About NA at Our Clinic
Narcotics Anonymous is an international, member-driven fellowship of people recovering from drug addiction. It is free, confidential, and entirely independent — Restoration Recovery hosts the meetings by providing the space, but we do not run them. The meetings themselves are led by NA members, follow NA traditions, and have no clinical or financial connection to our practice.
We host NA at our Chattanooga clinic because many of our patients, former patients, and community members have told us how much peer recovery support matters, and because a safe, welcoming, low-barrier meeting space is useful to the recovery community as a whole — whether or not someone is in medical treatment.
The meetings are drop-in. There is no registration, no sign-in, no attendance record shared with anyone. You can come once, come weekly, or stop coming at any time. Anonymity is foundational to the NA tradition, and both our staff and the hosting NA groups protect it.
Current Meeting Schedule
Three NA meetings meet at our Chattanooga clinic each week. All meetings are held at 6141 Shallowford Rd, Suite 100, Chattanooga, TN 37421.
Schedule subject to change. For the authoritative weekly schedule and any last-minute changes, see nachattanooga.com/find-a-meeting and filter by “Restoration Recovery” or our street address. Meeting formats (speaker / discussion / step-study) can also vary week to week.
Our Meeting Space
These are the actual rooms at our Chattanooga clinic where the NA meetings meet each week. The primary meeting room is our dedicated support group room; when attendance is larger the hosting group uses one of our IOP rooms, which is equipped with the same privacy and comfort.
What to Expect at Your First Meeting
If you have never been to an NA meeting before, here is what usually happens:
- Arrive a few minutes early. There is no sign-in sheet. You can sit wherever you like and observe.
- Meetings open with introductions and a reading of the NA preamble or one of the Twelve Steps. Format varies by meeting — some are speaker-led, some are discussion-based, some focus on step study.
- You are never required to speak. Listening for your first several meetings is standard and welcome. If you choose to share, you only need to say your first name.
- Meetings typically last about an hour and close with a closing reading or circle.
- There is no cost. NA meetings are funded by voluntary contributions from members — a basket is usually passed, but contributing is entirely optional and no one tracks who does or doesn’t.
- Anonymity is a core NA tradition. What you hear and who you see at a meeting stays within the meeting. Nothing is reported to our clinic, your employer, probation, insurance, or family.
If you are nervous about your first meeting, that is normal. Many people describe their first meeting as easier than they expected once they were there. Arriving a few minutes early lets you meet someone at the door and settle in before the meeting starts.
Getting Here
Our Chattanooga clinic is located at 6141 Shallowford Rd, Suite 100, Chattanooga, TN 37421. Parking is on-site and free. The meeting space is on the ground floor of the building and accessible without stairs.
For directions and the full clinic profile, see our Chattanooga clinic page. If you need help with transportation to your first meeting, reach out to the Chattanooga NA area service office — they coordinate rides through member volunteers in some situations.
Can I Attend If I’m Not a Restoration Recovery Patient?
Yes. The meetings are entirely separate from our clinical practice. You do not need to be a patient, have a referral, or have any medical documentation — just show up. Our staff will not ask why you are at the building or record your attendance in any way. If you happen to also be a patient of ours, your attendance at NA is equally not recorded in your medical record.
Does NA Replace or Conflict With Medication-Assisted Treatment?
No. NA and medication-assisted treatment are not mutually exclusive, and at Restoration Recovery a large portion of our MAT patients also attend peer support meetings. The two serve different functions: MAT stabilizes brain chemistry so cravings and withdrawal don’t dominate daily life; peer support meetings provide community, accountability, and the ongoing work of recovery that medication alone cannot replace.
NA itself does not take a position on medication, per Tradition 10, and meetings vary in how comfortable individual members are with MAT. Most Chattanooga-area meetings welcome MAT patients without issue. If you encounter a meeting where that is not the case, another meeting in the same week will be different. nachattanooga.com lists dozens of meetings across the region.
If you are weighing whether to add a peer support practice to the medical care you are already receiving — or vice versa — our Nervous About Starting Suboxone? page addresses the “am I trading one addiction for another” concern directly, and our MAT vs. abstinence article lays out how the two approaches can work together.
If You Need More Than a Meeting
NA is a powerful recovery tool, and for some people it is enough on its own. For others — particularly those with opioid, benzodiazepine, or alcohol dependence that produces severe physical withdrawal — a medical treatment plan in addition to peer support is safer and more effective.
If you are attending meetings here and realize you want to talk to a clinician about medical treatment options, you can stop by the front desk during business hours (Monday–Friday) or call 423-498-2000 to schedule an evaluation. Same-week appointments are typically available at all four of our clinic locations. Most major insurance plans are accepted, including TennCare, Medicaid, and commercial carriers — see our insurance page for specifics.
For a full picture of what we offer beyond MAT, see our services overview: Intensive Outpatient Program, individual counseling, telehealth follow-ups, and integrated behavioral health care.