A sponsor is not a social worker, doctor, nurse, or marriage counselor. A sponsor is simply an Al-Anon member who is practicing the program. It is not professional training that enables a sponsor to give help, it is personal experience. Remember, a sponsor was once a newcomer too. A good sponsor does everything possible to work the Twelfth Step, carrying the message and practicing the Al-Anon principles in all aspects of their relationships with the people they sponsor.
Sponsors show by personal example how the program can lead to serenity.
Sponsors do not give advice. In Al-Anon, the focus is for each of us to find our own answers. Sponsors merely guide us in knowing how to find those answers. Sponsors share what Al-Anon has done to improve their life. Sponsors encourage the newcomer to attend a variety of meetings - and to keep an open mind.