The 12 Steps Of Alcoholics Anonymous

The third chapter of the Alcoholics Anonymous book develops the idea of what alcoholism involves and how people with alcoholism differ from normal people. This chapter elaborates on the idea that there is no such thing as making a normal drinker out of an alcoholic, meaning an alcoholic will never be able to have a few drinks and then stop. It is also believed within the alcoholics’ anonymous community that at in the early stages of their drinking careers, they could have stopped drinking. The first step in recovery is to acknowledge that there is a problem, the book describes different ways a person can be an alcoholic. Not every alcoholic is going to drink a long time nor take large quantities, but the inability to stop makes the alcoholic. The chapter explains how an alcoholic is still unable to stop on the basis of self-knowledge and will power. In order to protect against taking that first drink again, there must be a higher power. Chapter three outlines that there is more than one option of what

The 12-step program used by Alcoholics Anonymous is a well-known treatment method that’s used for many types of addiction, not just alcohol. Alcoholics are encouraged to “work” the 12-steps. The first step involves admitting the powerlessness over alcohol. The second step has the alcoholic believe that there is some type of a greater power working that will help aide the alcoholic to reach sobriety, as well as maintain is once reached. This step is an example of the religious influence on the 12-step recovery process.

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

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

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,

Dr. Jarlais’ statement would surely raise eyebrows at the next research convention but is that what we can base the tremendous acceptance and success rate of AA on? In my personal experience, I can agree with the supporters of the 12-step method. The reasons are many but one comes to mind each time I read the opposing views – Are we complex human beings or lab rats? Is it necessary as recovering addicts and psychodynamic therapists alike to use a scientific approach to confirm the resounding results? AA works and if personal response or “storytelling” along with the admitting that we are powerless over our addictions helps, well, that is enough proof for me. Terry M. states, “Our primary goal is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety.” (Terry M. 1998) This statement is enough proof that I believe the people who attend AA are more useful than any scientific influences. A Dr. and a patient formed AA; this alone also shows the importance to respect what has been a foundation to recovery – the honesty and no judgement policy of recovery.

Alcoholics Anonymous is a group composed of men and women who want to stop drinking and help each other stay on the path towards sobriety. They are not affiliated with any other organization, denomination, or institution and the only requirement for membership is the desire to stop drinking (Fisher & Harrison, 2013). They meet at least once a week, if not more to support one another and to share their experiences, struggles, and successes.

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.

Everyday, more and more people are being claimed by alcoholism. The most important message AA makes is that there is help available, and there are people who want to help you, just as other helped them. Louis, a 79 year old AA member reciprocates his AA experience by “try[ing] to help the younger people find sobriety and happiness the way I have. I tell them, “If I can do it, so can you” (AA pamphlet). This is just one of many stories AA members have to offer an observer.

When alcohol becomes to take control over your life, it is time to seek help because one cannot overcome this disease alone. For a long period of time I have had the curiosity of attending an Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) meeting. My curiosity to attend an A.A. meeting came from having many family members deal with harsh realities because of alcohol related issues such as DUI’s and family separations. The A.A group meeting that I attended was about forty-five minutes away from my house. I decided to attend an aa meeting not so close to my house because I wanted to experience a meeting that involved people from different ethnic backgrounds as oppose to the people that I am accustom to seeing in my neighborhood.

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.

In the article “Determining the Relative Importance of the Mechanisms of Behavior Change Within Alcoholics Anonymous: A Multiple Mediator Analysis” the authors conducted research to determine what techniques used in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) aid in relapse prevention. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (2016) alcohol is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States that is preventable. In 2014 alone, thirty-one percent of all traffic fatalities were alcohol related (NIAAA, 2016). The study participants suffered from Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) and attended AA. NIAAA (2016) states the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV has integrated alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence into a single alcohol-related disorder, AUD with mild, moderate, and severe classifications. AUD is diagnosed when a client’s drinking causes themselves or others anguish or injury AA began in the 1930’s and is an informal organization of men/women who have a drinking problem (AA, 2016). AA is based upon anonymity along with twelve steps/principles and meetings for those seeking help with sobriety. Research has shown that participating in AA reduces risk of relapse and this article aims to understand the techniques that empowers those to remain sober.

He started drinking alcohol when he was 15 years old. He drank 1-2 drinks at a time and 2-3 times a week. He never liked beer, just for social. He drank heavily since his wife died of cancer when he was 42 years old. He was grieving and felt sad for the loss and “drink to cope with emotional pain.” Being lonely in the house, he drank to bed. In the morning, instead of coffee, he would have a shot to get going. He was rushed to emergency department 10 years ago by his friend. After that, he stopped using the alcohol and went through Father Ashley’s program in 1.5 years later. He kept clean for the last 8 years and worked as a manager at a car dealership. He was attending A.A. meeting and kept clean. The recent relapse was a bad luck. He got