Reflection On Aa Meeting

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

Jacobs, E. E., Masson, R. L., Harvill, R. L., & Schimmel, C. J. (2012). Group counseling: Strategies and skills (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.

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.

The focus of the meeting was Step #2 –humility. There were a few AA birthdays and in general the meeting consisted out of birthday-people reliving their stories and some talking about humility.

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

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

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.

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

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

For an observation of an AA meeting my classmate and I made arrangements to go to an open meeting at Our Lady Star Of The Sea Church, which was held in a basement during a Tuesday afternoon session at 4:00 p.m. I first looked up the sessions online on a website where it held all the meetings on Staten Island and this one fit my schedule well. Its not unusual for me to be attending or visiting churches but for this assignment it did feel a little out of my comfort zone, because I didn’t know what to expect or what others would think of me. I chose a seat in the back corner that wouldn’t be too obvious yet it seemed like a typical seat for a newbie to sit at. The room was fairly large and I was surprised at how big the crowd got at least 30 plus people attended.

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