I was called upon, and I introduced myself, and said why I was at the meeting. It was such a wonderful experience. At the end of the meeting, the facilitator asked to know who has been sober for 30 days, 60 days and 90 days. A young guy got up and said he had been sober for 90 days. Everybody applauded him and a token was given to him by the facilitator.
These programs can be found throughout the community, and only requires that one truly desire to stop their addiction behavior. Participation in these programs can be the key needed to maintain long-term recovery. Research has shown that those who participate in twelve-step self help groups typically have better recovery outcomes than those who do not participate (Moos & Timko,
The community group I visited was Beaches Unity Group, which was located at 322 Penman Road. This was an Alcoholics Anonymous group that provided open discussion for people who were both struggling with alcohol abuse, as well as addiction. It gave the participants an opportunity to introduce themselves, and tell their background story. There where also opportunities to offer advice to the other members. I decided to sit in an AA group because there is history of alcoholism in my family, and so I was curious to hear the stories of other people, and how they are coping with their disorder. I chose this particular group because it was an open meeting and they welcomed anyone. The man running the group, was a member himself, and was very welcoming.
For this reflection assignment I attended an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. The AA meeting I attended was at St. Joe’s Education Center in Ypsilanti at 7:30 pm. As far as the demographics of the group: The number in attendance was about 60 people I would say, it was very packed surprisingly to me. I did not expect it to be that many people there. When I think of an AA meeting I think of a small meeting with maybe 20 people that are a close group not around 60. Also the age range was surprising, I was expecting to see all older adults but the age range was actually a very wide range. I would say from early twenties on up to late sixties. Male to females range was about equal, there were slightly more males in attendance at the meeting, which
On Saturday at 12pm, I decided to go to the Alcoholic Anonymous meeting at 822Cne 125 Street, Suite 111 North Miami, FL. It was the closest location near me that was open to Non-alcoholics. Upon enter this building, I had to stereotypical view on how this meeting would look like and be. And these stereotypes were foster by Television shows. The clean version would be everyone sitting in a circle, introducing their selves as everyone in the room respond back in unison, ‘‘Hi whatever that person name is’’.
The NA meeting had a guest speaker named Adam, the most surprising thing about meeting were candor and humor evoked by the speaker. Adam acknowledged that he has been addicted to drugs for seventeen years, and this behavior started when he was in the 7th grade. Adam was genuinely outspoken and humorously shared being in and out of treatment facilities over 28 times costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. The group really identified with the speakers story, and this was exhibited by laughter and comments from the crowd.
An AA meeting may take one of several forms, typically at any meeting you will find alcoholics talking about what drinking did to their lives and personalities. Individuals might also divulge what actions they took to help themselves, and how they are living their lives today. A.A. groups have both open and closed meetings. Closed meetings are for A.A. members only, or for those who have a drinking problem and desire to stop drinking. Open meetings are available to anyone interested in the Alcoholics Anonymous program. This includes anyone who suffers from alcohol addiction, and proactive individuals who just want to get involved.
The meeting was different than I expected. I expected a small group of people sitting in a circle and telling their stories and it was very different from that. It was an extremely positive place. There were people ranging in ages and people ranging on length of sobriety. Some people there have been sober for over 25 years and some people had less than a week
While it is true that there are there are other types of programs, and there are no guarantees that any program works for everyone, it is also true that 12-step fellowship programs do have a history of working for many people. Twelve-step programs oftentimes work when people want to stop drinking alcohol, using drugs and taking other harmful substances because they give people who want to stay sober an readily available support group and a set of tools that can help them create new habits, a new lifestyle, and a new way to think and
The purpose of this paper is to discuss and reflect on my experience attending an Alcoholic Anonymous meeting. Alcoholic anonymous (AA) was created to help individuals effected by Alcohol collaborate and support each other during their time of need. All AA meetings are structured differently. However, there are only two types of meetings: opened and closed meetings. During my experience, I attended an open meeting where anyone can come regardless of a diagnosed alcohol problem or the level of experience one had with participating in such meetings.
My assignment was to visit a community agency or clinic that offers substance abuse counseling and discuss my findings. Pro-Active Resources is a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center located in Carmel, IN. The therapist, at Pro-Active Resources, have provided services to over 15,000 individuals and families since its inception in 1985. The focal point, of the agency, is outpatient treatment programs for alcohol and drug abuse.
In my first session, the group started with a silent prayer, and read Alcoholic announcement. Next, the reader introduced the group leader. The group leader stated that goals that needs to be accomplish in this group which is stay sober day by day. The group leader also discuss in the group session about alcoholism. The group leader stated that alcoholism is a disease, and alcoholism progress and a chronic disorder.
My initial perception of the members in the room is that some members may be shy to disclose their stories, but was amazed that everyone came forth in the room to discuss their shortcoming. Furthermore, I did not have any stereotypes perception about alcoholism since I am aware that alcoholism is a disease that affects the brain. My understanding about alcoholism was confirmed by the various client verbalization of their stories and problems associated with
Walking into an AA meeting most first timers are defensive in search for all reasons they can gather to prove they don’t belong there. Whether you are an alcoholic or not these meetings open up your perspectives on a whole array of subjects. I didn’t exactly have a certain expectation on how the meeting would be like, however I didn’t think a majority would be as involved as they were. The meeting had an environment that made it safe to share and to connect with one another. As well throughout the duration of the session the lights were off, which added to the feeling of privacy in the sense that no one felt they were being spoken to directly.
Members of the treatment centre do not only have trouble with substance abuse but may have another problem along with it such as depression. Due to this, the therapeutic community model is the main model used because it is holistic. This model is also the main model used because the program not only focuses on helping individuals recover from substance abuse but also help them be able to become employed or go back to school when they set back out into the world. According to Mr. Jurawan, the centre wants to ensure individuals are able to get back up on their feet and have a better life. Evaluate the usefulness of the model(s) at the treatment center.