This pretreatment program operates as a therapeutic community, providing the opportunity for chemically dependent inmates to start their lives over by providing access to inpatient AOD treatment. This program allows the inmates to obtain a new point of reference while preparing for their transition to AOD treatment. This unit is for inmates who require the support of a positive intense therapeutic environment, where the process of recovery can occur without distraction. The goal of the program is to reduce the rate of relapse, reunite inmates with their families, re-integrate inmates into society and their communities. There were group sessions and individual therapy group sessions which were led by experienced counselors. When I arrived …show more content…
Lucky for him, he soon accepted that he is an addict and during the time he tried to withdraw, he was getting very sick and had to be housed on the medical floor. The good thing about rehabs and support group is the fact that they offer counseling and therapy sessions.
There were group sessions and individual therapy group sessions, which were led by experienced counselors. The group has shown an enormous success in helping alcoholics and drug addict maintain sobriety. They had stories about inmates that were once in the program that got out of jail and now working a good job and also have his family back. Also, the member whom had been there for weeks is doing well in their profound adjustments. Intoxication was and still is their status quo as it is normal for them to experience depression and uncertainty in their early stages of recovery but with time, that feeling goes away. Also for the leader, its proof that these sessions are appropriate enough for those who are aspiring to move out of the jail to a regular life. The groups also aim at building self-confidence and encourage the recovering alcoholic and drug addicts to embrace a fulfilling life without alcohol and drugs.
Group Dynamics and Participants
As for the meetings I had attended, members were on the same stage as others, a stage where the victim requires a lifelong commitment to change their lifestyle and maintain their abstinence. For the early abstinence stage, the person has
The members in the group were very inviting and open with their mission. The programs presentation was very interesting and helpful to each person in attendant. Although the meeting lasted one hour and thirty minutes it seems to help each individual deal with their addiction at little better. The leader of the meeting was Kathy; the meeting had about 15 attendants. The members where very active in following the guidelines and standards of the meeting, these guidelines and standards help the members accept their addictions and the process of healing. The 12 steps to recovery and sobriety include honesty, faith, surrender, soul searching, integrity, acceptance, humility, willingness, forgiveness, maintenance, making contact and service. These steps are a part of the healing and recovery process with any addiction behavior. Honesty, integrity and faith are three of the most important factor in the 12 step program. When a person has an addiction it requires them to truly assess where they are with the addition and to seek a higher power for strength (Medical News Today,
I chose to visit an Alcoholics Anonymous group for my Understanding Group Dynamics project. I went on March 20th 2016, to an open discussion group titled Pass it On Group for Beginners that are Living Sober. It was held at the First Congregational Church at 14 Brookside Road in Darien, CT 06854 at 6:15 p.m.. I chose to go to this group as I felt it was a group that I could most strongly connect to, as I am a recovering alcoholic. I have been cold turkey for two years now. I choose to live a sober life as the hangovers, pain that myself and loved ones endured and the constant need to escape from reality was taking over my existence. Going to this group reminded me that I am not alone in this journey of recovery and in the journey of figuring out how to live life sober with my friends, family and strangers drinking around me. The group was friendly and one that when you first enter, they make sure that you are there for the right reasons as confidentiality is important. Then right after, they welcome you with open arms and if you choose to just sit and listen that is fine, but I am a vocal person and I spoke and applauded. I am glad that we got to do this assignment, for I think without I would have never gone to an AA group meeting. I would have kept on my journey by myself and just praying when times got hard, now I have people I can reach out to.
Attended all treatment group as scheduled and actively participated in the group discussion and provided supportive feedback to others group members. Client is in compliance with treatment and all his legal mandates, and appears to be in the action stage of change. Overall, client is making steady progress in treatment.
