Muto of Koyodai Hospital to give a lecture. 
Please visit their website for more information:  https://www.sca-japan.org