1. Write a descriptive paragraph of the physical environment, describe the room, number of people attending, ages, gender, ethnicity, etc.
The Alcoholic Anonymous meeting I attended was organized by East Valley Intergroup of Alcoholics Anonymous, at Montessa Meeting Hall in Gold Canyon, Arizona. This meeting occurred at 1000 on a Wednesday morning. The room, where the meeting occurred, consisted of a business meeting atmosphere, with wooden walls, lack of windows, 12 metal chairs in a circular construction, with an informal dress code. Twelve individuals attended the group – 8 members, 2 family members, the leader of the group, and myself. Of the twelve individuals, seven were males and five were females. The individuals in the group appeared
…show more content…
I introduced myself to the leader, asked him about his role as the leader of the meeting, helped place the chairs in the room, and selected a chair to sit in. I did not want to cause a distraction or mess up the flow of the AA meeting. As the meeting began, I introduced myself to the members of the group and stated my purpose for being at the AA meeting. When questioned about my role, I stated that I am a nursing student who wanted to experience an AA meeting, to learn more about addiction and how it impacts individuals lives, and what role I can do, as a nurse, to provide care for a current and/or recovering alcoholic. This response sparked an interest in many of the members, as they began to ask about my schooling. I answered questions, such as where I want to school, what I liked about the program, and how I viewed those with addiction. I kept it short and sweet, as I did not want to take too much time out of the meeting to discuss myself. As the topic of discussion moved from my schooling to the meeting, I quietly observed and actively listened to the various stories and advice. After the meeting finished, I thanked both the leader and the members for sharing their personal stories with me and allowing me the opportunity to witness an AA
I did not wish to interrupt the natural flow of the meeting with my presence. However, that is exactly what occurred highlighting to me a duality in why AA can be both helpful and harmful depending ton the individual. One member spoke during the open testimony about his desire to only attend meetings with people that have 20 plus years of sobriety because he finds a newcomer to be distrustful to his experience in the group. During his five-minute monologue, it became clear to myself and other group members that he did not appreciate me observing his meeting. As other members spoke after him, he became increasingly agitated in his movements. When the group paused to collect the donations, he left the meeting and did not return. That experience highlighted the negative aspects of AA because the open honesty could be damaging or discouraging to newcomers. I tried to imagine myself a newcomer to AA, seeking treatment for something that I may not fully understand myself. After hearing his dismissal of newcomers and everyone under 20 years sobriety that feeling of “otherness” in a newcomer could push them to not return. Therefore eliminating the AA support for
1. Complete the table below listing at least two different types of meetings and describing the main features of each type of meeting.
I went to a traditional 12 step AA meeting. It was a long timers group, which had individuals who have been attending AA for a while now and those who have been sober for at least 10 years or more. It was at Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church, located in Johnstown, Pa. The meeting was from 7:30pm to 8:30pm. They started off the meeting by reading the preamble. The preamble, which was found and quoted from the District 41- Alcoholics Anonymous, Johnstown, Pa website (2015), “Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. There are no dues or fees for AA membership; we are self-supporting through our own contributions. AA is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy; neither endorses nor opposes any causes. Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety.” After the preamble they had one of the attendees of the group read the 12 steps.
The meeting began as one man named Rodney read about the purpose of the AA. Hi, my name is Rodney and I am an alcoholic. “Hi Rodney”, everyone replied; this seemed to be the standard introduction for each AA meeting. Others introduced themselves in the same manner while others patiently waited or were fiddling with things in front of them since we had already been asked to remove our phones. One young man, in particular introduced himself explaining that it was his first time with the group and the group responded happily and many got up to hug him to thank him for taking the first step to being sober. I then took the opportunity for me to explain this was my first time attending this meeting also but it was due to me needing to observe for
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
So I attended the AA (alcoholic anonymous) meeting of a group called Choices Group from the KCB club on November 13th, 2015 at 2:30 PM. This AA meeting was held at the location of 5715 W. Alexander Rd.//Leon Ave. Although they meet everyday, this was the best day for my schedule. What I liked is that right away, I got in touch with the meeting organizer named Laura and she was more then willing to let me sit in in one of the meetings. Even over the phone I could feel that she was a nice person and when I met her I was not wrong. She has purple hair and such a bubbly personality. For starters, I always thought everyone would sit around in a circle but that was not the case in this meeting. There were tables where people can sit as well as some back chairs with no tables. When I arrived, Laura told me to sit in the back and when we go over people’s names to say that I was a visitor, that unfortunately never happened. It was around 2:27 PM and there was roughly 10 people there. As it got closer to 2:30 PM a bus showed up and that is when the rest of the people showed up. Roughly 45 people were there and the meeting started.
Research Question: What is the efficacy of medication-assisted treatment utilized with adults diagnosed with opiate use disorder?
Position: Everyone sat at the table but a few of the member chose to sit in the seats back against the wall.
