Due to, Alcohol is the most deadly drug in the world, and “considering the economic cost and the price in human suffering of substance abuse, it seems imperative that counselors be trained in all aspects of substance abuse, intervention, and prevention” (Stevens, 2009). Therefore, with the purpose of gaining experience attending any recovery group for my Human Behavior class assignment I went to observe an AA meeting with three of my class of Human Behavior.
On a cold Sunday afternoon, around 5:25 PM, on February 12, 2017, I attended an AA meeting at 5215 W 25th St., in Cicero neighborhood. I gather there with three classmates who were already waiting for the AA participants. Once I entered the room I saw a white man, sat behind a desk located,
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at the head of tables. The room was well kept, it was clean, also spacious. I greeted him and approached my classmates. While I walked to them I did not see any member of that recovery group. Then, I inquired my classmates what time the meeting starts. The answer was at 5:30 PM but seemed that nobody will attend the meeting of today. As soon as I sat, I hear that the man in the room, started giving us the address of other AA meetings to attend on that day. Due to we were there with the purpose of visit an AA group, immediately we decided to go "Mustard Seeds" AA group, located at 507 N. North Ave, Chicago, IL 60610 Phone (312) 664-6856. One of the classmates made a phone call to ask if we can go at that time and participate as observers in the meeting, the person who answered the phone call, agreed with our presence and we went there in the car of one of us. Then, we arrived at 507 N. North Ave at 6:10, left the car parked, and went straight to the meeting. At the entrance, I saw an adult man behind a desk who showed us the salon door. In a hurry, we entered to the salon and at that moment a young white woman was finishing the reading of the thought for the day.
Once she finished with the reading, the person who was at the charge of the group began to speak out about the 3rd Step from the Big Book of AA.
Basically, Alcoholic Anonymous (AA), “was the first self-help organization founded to assist alcoholics in recovery. It continues to be the model of recovery most widely used in treatment facilities and for individuals who may choose to start recovery on their own” (p.288). Likewise, the Big Book of AA is a lifeline to recovery that introduces the twelve steps of recovery. Therefore, the assistants to this session seemed to stay there to receive support on the path of addiction recovery.
Consequently, we sat quietly and we pay attention to the speaker of the meeting of that night. I noticed that in the meeting there was thirty-one participating in total, including us. There were fourteen women and sixteen men. Among them, there were nine white people, five female, and four male. Among the African-American people, there were seventeen participants: five female and twelve male participants, including the speaker, plus one male that seemed Hispanic to me, and we: four Hispanic women. The meeting was from 6:00 PM to 8:00PM. The meeting seemed to have started on
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time. The speaker talked how the 3rd Step, requires that people in addiction makes decisions and being willing to make changes. Basically, he emphasized on making the decision to turn over our will and our life over to God or a higher power of our understanding to help us break the cycle of addiction that has kept us stuck. He started the lecture reading the 3rd step, and he gradually introduced as an example, his life's experience while in recovery. He mentioned having 20 years of sobriety and that his recovery made him change his behavior, to finally be a Church's Pastor. Also, he said that this program is based on the Big Book of AA and the Bible to maintain sobriety. He emphasized, that the addiction doesn’t allow to make decisions to change behavior. Next, he encouraged to have a sponsor and take in mind that discipline is pivotal in recovery, to succeed. He continued saying that, “addicts are suggested to find a job he emphasized, “don’t criticize the speaker, if you don’t feel comfortable in the meeting is your choice to go back or stop attending the meetings.” When the speaker did finish his speech around 7:00 PM. He asked to pass the basket to make a monetary contribution, but told us that as it was our first meeting we are exonerated of to make a contribution. Once the money was collected, the speaker counted it and put the money in an envelope, sealed it and left in a box. In the meantime, a female participant started signing the attendance sheets for the participants and some of them left the meeting after gets their signature. During 30 minutes, from 7:00 to 7:30 PM approximately, there were a break, time in which the participants spoke about their experience in recovery, relapses, and struggles that they face day by day to keep sobriety.
Then, it was the time in which we introduce ourselves as students of St. Augustine College and one of us gave a brief explanation of the purpose of our visit, thanking for the opportunity of having us that night. Additionally, we talked about how the speech made us remember the struggle that individually we had to face having an addict at home. In the light of the meeting was easy to see that the speech touched our soul making us reflect on our life experience with relatives who were addicts and how it affected us. Unquestionably, in the meeting, I was comfortable and I was attentive to all the speaker was mentioning. Lastly, I want to mention that years ago, I did participate in some Alanson’s meetings because my life has been affected by my father's drinking addiction. No doubt, I still need to engage in those meetings which will help me heal the scars still I
have.
