Alcoholics Anonymous Case Study

17.6 million people in the United States suffer from alcohol abuse or dependence (National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, 2015). With numbers this staggering alcohol addiction is a public crisis that is having a detrimental effect on millions of people’s lives and needs to be addressed. Treatments are varied and can range from Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), to group therapy, or to even residential treatment. One somewhat controversial treatment option is attending a form of group therapy known as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings. Some find AA meetings to be controversial because they believe that it has little basis in science and fails to see alcohol addiction as a psychological disease but more as a moral problem that stems

Research has shown that people who have a history of alcohol abuse have a greater rate of mental health issues such as depression, and anxiety, but since this issue does not fit into one of the 12 steps of AA treatment it is often not addressed during the group meetings (Glaser, 2015). Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in 1935 before there was much research on the brain

I had no idea what kind of people were going to be there, what was going to be talked about, and what the mood was going to be like. Walking in I saw all kinds of people there. There were people from different age groups, different occupations, and different cultures. There was no one type of person there and it showed me that no one is immune to addiction. Throughout the meeting there were various speakers, and moving stories about addiction being told. Although the meeting was not rooted in medical care for addiction it was a safe place for people to come together and talk about their struggles, which I think can be just as beneficial for treatment. After going to the meeting and reading these two articles my understanding of addiction has greatly improved. I have come to recognize that addiction is complex and that there is not just one treatment method that will work for everybody. Individuals are complex, and have unique needs; meaning that a combination of treatments may be needed. I think that it is important for an individual struggling with alcohol abuse or addiction to go to meetings and talk with people who are suffering with the same problems, but I also believe it is equally important to take a medical point of view and address underlying issues such as depression and anxiety in order for the patient to make a full recovery. This belief will influence my future practice as a nurse because I will keep in