Attending a local Alcoholics Anonymous meeting was a humbling and informative experience. To be completely honest, I had no idea what to expect going into the meeting. Right before I walked in, I felt somewhat uncomfortable and embarrassed. I felt as if I was intruding on someone’s personal life with my presence, even though I knew I was welcomed since the meeting was listed as “open”. Alcohol abuse is a very sensitive topic to me, as someone quite close to me is an alcoholic: my Uncle. I know that he is a recovering alcoholic, but I never quite know what is going on with him because I don’t ask questions and he never shares what he is feeling with me. When I was younger, I remember that he was always the life of my family parties, but I know now it was because he was drunk. When I see him now, he isn’t as energetic as he used to be and often avoids situations where alcohol is involved. Although my Uncle did not personally tell me, my father has shared with me that he attends AA meetings at a church in my hometown. I never understood what AA meetings really entail and didn’t grasp how they helped alcoholics recover. Attending this local AA meeting helped shed light on what my Uncle feels, and I am more understanding to his addiction. I am thankful for this assignment because I know that my Uncle is not alone; the AA community is so supportive and the members all have the best intentions of getting
Self- help groups or support groups, are groups of people who provide mutual support for each other. In a self-help group, the members share a common problem, often a common disease or addiction. Their mutual goal is to help each other to deal with, if possible to heal or to recover from, this problem. In the reading, it talked about how the Alcohol Anonymous group help a man deal with his issues. This man use to be a drunk and that was because he felt lonely and many other things. This man seeks help from the AA group because the feeling of loneness has come upon him again. His wife was put into the nursing home after getting an operation. These people were very helpful, kind, and supportive of this man. I believe that when you have people
Each person said their first name. The chair of the meeting read the guidelines for the meeting. Individuals were welcome to share their experience. The open topic for the first half of the meetings focused on how Al-Anon has helped the individual in their daily lives. One person shared that they have implemented the Serenity Prayer and teaching from Al-Anon into their work lives as well as to relationships with family and friends. Another person shared that they have learned how to set boundaries and adhere to them. Learning how to make sure that they held themselves responsible if they allowed someone to cross the boundary. As with Narcotics Anonymous, Al-Anon also has a Twelve Step structure and several people commented on the steps that they are currently on and what the steps have meant to them. No problems or issues were discussed. Individuals talked about how they are connecting with themselves, not trying to change or control the person/persons in their lives who have the addiction. The comments made were ones of encouragement. At several times in the meeting a sponsor sign in sheet was passed around. At a half way point in the meeting, new comers were invited to go to another room to meet with a member to get additional information and ask any questions that they may have. In the second half of the meeting, the group was encouraged to share whatever they wanted to talk about. One person spoke about the guilt they felt when they decided to end their marriage from the spouse with the addiction. How their child at the time blamed them for the break-up and how it took almost three years for that adult child to even communicate with them. Others talked about being lost, and having feelings of misery and hopelessness. They could not “fix” the person with the
There are millions of people who have and who are suffering from alcoholism. For those seeking help with their addiction, Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) may be the right for them. While this program is not promised to be a cure, and the authors of this program does not promise full recovery, it provides an atmosphere where members can be honest about their dependency on alcohol. Furthermore, AA provides support from other alcoholics, and rewards for meeting certain sobriety anniversary dates. This paper explores the history and major developments of AA. Furthermore, this paper explains the structure of meetings, and the roles the leader and members play during meetings. This paper also touches on AA’s definition of success and how it handles members who relapse. Additionally, this paper explains this student’s experiences of two AA meetings she attended, which include what she learned from attending the meetings, and what she learned from the people she met at the meetings.
The objective of this study is to write a reaction on a 12-step meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous with the focus of the meeting being attitude modification. The meeting attended was the Stairway Group meeting in Decatur, Alabama. The members who attended this group meeting were of all ages, of both the female and male gender and were white, black, and Hispanic individuals. The majority of the attendees were males.
Self-help groups are formed by a group of individuals who share a common issue or are in a similar situation. Self-help groups are voluntary. A self-help group is not a therapy group. Self-help groups do not always have a professional leading the group and there is no charge involved. Self-help groups are a great source of emotional support. Self-help groups are used for the purpose of offering support, gathering information, and combining resources. Self-help groups generally work as a stepping stone towards attending professional treatment.
Today, one out of every thirteen adults abuse alcohol or are alcoholics. That means nearly thirteen million Americans have a drinking problem. (www.niaaa.nih.gov) This topic offers a broad range of ideas to be researched within the psychological field. For this particular project, the topic of alcoholism and the psychological effects on people best fit the criteria. Alcoholism is defined as a disorder characterized by the excessive consumption of and dependence on alcoholic beverages, leading to physical and psychological harm and impaired social and vocational functioning. (www.dictionary.com) Through this project, the most important information regarding personal experiences