The Importance of Twelve Step Programs

The Narcotics Anonymous meeting which I attended was named 7 Days of NA which was located on 1212 North Wolfe Street at an organization called Dee’s Place. Just as the Alcoholic Anonymous meeting previously attended, the location appeared to be in a covert and quiet place to hold a support group. We entered through the rear entrance, which seemed to be staged that way to secure participants identity. As before at the last support group I attended, I searched around the room to see again, a 12 steps guide posted on the wall, a relatively thick NA ‘Basic Text’ textbook on the desk of the facilitator and this

Narcotics Anonymous is a group that has taught me many values. They have twelve values, twelve traditions, and twelve steps. As a group we learn to accept all of the above for

For the self-help meeting in regards for my reaction paper, I attended a Narcotics Anonymous (NA) meeting. NA is a nonprofit, community-based, 12-step recovery organization for recovering drug addicts (Bowens, 2011, p. 1). The meeting I attended took place outside on a Saturday afternoon at Magnolia Park in Garden Grove, California. It is an open-group tag meeting, where one speaker will tag another person to share and welcome for anyone to attend. It was very easy to locate the meeting, as it was right in front of the park’s only parking lot with members sitting in a circle on benches and lawn chairs. The meeting started at 12:00pm and ended around 1:30pm.

Many reformed addicts also believe they are no longer in recovery from addiction and they simply just quit. The beliefs of the twelve-step program may not appeal to everyone but the key to the program is recognizing a problem and taking the steps to correct it.

As member of alcoholics anonymous for 2 years, I could see that Narcotics Anonymous have the same structure as Alcoholics Anonymous. To illustrate, in Narcotics Anonymous ware people that told me the differences between them and AA. They told me that because AA meeting became mix, and the program was for specific issue that is alcohol. The members of Alcoholics Anonymous suggested to Narcotics to start their own program based in the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. That is why in the 1950s, Narcotics Anonymous emerged. In addition, I noticed that both programs open and close each meeting the same way. Members let people talk in front of them, and they let them have therapy if they need it. The duration is the same time for both meetings, 1 hour and 30 min. They have sponsor if someone need it. In my opinion, those programs are important for personal recovery. I could experience by myself. I see the work that this programs develop in each human been when we face some issues. Sometimes, we do not have the advice that we need in our families to recover our self from addiction. Sheltering us with the hope that one day someone will comes, and helps us to recover from the pain and addiction that we are passing through; there were Alcoholics and Narcotics Anonymous to rescue our souls from the

The 12-Step program addresses the factors or causes that are responsible for, or related to, substance abuse by helping individuals to understand the concept of change. “Processes of change are the covert and overt activities that people engage in to alter affect, thinking,

The first meeting that I attended was a Narcotic Anonymous meeting. The meeting time was 7pm-8pm on September 13, 2016. The group was made up of 12 individuals, 4 females and 8 males. The overall feeling of the group illustrated positive energy. Each person gave the perception that they truly wanted as well as needed to be there. I did observe that most of the participants depicted a very high anxiety level based on their body language and the tone in their voices. There were no “new comers”, which is the terminology used for a person who is new to the world of Narcotic Anonymous. The dynamics of the group, included persons who were in recovery as well as persons whose addiction is still active.

The 12 Step Program I attended was put on by USF group 164, held on July 8, 2015 at 7:00p.m. Location of meeting was at 12850 North 50th Street, Chapel Center in Temple Terrace, Tampa, Florida. The group leader was named BoB L. There were 12 participants that evening and several guests, a room full. I along with two other students were introduced to the group as student nurses, and we were welcomed with open arms. The group was very inviting and warm. People seemed happy, friendly and in good spirits. The length of the meeting was an hour and it closed with participants receiving pendants. Then someone was invited to come to the podium and say a prayer.

Alcoholics Anonymous relies on a twelve step base towards recovery. These 12 steps have a spiritual background towards them but the founders encourage alcoholics to take what they wants from these steps that will help them and leave the rest. These 12 steps include:

Narcotics Anonymous is a support group using the same principles as Alcoholics Anonymous but designed for individuals addicted to narcotics (Fortinash & Holoday Worret, 2012). The programs emphasize both personal responsibility and mutual accountability by means of a social model recovery program which is peer-driven. Recovery Kentucky utilizes care and change as their foundation for the peer-driven model. Participants are often reminded the program is not just a pit stop for drug and alcohol use but a commitment to change the whole body, mind and spirit. They are required to attend community meetings and complete a twelve step program where the client will acknowledge the problem, recognize a solution and develop a plan of action that will support the ultimate goal of sobriety (MIC Program Description, n.d.).

Last night, I attended a Narcotics Anonymous meeting. This was not quite a new experience for me, be my late father was an alcoholic and narcotics addict that died of cirrhosis later on in my life this is why I identified myself with them. Narcotics Anonymous is a fraternity or association where there a recuperating addicts and their main purpose is stay clean. Consequently, the member of this fraternity were well-groomed, yesterday was ice cream sticks day where they had a keyword written on a little piece of paper, such as “perseverance”. Anyone can be a narcotics or alcohol user.

The meeting for Narcotic Anonymous that I attended was at 7:30 pm on March 09, 2017, at the Rolling Hills Baptist Church Fairfield, Ohio. The meeting lasted one hour and a half and approximately 50 people attended (approximately due to the fact that people kept constantly coming in and out of the meeting), the census was a mix of males and females from diverse ages. A group of three students attended the same meeting, we wore our Miami University badges at all times and arrived a few minutes early in order to introduce ourselves to the leader and the group in general. The group leader was a twenty eight years drug free member, as the meeting started he asked anyone who is under the influence or who had drugs on his/her possession to leave

The group that I attended was a Narcotics Anonymous (NA). The meeting was held at the VA, every Monday at 6pm. The meeting was free and open to the public. The meeting lasted for 1 hour. There was a time limit. As we approached the end of the hour the leader announced it and said that if there were any last thoughts before the meeting ended. This gave me the impression that they stick to their time limit.

This essay is a reflection on my observation of how a group interacts with each other. The 12-step meeting I attended was Overeater’s Anonymous (OA). OA uses the same Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions as Alcoholics Anonymous, the words are changed from “alcoholic” to “compulsive overeater”. The meeting I went to had seven people in attendance even with this small of a group it was definitely a diverse group. All seven attendees were women whose ages ranged from a young college student to an elderly homemaker, there was a middle age professional (just left the office type), and a good old ranch gal boot wearing, hair in a braid ranch women. I was a bit nervous about being there but someone patted the seat next to herself and I

Mr. May arrives tardy to his weekly check-in appointments despite constant reminders to show up on time. He is enrolled in GED classes at Malcolm-X College and states he is attending daily. Mr. May meets with his mentor at Bridges to Pathways on Monday for continued employment and support services. He expresses that he wants to be a supportive father to his newborn child and is focused on obtaining employment. Mr. May is not attending his 12-step support group meetings regularly and continues to struggle with following his