Alcoholics Anonymous Report

We began the meeting by introducing those who are new to AA or those who were visiting from a different group. If a person did not want to introduce themselves, they were not made to do so. The meetings were very calm and were conducted in an orderly fashion. In a support group, the leader should create a safe environment where members can share (Jacobs et al., 2012 p. 43). I felt very comfortable being there and even though I was there as an observer, the group leader always encouraged me to ask questions or comments. Regardless of the topics that were discussed, no one was judgmental. I believe the positive energy I felt while in the group was because everyone truly cared about each other’s sobriety.

For the support group observation assignment, I attended the Gateway Group’s Alcoholic Anonymous (A.A.) meeting. The Gateway Group is part of a larger organization called the Tri-County Intergroup Association of Alcoholics Anonymous. The Tri-County Intergroup serves A.A. members in Franklin, Wake, and Warren Counties and is broken down into 113 separate groups. As the preamble states, the purpose of all A.A. group meetings are for A.A. members to share their experience strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism. There are no dues or fees for being an A.A. member, and the only requirement for membership is to have a desire to stop drinking ().

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

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is the largest and most commonly known self-help group in the world. Since the creation of AA in 1935, there have been many programs modeled after it, which are also based on the 12-Step Program. Some of these include Narcotics Anonymous (NA) and Chemically Dependent Anonymous, as well as programs for specific drugs, such as Cocaine Anonymous (CA) and Crystal Meth Anonymous (NIDA, 2012). Attendance and participation for self-help groups are open for anyone to attend and free of cost for all members, with meetings typically held in locations such as churches and public buildings. “Metropolitan areas usually have specialized groups, based on such member characteristics as gender, length of time in recovery,

I attended an AA meeting held at the St. Stephens Catholic Church in El Paso, Texas. I was a little apprehensive at first because I have never attended a meeting such as this and didn’t know what to expect. I wasn’t sure where to go, so I went to the office to ask for directions. The woman sitting at the desk walked me over to the meeting room where I was greeted by an older gentleman. He welcomed me in and offered me some coffee and a snack, as I walked in I noticed that there were three other older gentlemen sitting at a table talking. I began to feel uncomfortable and wondered if there would be any women attending the group. I was invited to sit down and was handed a small book, which looked like a bible, and a coin. The man explained that the book of Alcoholics Anonymous which is commonly known as the “Big Book” provides information about Alcoholics Anonymous, how it works, the story of how it came into being, information about alcoholism, a listing of phone numbers to groups in other states and

My first experience at an alcoholics anonymous meeting was very interesting and in a way uplifting. At All Saints Lutheran Church the home group called “The Young People’s Group” there were people who had come from all walks of life. The group meeting that I thought would have been rather small slowly became larger and larger over the course of the night. I was unaware that the AA meetings had been setup with a set of codes or rules for those who struggle every day to fight this addiction. They allowed people who were new or if it was their first meeting to introduce themselves and tell their story to the fight of addiction related to alcohol. I was really impressed with the fact that the AA groups have an awards system for reaching

My grandfather was an alcoholic. He drank from the moment he rose out of bed until he passed out in the evening. He battled with this disease for many years. Drinking alcohol was like breathing air, it was his daily routine until the day he passed away.. Alcoholism took his life at the age of 65. I loved my grandfather; he was a very caring and loving man. In fact, at one point he was an electrical engineer, he lost his job when alcohol took command of his every waking moment. I chose to attend an Alcoholic Anonymous (AA) meeting, because I wanted to gain an understanding of the program, in hopes to increase my understanding of the struggles my grandfather went through. This would be my first AA meeting. This particular AA group is called, The Spring Forest Recovery Group, they meet every Sunday at 7:00 pm. It is located at 4015 Spring Forest Road, Raleigh, North Carolina. Every 1st, 3rd and 5th Sundays they have their speaker meeting. Every 2nd & 4th Sunday they have their big book study. This past Sunday was their big book study. Everyone had his or her blue books, titled Alcoholics Anonymous. I walked in sat down and listened carefully as the 12-steps to recovery were being read out loud. The room was still except for the words that bounced and echoed throughout the room. The room is set cafeteria style, 8-foot tables and white chairs filled the room with rows of 4. Group is a mix of multicultural members, with a common problem or

