Addiction Recovery Group Assignment

Addiction Recovery Group Observation Assignment

PART A: (Complete prior to attending the meeting) Student: Cadi Hastwell

Name of other student(s) in attendance: Kristyn Weaver Type of group attended: AA meeting Location, date and time of meeting: New Life, October 7, 2011, at 1730

Expectations (Put some thought into it. Use at least a good paragraph to describe.) What are your expectations prior to attending the meeting? Are you anxious? How so? Describe your concerns. What do expect the attendees to look like, be like, act like, etc? How do you expect them to receive/accept you as a visitor? I am really anxious about going to the meeting; I can only imagine what the people will look like. I am going off what I see on TV, they are going to look like people that are homeless, tattered clothes, tons of tattoos, and overall bad hygiene. I am scared the people at the meeting are not going to be welcoming. After all, we are in their territory and they are pouring their hearts out to people who dont have a clue what they are going through. I think they are going to act like they are ashamed, and worn out. I hope that they act no different and just pretend we are not there.. I also hope they dont put on a show, and just be themselves. I just want to see the true them and what they went through with their struggles.

PART B: (Complete after attending the meeting) (Use your text as needed.) Describe the meeting:

Addiction Recovery Group Assignment 1. What did you observe outside of the building, the appearance, the vehicles, people, etc as you arrive? The building was like a strip mall, and had a homemade sign saying New Life at the front. The outside of the building had cardboard on the windows on the front, I assume so no one knows who or what is going on inside. It was very run down and the paint was peeling. The cars look like a group of cars you would see in the Wal-Mart parking lot. The people looked us like we were aliens as we entered and later when new people arrived. I am not sure if they thought we were new AA people or they knew we were just here to watch and hear them tell their stories.

2. Inside the building what were your first impressions/sights, smells, level of noise, furniture, wall decorations, refreshments, attendees appearance (dress and grooming), behaviors, etc. How many attendees were there? Guests? When we first walked inside I was surprise how run down the room was. There were tables and chairs just scattered throughout the room. The paneling was coming off here and there, there was also just random signs about God and AA dispersed erratically on the walls. The smell of cigarette smoke was very prominent. There was a kitchen and bathroom off to the right and left side of the room. It was sort of quiet in there, I mean people were talking but in hushed whispers, it was kind of awkward. People looked like ordinary people for the most part their dress was normal and well kept. There a few people who looked dirty, hair not washed and probably smelled if I would of got close enough. They were serving coffee and people could buy a soda out of a soda machine located in the kitchen part of the building. There were approximately 35-45 people that attended the meeting. The only guests were us, besides some attendees small children.

Addiction Recovery Group Assignment 3. How do the attendees compare/contrast to the statistics suggested by your text in terms of age, ethnicity, gender and economic status? What does this suggest to you in terms of substance abuse? Support your evaluation with documentation either from your text or related Alcoholics Anonymous materials. You may utilize your text, the AA website, http://www.alcoholicsanonymous.org/en_information_aa.cfm . The majority of the members were 41-50 years old (28% approx..), most were white (85.1%), most of the members were women (67%). .I wasnt able to find out the economic status on any of them, but I imagine they were doing ok according by the look of their cars. All of the percentages are from the website above and are pretty accurate with the meeting I attended with little difference in numbers. Most members of the AA are retired (16%), and most are married (35%). This suggests that you dont have to be poor, or old, or financially unstable to be an alcoholic or drug addict. You can be anyone and still have this sickness.

4. During the meeting, what did you observe with regard to: a) the structure of the meeting, There was not a set structure to the meeting. There was a table at the front of the room, where the coordinator sat, then next to that was a podium with a microphone. The coordinator went around the room asked peole to share today, the first person to speak picked the topic of the meeting. The topic ended up being helping others in your recovery. Some people refused to talk and she just moved to the next person willing. The only structure was at the beginning the all said some pledge and when the talked at the podium they said their name, followed by I am an alcoholic.

Addiction Recovery Group Assignment b)interactions between and among attendees, The interaction between the attendees was like they were best friends. They all acted like they have known each other for years. They were all cutting up and laughing at each others jokes. There was only one guy who wasnt talking or doing anything for that matter. He was just sitting against the wall smoking his cigarettes, although he did go to the podium and speak at one point. What he said was very motivating. c)habits, coping and/or defense mechanisms utilized, and The only habit they all shared was smoking. Also a lot of the ladies in the AA meeting were constantly biting their nails. There was one guy that spoke that described his past, and said he would get drunk and when he sobered up he would hit his wife saying it was her fault he was an alcoholic. He said she should have stopped him and he wouldnt drink if she was a better wife, so he hit her. From what I described he was using displacement. d)verbal/non-verbal behaviors, etc? People were cussing a lot in the meeting saying the worst of the worst of language. They were also very expressive, using their hands. Not one person that talked at the podium using mild hand gestures, they were all over the place with their hands, like they were directing traffic. Was the meeting structured/non-structured? non-structured How was the group leader determined? It was whoever volunteered to be the leader for that day. There was a little disagreement at the beginning because the one girl didnt want to be the leader for that AA meeting, but it was settled quickly.

