Members are encouraged to see inside them a sober self and an addict self which are fighting for dominance, one side is trying to be sober and well, the other is obsessed with the drug and wants to keep drinking or using. It has been reported that attending meetings (whether online, email-based, or face-to-face) provides a good place for the sober self to learn from and be strengthened by the other sober voices there. Meetings are run by volunteer peers, known as 'convenors', not led by professionals, and members are allowed to give each other feedback during them. Members are encouraged to raise their hands when appropriate to address and answer another member to offer support or comment while the meeting is in progress. While the meetings online and face-to-face are informal there are some basic rules: Members should be clean and sober (not under the influence of drugs or alcohol) if they want to speak at a meeting (only the desire to be sober is required for attendance), no religion, politics or demeaning others' attempts to achieve sobriety is allowed, members must stay respectful of one another, and no 'drunkalogues' (long-winded talk of past drug or alcohol use). Despite the secular nature of LifeRing a 2013 membership survey showed that just over a quarter of members attend some form of church or other place of worship, a drop from 40% in 2005. LifeRing's approach has been described as "a homespun, rather than an academic, product" which comes within the discipline of cognitive behavioral therapy. It is influenced by psychologists such as Carl Rogers and Albert Bandura, and has been compared to William Glasser's choice theory which is based on the idea that past relationships are influential on behavior and addictive behaviors are symptomatic of unconscious psychological needs, and Marsha M. Linehan's dialectical behavior therapy which focuses on learning the triggers to certain types of destructive behavior. Meetings and support groups LifeRing has more than 200 weekly in-person meetings in the U.S (most meetings are currently not meeting because of the pandemic) and some 75 weekly online meetings. LifeRing also have in-person meetings in Canada, Denmark, Ireland, Sweden, Poland and the United Kingdom. Family members and friends of LifeRing members can attend meetings provided they are clean and sober at the time of the meeting. There is no requirement to call oneself an addict or an alcoholic during meetings.- Meetings