Alcoholics Anonymous Program: A Case Study

The Fullerton Alano Club has been serving the community by providing a social center, which is used by Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) members to hold meetings and social gatherings. This club is operated by volunteers who offer their time and service to ensure each group meeting continues to be available to the public. The volunteers are ex-alcoholics who have been sober for many years and share their touching testimonies with individuals struggling with alcoholism. As told by Mina, a volunteer at the club, Alcoholics Anonymous Program was discovered in 1935 by Bill Wilson, a stockbroker, and Dr. Robert Smith, a surgeon. Both were alcoholics seeking to achieve sobriety. In 1939, Bill Wilson wrote a book titled Alcoholics Anonymous, where he explained

The staff are volunteers and do not necessarily need any educational background to join the team. The program is a community effort, helping each other fight off their substance abuse. Using unconventional methods has both advantages and disadvantages. One advantage of being a volunteer-ran agency is the personal connections attendees can form with the staff. Pat, a volunteer we spoke with, connects with other alcoholics seeking sobriety on a personal level. He facilitates discussions and understands the audience much more than a trained educator would, as he has been through similar experiences. To successfully facilitate meetings, Pat uses personal stories of resilience to convey to current alcoholics that they can also overcome their addiction. Pat tells us that he has “been clean for 27 years, not 27 minutes.” He also helps by leading by example, and proving that alcoholism can be stopped. Although not stated when asked, this learning method is similar to observational learning from the Social Cognitive Theory. Members observe and listen to Pat’s testimony weekly and see that he has successfully abandoned his old lifestyle. Ultimately, they will believe that they also can stop drinking and change their risky behaviors. Disadvantages of not implementing a theory can result in the inability of addressing all the factors – interpersonal, community, environmental – that influence an alcoholic’s behavior. For instance, an individual may be struggling with alcohol because there are many liquor stores in his or her neighborhood. The person’s need of an intervention addressing this factor will remain unmet as the AA program focuses solely on the individual and is not able to address other factors that play a role in an alcoholic’s life. Another disadvantage of the program is that progress can only be measured until the very end, when the person completely surrenders