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Self-Help Groups: Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)

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Group therapy has been used for many years as a therapeutic method in which members can offer support and understanding for each other. It can be defined as two or more people, who share common issues, meeting and interacting face-to-face to help one another reach an identifiable goal. There are several types of group therapy, one that I will be discussing in this paper is the self-help group. In recent years, self-help groups have increased in number and credibility. Members can speak freely about their experiences, while receiving advice and support from others, which in turn, can help them realize that they are not alone in their struggles. In this paper, I will analyze my observational experience of two self-help groups, Alcoholics Anonymous, …show more content…

The sole purpose of Alcoholics Anonymous is to stay sober and help others achieve sobriety. AA uses a twelve-step process to guide people that have a drinking problem, to recovery. I attended two AA meetings on March 14 and March 16, 2017, both were held at the Jeffersonville Token Club-Serenity House in Clarksville, IN. These meetings are both open to the public and are held every Tuesday and Thursday at 5:30pm. Both meetings consisted of people from different backgrounds and circumstances. It is easy to develop a stigma of what type of individuals you might see attending these meetings, but none of them are what I expected. All of the people at these meetings, no matter their gender, race, or circumstance, they all seemed genuine and thankful to be there. They were also, all willing to help and/or give their advice to help one another. They all talked about giving themselves to the twelve steps, to God, and being honest with themselves and others. There is one requirement to become a member of Alcoholics Anonymous, you must have the desire to stop drinking. The group members were very welcoming to anyone who walked in, greeting everyone with a handshake and an introduction of …show more content…

The meeting was somewhat systematic when reading the “Preamble”, “How It Works”, and the “12 Traditions”. The “How It Works”, comes from the “Alcoholics Anonymous” book and begins with them admitting that they were powerless over alcohol and that their lives had become unmanageable and ends with them having a spiritual awakening from living by these twelve steps. Once, all of the readings were done, the chairperson asked the group if there were any pressing issues that needed to be addressed. From then, everyone took turns sharing their experiences and the struggles they have faced. The group was open to anyone that wanted to share their story, as I was not forced to share my role as a nursing student. Irvin Yalom’s curative factors were evident throughout both AA meetings. I recognized altruism as prevalent in both meetings. All members were not only willing to share their experience and struggles but they also seemed genuinely concerned for the well-being of the other members and wanted to give their advice in order to help them. The group members were very engaged in the conversations, listening intently and nodding. I also recognized existential factors as being prevalent in the meetings. The members realized that life goes on and they had to figure out how to live everyday life through all the pain, death, joy, sadness, and regrets without trying to escape from them.

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