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

A woman led the group for her first time. Next to her sat the secretary who helped her out. She read some rules about the group and asked if there were new members. I raised my hand and explained that I was a MFT student and that I had come to observe the meeting. Everyone welcomed me and were very friendly and supportive. Others introduced themselves and several were from out of town. Baskets were passed around for those who wanted to donate. In the rules, it states that there were no dues or fees for AA membership, but that each AA group was self-supporting through their own contributions. Most people donated in a dollar or two.

group was that AA has one purpose. That purpose is to help alcoholics deal with

AA meetings are something I am all to familiar with. My dad has a drinking problem and all my life it’s been something thats affected not only himself but our family. Nine months ago I would have never thought I would ever be sitting in a one of these meetings because I knew I would never allow alcohol to take my life in the direction it took my fathers. When my dad hit rock bottom I was able to get him the help he has needed the majority of his life, he finally checked himself into rehab. This was huge, this was the first step in the right direction and I would do my best to be there for him every step of the way. He had to attend meetings throughout the week and I did my best to attend all the ones I could. Before the first meeting I attended I was a little nervous even knowing I was not going to have to say or do anything. I thought they’d

Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in 1935 in Akron Ohio by Dr.Bob and Bill. They created this organization because they were alcoholics trying to get over their addiction at the time, they wanted to expand this group to help out even more people. How this organization started to take off and expand farther than Akron Ohio is, the two men Dr.Bob and Bill went to the hospital in Akron Ohio to help the alcoholics in the hospital. This man that they helped in the hospital helped the two men start the first AA group, later on the idea spread to New York which started the second group, a third group started in Cleveland, within these three “founding” groups it took over four years to produce 100 sober people out of the three groups together.

Initially when I had arrived, I was the first person to walk in, so I had some time to talk to the person in charge. At the beginning of the meeting I got a chance to speak with the wife of a guest speaker and she explained to me how the meeting was going to go. They first read two chapters from a book that was used in this program and everyone was required to have. Then, they had their guess speaker talk about their experience and how it was for him to go through the process which kept him sober for 30 years. After he was done talking, for the rest of the hour people were called on to come up and share their story. However they were asked to share a small part of their story so everyone could get a chance to talk a little and have the opportunity to feel heard. It was interesting how every story was the so different yet everyone could connect to one another.

Robert Holbrook and Bill Wilson (Kelch, 2014). The concepts behind the group’s inception are that alcoholics can assist one another based on their problematic experiences with alcohol and their ensuing recovery. Kelch (2014) described the formation of AA as “being founded on the principle that only someone with the combined experience of alcoholism could assist another alcoholic in the recovery process” (p. 223). Additionally, attending meetings helps individuals built social support systems that are unable to be attained through professional treatment. These social support systems are key in making an individual feel comfortable. Many times they result in “friendship, emotional support, experiential knowledge, identity, meaningful roles, and a sense of belonging” (Kelch, 2014, p. 223). A primary reason why AA continues to be a popular choice of support for individual seeking recovery from substance abuse is because of these benefits. According to Schmidt, Carns, and Chandler (2001), from the time that AA has been created, it has remained one of the most utilized self-help support groups for individuals with substance abuse problems. Nevertheless, there is ongoing researching surrounding the AA and other self-help groups to determine their

The meeting began with a prayer and a reading of the twelve steps, which I did, and preceded into a 25-minute meditation session. Following the meditation session, the floor was opened up for persons to reflect on their meditation. It was quiet for sometime, but eventually persons began to talk. Each person that spoke introduced himself or herself as, “Hi I am XXXX and I am an alcoholic” in which the rest of us responded with a hello. The discussion each person brought to the circle often revolved around what they had been experiencing in the last week, and ended with a positive-spin that reflected back on their journey with sobriety. One gentleman talked about his spring break on Orca Island with his kids, another discussed a speaker he was arranging to have visit Spokane, and another woman talked about an “essay reading party” she went to in which wine was being drank by the majority of participants. The meeting ended with the serenity prayer, something the girls at Daybreak say before lunch, and simple discussion between some of the participants. During this time I talked with the woman who had told me where to find the AA meeting. She talked with me about the need to find the proper AA meeting for myself, encouraging me to explore multiple