5. Using a dictionary, define the terms: spirituality and religion. How are they alike/different? How is that difference reflected in AA, for example in the

Addiction Recovery Group Assignment words chosen in Step 2 and Step 3 of the Twelve Step Program? Spiritualitysomething that in ecclesiastical law belongs to the church or to a cleric as such. Religionthe service and worship of God or the supernatural. Spirituality is not tangible, its more something you feel. It is up to you to feel God or whatever you worship in your heart. It is all you. Religion is praying, going to church, and going by the guidelines of the church or religious leader. They are both ways to set your values and morals; and become the best you, you can be. Step 2 is saying you really want to be able to stop drinking and have to make a commit to yourself that you want to stop. You have to come to that place in your head and your heart combined that you can do this. Step 3 says you need to turn to your religion and accept God in your life to help you get through these bad times. Follow the rules of God and whatever church you are in or are going to become part of. Both of these will help you stay on track with your life.

6. How do you feel the majority of the members felt about the meeting? Satisfied? Dissatisfied? Likely to return? Not likely to return? Why do you think this? I feel like most of the people felt really satisfied with the meeting or they wouldnt have been so willing to talk and wouldnt have said they were coming back. They are very likely to return because the morale in the meeting was so high and the speeches were so inspiring, I would like to think they would ALL come back. 7. Respectful of the anonymity of all members, describe one person who was in attendance in terms of what step you believe they might have been working on/struggling with? From your perspective, what input or help, if any was provided

Addiction Recovery Group Assignment to that person and in what way? There was a gentleman who got up to talk and told his story of his life. At the end, he talked about where he was now in terms of the steps, he said he keeps repeating step twelve ( having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs). He was working on this because he had become a sponsor to new members and he wants more and more sponsees. He said he wants to let all the new members to always remember one thing, he has been sober twenty-five years and it is very possible. I wouldnt help him at all, he seems to have it all together and is willing to help any person he can.

8. Do members who have been sober for an extended period (years, for instance) describe themselves as cured or as recovering? Why? They describe themselves as recovering because they were always have that desire to drink at the back of their mind and at any time they could have a relapse.

9. Choose any two (2) AA Traditions (page 474 of your text) and describe in some detail the evidence of each of them at the meeting you attended. There is one requirement for AA membership is a desire to stop drinking- at the meeting they didnt charge anything or have any of the people do anything special for them. They just talked about their problems and how they are dealing with it. They did pass around a donation plate but it was not a requirement. Each group has but one primary purpose-to carry its message to the alcoholics who still suffers- This was clearly happening in the meeting. Each person was telling their story and reaching out to the relapsing people in the room.

Addiction Recovery Group Assignment The whole time their speeches were aimed at helping and getting the message to them that they can do it and be sober.

10. What other AA programs are available at this location? (Al-Anon, AlATeen, ACOA, etc) What references, if any were made to any of these programs during your experience at the meeting? They didnt mention any other AA programs when we were there. There were only pamphlets of information in general but no other AA programs. They did mention the have birthday parties for each member so they would be less likely to drink when they celebrate.

PART C: (After you have attended the meeting and completed Part A & B of the assignment.) 1. How was it like/different from your expectations described in Part A? It was way different they I thought it was going to be like. They people were very welcoming and nice. They were dressed like normal people, with a few exceptions of course. The life stories were so sad and interesting and encouraging all at the same time. They didnt put on a show; they were very genuine with all their actions and words. 2. How do you feel about having attended the meeting? I feel good about the meeting. I am really glad we were required to go because it opened up my eyes to a lot of things. I always thought that alcoholics could just stop and choose not to. I have realized though its like any other drug and they need help like everyone else. Their stories were so gloomy, but yet they were heartening.

Addiction Recovery Group Assignment 3. In your own words, what is it about this program that you believe explains its success rate? What are your thoughts on who might and who might not be successful in this type of program? On what do you base your thinking? I think the cohesiveness within the group really helps people be successful in this program, makes them feel like they are not alone with this issue. Also, I think people talking about their own stories and problems makes them feel like they are not as different after all. The groups genuineness helps the success as well. People that are do not do well in crowds or are loners in nature might not do to well in this program because it is all about the group and talking in front of them. Everyone else I think would be very successful. I base my thinking on the way I saw the meeting and how it worked. Also the twelve traditions say a lot about groups, if someone doesnt like groups the more likely to resist it.

4. How do you expect to need/use this experience/information within your future practice of nursing? This is experience has taught me not to judge someones fault or mistakes until I truly understand them. This will really come in handy in nursing, where you are supposed to be unbiased over certain subjects (abortions) and to different people you come into contact with (someone with different religion, alcoholics, prisoners).