The members found tremendous strength in the group. I could feel the importance of the community, the no-judgment zone, and sharing their story with peers. The meeting promoted empathy and allowed people to feel supported and understood in their struggle with alcoholism. More importantly, the meetings show them that they are not alone. They could talk about their actions under the influence to others that truly understood
The purpose of this research paper was to attend two support group meetings and share my experiences. The meetings that were to be attended were an Alcoholics Anonymous
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
At the beginning of my training, I was hesitant to work with people struggling with addiction. However, at this point, I am excited to begin working with this population. The raw honesty presented in the group setting along with the anger at the possibility of losing a safe place created a dynamic I wanted to further explore. Research supports that individuals attending group therapy in a 12 step program format succeed if they have the proper support and motivation (Cite). The group dynamic demonstrated that recovery takes time and self-discovery, similar to other situations dealt with in therapy. Subsequently, by using my sense of self and humor with clients struggling with addiction, I can help them in their journey. Furthermore, the client needs to identify accountability at their own pace in the process and not when others dictate. This knowledge and the personalization of addiction will aid me in the future support of my
There are several different kinds of psychoeducational groups for addictions: Alcoholics Anonymous, Smart Recovery, Nar-Anon, and so many more. Although those these groups may focus on different types of addiction one thing they all had in common to decide how the group was to be formed. Each one group has their own unique why on how it is ran, but according to to Hepworth, Rooney, Dewberry-Rooney, and Strom-Gottfried success of a group rests largely on the thoughtful creation
The participant is a 49 year old African American male who began using substances at the age of 13. He was diagnosed with severe alcohol, cocaine, and opioid use. The participant has been incarcerated over the past 32 years. He was recently paroled after completing eight years of a sixteen year sentence in the Illinois Department of Corrections for burglary and theft. The participant is on medications to treat HIV/AIDS and has been diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder. He was referred to Healthcare Alternative Systems residential program through TASC as a condition of his probation.
The participants were looking for help, which it created some confusing thoughts; I thought AA meetings were mandatory for all participants. It also made me realize with all the brief stories how alcohol is an enormous concern in our society, however our society has normalized those concern and convert the negative impact of alcohol into something positive. It drive me to think that 12 steps program work, and it should be part of a treatment. After, the meetings that I attended; I feel the 12-step program will work if professionals in the Human Services area introduce the program on a positive manner. It may be challenging because of the religious portion for some cases, however this may introduce the participant’s new ways to cope with the struggle of alcoholism. At the same time, the main benefits for the client will be abstinence and support. The abstinence is a continuous process and through the meetings clients will be able to keep the abstinence from alcohol or other drugs. Conclusively, there was an environment of hope in the meeting. During, the meeting one of the participants was a new member. He described how alcohol destroyed his family and he is trying to get his family back, however his wife does not want to come back with him and a divorce petition was completed. This particular participant found in the 12 step meeting comfort and support from his peers. Besides, the comfort the participant
Deborah F. is a 53-year-old female who had been admitted to the Chemical Dependency Rehabilitation Program at Sharp Mesa Vista for the treatment of alcohol dependence and pain disorder. Her history includes several disorders that are a cause of her pain including lupus, fibromyalgia, spinal arthritis, interstitial cystitis, shoulder pain, and multiple foot surgeries. According to her chart, she had been drinking two bottles of wine daily for almost two weeks in attempt to forget about her increasing pain. She is currently on voluntary detoxification and is considered a high fall risk. Her plan of care includes a series of medications that are prescribed for her pain and medical problems. Along with her treatment, Sharp Mesa Vista Hospital implements a treatment plan for all patients in the CDRP, which is referred to the 12-step treatment. One of the main activities that are included in this treatment is regular participation at group meetings that are conducted each day. The concern with Deborah is that she has been continuously refusing to attend the groups during her three-day stay at the hospital. She believed that attendance would not help her with her drinking issues and believed that even groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous would not benefit her. Based on the nurses ' report, it seems that she will not be discharged in the near future. One way that she will be able to progress in her recovery
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.
The meeting started out with an introduction of everyone who was present. They stated their names and said they were alcoholics and how long they had been sober. They continued to go over old business, and then proceeded to read from the Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book, the Third Step Prayer. The prayer was about releasing one’s self of their bondage.
Since 2006, he has been clean and uses his story to encourage others with their own addictions. The