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 program’s philosophy and methods. In his book, he discussed the Twelve-Steps of Recovery that every individual seeking to abandon alcohol lives by even today. The program was developed to help individuals achieve sobriety. Members accomplish this day-to-day by sharing and listening to others’ stories of hope and strength.
Alcoholics Anonymous is a rehabilitation program that eventually helps individuals cope with alcoholism. By implementing the program’s philosophy and providing social support, members control their alcohol addiction through confession of their problem, guided group discussions, and reliance on a “higher power.” This ultimately leads to a gradual return to sobriety. The only requirement needed to join the free-local group is a desire to stop consuming alcohol. The AA Program is unique because of its evidence-based approach. Mina shares that AA is more effective and beneficial than counselors. Members provide social support to each other by sharing personal experiences that has led them to this point of their lives. Members do not necessarily talk to a licensed counselor, but instead give each other advice. After a member has shared their experience, he or she can ask other members for guidance and feedback. The program welcomes individuals of all ages, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and religious backgrounds, creating a diverse community. AA is an inclusive community of individuals who want to recover from past mistakes and obtain another opportunity in life. Since the program is not surveilling its members and no alcohol tests are required, individuals seeking sobriety must be willing to fight the temptation of picking up an alcoholic beverage. Although the change is gradual, this rehabilitation program offers hope to those who have tried absolutely everything.
There are several services and activities offered by the Alcoholics Anonymous Program. Since the foundation of the program is social support, the club hosts many interactive events that encourage fellowship among its members. The activities that are held include picnics, movie-nights, and poker-nights among other, which help members form lasting relationships with individuals who have walked through similar paths as them. During meetings, they also read one of the Twelve-Steps of Recovery from Alcoholics Anonymous, and discuss how they can achieve it. These readings help members understand and admit that they cannot overcome their addictions alone. By attending these meetings, they learn to let go of pride and acknowledge the severity of their addiction; their pride is then gradually replaced with humility.
The Fullerton Alano Club is operated by unconventional, friendly staff instead of traditional educators.

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

alcohol. Without a theory, a person who finds participating in group meetings as the only method may never find the program useful. People learn differently, and if a person is forced to learn in a certain way, they may not be comfortable or content since progress will not occur.
  Marketing is important when seeking to modify and maintain people’s behaviors. The Fullerton Alano Club does not implement marketing methods to spread awareness of their program. Instead, attendees are referred to their AA program by other non-profit organizations, agencies, and government institutions. This agency receives flyers and pamphlets created by the A.A. General Service Office in New York that explain the services and resources provided by Alcoholics Anonymous; however, they are only available to individuals who visit the facility. The lack of marketing may not allow the program to reach everyone who is need of help, which consequently leaves many individuals with unmet needs. If people are not referred to the Fullerton Alano Club, they may never be able to take advantage of their community’s resources.
According to Mina, the agency does not collect surveys or receive feedback directly. However, the agency notices their program’s success by the number of individuals that attend group meetings every week. Also, the program's success is mostly measured by how many people become clean when completing the program and listening to people’s stories of whether they have achieved sobriety or not. The agency obtains feedback by listening to people's testimonies and experiences at the meetings on how the program has helped them to stay away from alcohol. This input allows the agency to modify and improve their services as needed. Overall, the Fullerton Alano Club is doing a great job providing services, specifically social support, to individuals fighting alcoholism. Through social events and groups meetings, members are able to share experiences that provide hope and encouragement to each other. Although improvements can be made in the implementation of their program, the Fullerton Alano Club is an effective resource to its community.