The center combines a safe housing environment with structured educational programs that incorporate the philosophies of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. Alcoholics Anonymous is the original self help group founded on principles that provide support and encouragement for recovering alcoholics. New members are encouraged to work with a spon...
Coming into the substance abuse meeting the student nurse was scared and nervous. She was scared of the reaction of the consumers and feared all the stereotypes she heard about typical alcoholics. Innervison gave the student nurse a new outlook on these types of consumers. She no longer looked at them as people who were just drunks and wanted to use AA as an excuse to make it seem like they are getting help. She never really looked at alcoholism as a true addiction; it seemed like more of an excuse to escape life’s problems. Sitting in and listening to these consumers gave the student nurse a dose of reality. The student nurse now understands alcoholism better and AA helped her realize recovery is truly a process that takes one day and one step at a time.
Alcoholism is as prevalent in my family, as blood is in our veins. When previously asked to observe 12-step groups, I ritualistically flocked to Alcoholics Anonymous, without consideration of the possibility that other groups had any potential to make an impact on me. I always pride myself in my ability to identify as an individual that is not ensnared in alcoholism, but unfortunately am an individual that was highly tormented by alcoholism. Through observation of the group and how it processed, as well as identifying how I felt as a new attendee, I was able to understand why self-help, support groups are so vital for individuals in recovery. I finally realized, I too am in recovery.
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) has been around for more than 75 years. The biggest controversy about AA is if it is effective or not. Some people find AA to be an effective aid to sobriety; others find AA to be damaging and can lead to increased drinking. AA meetings are groups of people with the desire to quit drinking that help one another achieve and maintain sobriety. These meetings may include readings from the Big Book, sharing stories, discussing the traditions and 12 steps, and celebrating members’ sobriety. Because AA is anonymous, many people feel that participating in a study would be a breach
I attended the Alcohol Anonymous (AA) twelve step meeting on Friday December fourth at 8:00 p.m. at the community center at Roxbury Park in Beverly Hills. The people were middle aged men and women of different ethnic backgrounds. The meeting started in an arranged fashion. I sat in the back and was addressed by an elderly man who wanted to know who I was to and I replied that I was a student writing a paper for school. He was fine with my answer and departed. The meeting started with people presenting themselves. First, there was an open conversation that started was with the storytelling of one member’s endeavors with alcoholism. After this heartwarming account, other people in the group provided how the
AA’s founder Bill Wilson asserted that alcoholism is a spiritual disease with only one cure., AA believes that the one and only cure is by following, and living by the 12 step program. Alcohol Anonymous 12-step program derived from this type of thinking and from the very beginning, new members are taught that they are absolutely powerless to alcohol, and that the only way for you to be cured is for “a power greater than yourself could restore you to sanity”. AA members separate themselves from the rest of society, and attribute their drinking problems to every other aspect of their lives. There is a list of contributing factors to an individual’s disease, published by Bill Wilson. The list is roughly 25 aspects of every alcoholic’s life but Alcohol is never listed because in Mr. Wilson’s eyes it’s not the alcohol that is the problem. Instead it is the individual that has become a victim to the alcohol.
On February 27, 2014, I visited an Alcohol Anonymous (A.A) therapeutic group meeting called Another Chance. Another Chance is an intergroup meeting located inside the Concord Baptist Church of Christ, at 833 Gardner C. Taylor Boulevard, Brooklyn, NY 11216. Another Chance has been in operation for over thirty years, and holds open discussion meetings on alcohol use and prevention, every Thursday from six in the evening until seven o’clock. This group interaction with alcohol substance use and abuse focuses on helping all members regardless of race, ethnicity or culture, to abstain from drinking one day at a time; and encourages them to maintain healthy thoughts and emotions through the use of the “Twelve Steps and Traditions” of recovery and intervention approaches.
