Community Experience At An Alcoholics Anonymous ( Aa )

I decided to attend a meeting based first (and almost solely) on convenience of the location. So I decided to attend a meeting right here in Batavia. The “Batavia 12 & 12” at the Holy Trinity Church down on 6th & Wood St. They hold meeting on Mondays around 11:00am. The main focus is to follow the 12 steps in order and work on them in a more traditional fashion. They do have the big book, but follow it more in a step by step focus. However karma decided to rear its head and make it a Closed Meeting, meaning that it is not as open to the public to sit on and they only allow members who are coming with a problem related to alcohol. So at first I was turned away but, I was lucky enough to know a person

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.

5. Corrective recapitulation of primary family group - experiencing transference relationships growing out of primary family experiences providing the opportunity to relearn and clarify distortions. Members learned that they could resolve issues from the past

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.

1.4 Explain why it is important to be clear about the purpose and desired outcomes for the group

In 1935, a fellowship by the name of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) originated as an effort to develop a method for understanding the complexities of and recovering from alcohol abuse and addiction (Clinton & Scalise, 2013; Hester &Miller, 2003). AA is a non-professional spiritual organization of men and women who gather to share their experiences with alcohol abuse/addiction, to convey hope and strength to overcome alcohol dependence, and help others in the recovery process (Clinton & Scalise, 2013).

I have never experienced what it would be like to be a part of an AA meeting. The only time I have had seen or heard someone mention meetings for alcoholics has been TV shows and movies, which would portray these meeting as a circle of strangers just deliberating stories of their life and how this disease has changed them forever. Therefore, I had no idea what to expect. I felt intimidated and had a sense of nervousness, so I decided I would not go alone and brought a friend. My expectation upon entering this meeting was to see beat up people with bad hygiene and a homeless appearance. As a matter of fact, the expectations I had upon walking towards this place was that I was going to get hit on and even get kidnapped. As crazy as it

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

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,

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

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

Attending the AA meeting as a non-member, was a learning experience. I was able to learn the group purpose and goals. For example the group’s purpose was to, help maintain group member’s sobriety and helping other alcoholics achieve recovery. Also the purpose of AA is to serve as a resource to other alcoholics, promote additional knowledge, and provide further services to the alcoholics. Some goals of the group were, monitor their drinking, completely remove alcohol out of their life, support system, and the members also stated how the group is changing them for the better.

From these meetings there are two categories opened and closed. Closed meetings are for alcoholics only while open meetings are for alcoholics and anyone else who would like to join them. Their family or friends who want to be there for support or maybe random guest who want to see what a meeting is like before they recommend it to someone who needs it. The basic format for the meetings would be a speaker meeting, which focuses on sharing, a discussion meeting which is more interactive than the first and a step meeting where obviously discusses one of the steps.

Addiction has become a common affliction. As cliche as it sounds, nothing is further from the truth, alcohol alone is responsible for approximately 1.8 million deaths a year worldwide, which computes to around 3.2% of deaths worldwide. Its estimated that over 76 million people are affected by alcohol use disorders. People abuse it because society looks at alcohol as a normal part of life, in fact it is commonly promoted. Alcohol can impart someone with confidence and happiness or it can spiral them into complete depression and depravity, and all thats needed is a 10 minute drive to the local supermarket to buy whatever appeals to us. The number of alcoholics has risen drastically over the decades. In the 1970's America started to

Conducting a focus group interview requires a small team, with at least a facilitator to guide the discussion and a rapport. The