Aa Meeting Reaction Paper

The group prayed after reviewing the guidelines. Then, a participant of the group proceeded to read the “how it works” from the AA book. Afterwards, another member read the 12 traditions. Two participants shared their experience with Alcoholism while others provided reflections and support. The facilitator informed me that each meeting two participants share. After the two participants shared, the AA meeting ended with another prayer. This paper will talk about my observations and reactions attending the AA meeting, and how attending the meeting will inform my future work as a clinician. The purpose of this paper is to present my personal experience of an AA meeting, and how I plan to grow as a therapist from that

I noticed that the participants did not look like what I perceived someone who was suffering from alcohol dependence would look like. They looked like productive law-abiding citizens. I am embarrassed to say that it never occurred to me that these individuals could live positive lives while battling alcoholism. I assumed that they would be dysfunctional and incapable to participate in the meeting. Instead many of them looked healthy and were eager to engage in the group discussion.

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Al-Anon groups have helped a lot of people become sober, and to deal with an alcoholic family member. It takes a lot for a person to first admit to having a drinking problem, and then share their experiences with a room full of people. If they want help, that is what they have to do. Research on two AA meetings provided a lot of knowledge and understanding.

As a mentioned before I came away from the AA meeting with a feeling, of great sadness and warmth. I felt welcomed and excepted, but at the same time I still cannot

Lastly, the chairperson recounted her own personal story with addiction. I was surprised how the group handled her story in a positive way. I noticed at times members laughed and even smiled and others making brief supporting comments. Rather than judge the events of her life, the group members seemed to connect in a personal way. I liked how the meeting was honest and open. Afterwards different members of the meeting read brief AA literature, "How it Works," the "Twelve Traditions" and "The Promises." I listened to each of them very closely

For this assignment, I observed an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting held at The Meeting Place on Wednesday, September 28, 2016. There were 15 members in attendance, 12 men and 3 women not counting myself. The group leaders were both women and sat at the front of the room. For confidentiality of the group member names will not be included. The meeting began with the group leaders reminding the attendees of the rules of AA and the process of the meeting. Several of the attendees read the declaration of AA and the documents associated with the meeting structure. After the introduction, several of the members gave their testimony regarding their own experience with drinking. Following the short declarations, a passage of the big book was

One Thursday night, I ventured out to into the warm early autumn night. I headed to a local hospital, where I knew there was Al-Anon meetings held once every two weeks. I believed that this would be a prime opportunity to witness a self-help group that was geared towards helping the relatives and loved ones of addicts deal with the terror of living with, or without, the addict in question. Addiction is a disease which impacts so many more lives than just the addict themselves. Al-Anon meetings are meant to help support the efforts of those loved ones as they face very different issues associated with addiction.

The Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, otherwise simply known as the “Golden Key Group AA meeting,” that I attended was held on Saturday, November 8th, in Whittier, California, at the Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran church. To be more exact, it was held in a classroom located at the back of the church property, far from the twinkling, multicolored lights of the chapel in the front. The classroom was overfilled, with many people standing outside, leaning their heads in to listen. Chairs were offered to women and those who were ill, and one woman cradled her infant daughter, walking back and forth down the external hall.

I want to attend the SNMA Conference to learn about and discuss any improvements in medical education as well as learn how physician advocacy plays a role in health care and if there are any initiatives/programs to better improve patient career. I should attend the conference because I'm considering a 5-year MD/MPH track, so this conference would be an eye opener and my first introduction into the public health sector.

Over all, The meeting was well structured because there were members from others AA groups that attended to. The meeting I attended was conducted by the group " Unidad y Armornia" and others two invited groups that joined it such as, Volver a vivir and buscando la verdad. I liked the fact that all the invited groups had enough time to share their experiences with each other.This occurred because they were considerate to each other and managed properly their own talk-timing.So, all people from different groups had the time to be heard. Moreover, the meeting was conducted in Spanish and all the members were from Latinos backgrounds, especially Dominicans and Mexicans.

The session was an open discussion meeting on a Saturday morning at 8 am. It was astonishing to see the high turnout for the early morning group. The common trend mentioned by the members was that they wanted to come early Saturday to set the tone for the rest of the weekend. It was the day of the Michigan State University versus Notre Dame Football game and many mentioned that their friends and families were having get-togethers where alcohol would be present. It seemed like an anticipated difficult day for many but they wanted that clarity of AA thoughts to be present with them throughout the day and weekend.

When we met the other group, it felt like looking at myself several years ago. I could see the fear and sadness, which I totally understand. There was a distinct juxtaposition between how our group views the disease and how the other group does. They will get to our place in their own time – PsA-B

I sat back down and everyone turned towards the front where Rodney, the man who first introduced himself had volunteered to open the time of discussion by sharing his own testimony. It appeared as if he had shared it millions of times. The group nodded and affirmed him. Rodney, then, left the discussion open for a topic. A young woman in her 40’s broke the silence by speaking about the powerlessness of alcoholism. After that, everyone spoke. There was no fear! Some had been sobering for over 30 years, others, for 30 days others for not even that long. The group was diverse, but their stories were so similar that it sounded like it came from a textbook. One spoke about how everyday he would promise to stop and everyday like it for 10 years.

I gained awareness personally because I realized just how potent can be not only to an individual person struggling with the addiction, but the person who they are close with. There is a stigma attached to alcoholics anonymous that these people are weak, or they are to be blamed for the situation they are in. The speakers were eye opening with their stories to show how the drinking starts as just something they do socially with friends or because they are adults. The

As a part of our class assignment we were presented with the idea of attending an A.A. and an Alanon meeting. After attending these meetings, I found that they were more interesting than I could have imagined. I am not quite sure what I expected, but the environment held a serene spirit that I normally encounter at church. I attributed this fact, to the point that the name of God was called on often and the people were singing his praises. Observing and listening to how people referenced or acknowledged his presence helped them to refrain from drinking was just awesome. In this paper, I will describe the environment where the meeting took place, how the meeting was brought to order and its format, and the insight it provided me being a future counselor who will have to make referrals.