Overcoming an addiction to alcohol can be a long and bumpy road. Many people feel that it is impossible to overcome an alcohol addiction. Many people feel that is it easier to be an addict than to be a recovering addict. However, recovering from alcoholism is possible if one is ready to seek the help and support they need on their road to recovery. Recovery is taking the time to regain one’s normal mind, health and strength. Recovery is process. It takes time to stop the alcohol cravings and pressure to drink. For most, rehab and professional help is needed, while others can stop drinking on their own. Recovery never ends. After rehab, professional help or quitting on your own, many people still need help staying sober. A lot of time, recovering
The stories told by the members took courage and strength. Alcoholics Anonymous appears to be an effective form of treatment for alcohol addiction. This group, and I would imagine most groups, showed love, caring, and concern for each person. They all expressed their love for God and a determination to stay sober. Yoko reminded me that addiction is not subjective.
After speaking with several individuals, the first time they attended a meeting, they felt scared, alone and confused. However, after leaving, they had hope. Hope that tomorrow would be better than today. Hope they can make it another 24 hours without taking a drink. Because the individuals attending the meeting, are encouraged to take it “one day at a time”. More importantly, they have hope because they now have a social network they can rely on, relate to and connect with personally.
Severe mood swings, violent rages, memory loss—each of these problems were a part of my family life during the past two or three years. These problems are the result of alcoholism. Recently, a member of my family realized his abuse of alcohol was a major problem to not only himself, but also to those around him. He would lose control of his temper and often would not even remember doing it the next day. Alcohol became a part of his daily life including work, home, and any other activities. His problem was that of a "hidden" and "high-society" alcoholism. When he was threatened with the loss of his job and the possibility of losing his family, this man knew it was time to get help. After he reached his lowest point, he took the first step towards recovery—admitting his problem.
The first meeting was large with approximately 12 members, including the facilitator. My initial emotion internalized was amazement in the structure of the group. The structure of the group provides structure for the members which is crucial for those struggling with alcoholism. The initial sharing was from a young member of 26 who was struggling with sobriety and shared that he recently lost a child through miscarriage. I immediately became overwhelmed in the rawness of his visible emotions (crying). As I observed other members while he was sharing his story, they were intently listening to him. When the sharer finished, the group acknowledged him and another sharer started with his name and “I am an alcoholic”. I appreciated the structure of this transition. The emotion seemed to fill the room and it impacted how everyone addressed their next sharing. The following members shared in the direction of the first sharer and related to the difficulties and provided advise. During the exchange of emotion between members, I continued to be overwhelmed with the emotions internally. The second meeting that I attended was smaller but still provided that set structure and “family” feel of group members. Emotion and exchange of emotion was present as well. I chose to attend this meeting twice because I was impressed and overwhelmed by the first meeting, I had to attend again to gain more
“Motivational interviewing was introduced by Dr. William R. Miller in 1983, to help problem drinkers prepare for treatment and has been developed in collaboration with Dr. Stephen Rollnick. Motivational interviewing is a client centered directive method of communication for enhancing intrinsic motivation to change by helping people to explore and work through ambivalence. (Miller &Rollnick,2002).” This definition simply means that motivational interviewing is a method that uses the techniques taught by Carl Rodgers, such as empathy, positive regard, and congruence all of which lead to a collaborative relationship between the counselor and the client. This supportive and collaborative relationship will enable the client to open up and have honest discussions with the counselor. Therefore, the counselor will be able to help the client recognize:
The group members chosen was an African-American male, Caucasian female, and an African-American/Puerto Rican lesbian. Their ages eighty, sixty-one, and forty-three respectively. Each participant was chosen as a representation of diversity across age, gender, ethic, and social backgrounds. The African-American male is a retired labor movement organizer and has a daughter who has been clean now for several years. The Caucasian female is a therapist in the field of addiction and has twenty-two years clean. The African-American/Puerto Rican lesbian is a dog groomer who has struggled with staying clean for the past twenty-three years. Each person chosen has a personal connection my father, my sponsor, and my ex-partner of three years. Although the group appears to be diverse they all have a common denominator each on...
As part of my community outreach makeup, I attended an Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meeting in my hometown. It took place at the La Puente Center: 15911 Main Street, La Puente at 10:30 AM. I got to the La Puente Center and took a seat amongst the people that usually meet at this time. I introduced myself as a nursing student from Mount Saint Mary’s. I let everyone know that I was currently in a Mental Health class and as part of it I was to attend an AA meeting to see how these meetings were conducted and what their goals were. It was a group of individuals all looking to maintain their relationships, occupations, and lives in conjunction with their struggles with alcohol problems.