Next the client discusses the environment of the session and the community it serves. “I prefer to go to closed meetings because you begin to feel more like a family. Anyone can go to an open meeting and talk about whatever they choose, but you may not feel as much of a connection or bond. In a closed session, it is more empathetic and a person HAS to admit and identify themselves as an alcoholic. In these sessions, you can understand their feelings and experiences. Most of the sessions I attend, the group is typically the same people and it is a smaller group. You begin to become friends, a support system that you can rely on. I like that it feels more
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
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
I chose to attend the Alcoholic Anonymous meeting at Holy Trinity Orthodox Church on the north side of Chicago. I chose to visit a church because I wanted to see if there was a religious aspect thrown into the session. The name of the session was called Big Book Stop Study. This session occurs every Monday at 7:00pm, as an open meeting. The meeting lasted for an hour. The session was led by three members, Kyle, Tamara, and Melissa. There was fourteen participants within the group. I was very apprehensive about attending a meeting because I didn’t want to be seen as an alcoholic. For that very reason, I understand how hard it may be for some to admit to their alcoholism, due to the negative connotation that comes with the name. To some, that may seem like a short span of time. However, upon visiting this particular session I saw progression in each participant. I was very pleased with what I witnessed as a visitor.
When I walked into the meeting, I was a little apprehensive. It was only a small group of about ten people, which was held at a local hospital. Knowing that I had to explain I was there to observe as a student studying social work, I was worried that the participants would hold back from their real behaviors in the group and that they would be cold to me. However, that assumption could not have been farther from the truth. All my apprehension flew out the window, as the members of the small group all welcomed me with open arms. Apparently, these were regulars. Most in the group attended every meeting, and continued to use the support of the group to deal with the continuous chaos and trauma of living with an addict. I was welcomed to sit and observe the behavior of the individual members of the group express their grief, fear, and
The AA recovery meeting I attended was at Club Soda. The meeting was open to any who wanted to join, male or female, and provided general discussion as well as discussions and readings about the big book and 12-steps. The members of the group began the meeting by turning in their log sheets for the group chairperson. The chairperson selected another member to help facilitate the meeting and they both introduced themselves as alcoholics and the chairperson discussed the rules of the group. One of the rules stated was that those who had consumed alcohol in the last 24 hours were asked to only listen during the meeting.
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
AA has no specific leader, it is ran by a peer who is also an alcoholic just like everyone else in the room. The “leader” at the beginning read the steps to opening the meeting and opening the floor for discussion. Other than that, everyone in the room was very involved, for example, peers read certain things such as the 12 steps, how AA works and they all prayed together. Before the floor opened for discussion they read a story on step 4 of the 12 steps and everyone basically based their stories off their 4-step experience. I thought it would be expected that all the attendees would give their full attention to those talking, but I experienced differently. Although, no one was on their phones, there was side talks and one attendee was coloring during the meeting. Attendees job is to not judge others since they have all typically been in the same situation even if they got to AA differently. I did not hear anything about relapses, but at the end of the meeting they did this chip thing where they called out certain days sober and for those who got a chip for a day or wanting to quit drinking everyone clapped and they hugged one another. I believe, this is a sign of support and they want to be there for one another and help those “newcomers” reach sobriety like they did. To close the meeting they all stood up, held hands a did a prayer together, because God is above them all and help them through
Alcoholics Anonymous is one of the most widely known and used 12 step groups, it was found in 1935 by two men who wanted to share and support those who wanted to become sober. Currently I am in California so I had to search for a meeting here and I was able to find a 12 step meeting at a local church that took place in the morning. My thoughts before the meeting were interested as well as nervous. I never went to one of these meetings nor do I know what one is about. Im not to sure what AA entails so I was interested in learning about it. Currently my boyfriends father is a recovering alcoholic so going to this made me think of him and I believe may help me understand him, his thought, and his feelings a little better. Before the meeting I began to read that AA does not discriminate including to those with other addictions, but closed meetings are specifically for those battling addicting to alcohol (Capuzzi & Stauffer, 2012).
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
I have attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings in the past; I would attend the meetings with family or friends as their support. My earliest experience was around the age of thirteen when I attended the meeting in support of my father. To this day, I don’t forget the story the speaker told us. I listened to a man who spoke of the suffering alcohol and drugs caused his family. He told us about the day he died alone at home with his two young children. The oldest child was seven years old and was able to call for assistance. The story left me in tears, understanding how his children must feel with the death of their father an everyday threat. Walking into the AA meeting for my assignment, I never expected to feel nervous. One thing that I didn’t account for was the fact that this time I would be alone. The fear that I felt wasn’t of the people that were going to be there, it was more the fear of being an outsider. I couldn’t just state that I was there to support a loved one. I didn’t expect that I would feel as though I wouldn’t be welcomed. However, as I walked into the dated brick building, I was immediately greeted with kindness and my nerves were put at ease.
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.
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 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
I was given this assignment to do as an observation on an Alcoholics Anonymous Meeting and had to write a paper on what I have observed. I did not know if I could do this without feeling self-indulgence toward the members. After speaking to a member, I could not believe the sensation of listening to that person’s short history of battling Alcoholism. I 'm glad to be there to learn their negative and positive outcomes in their lives.
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.