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12 Step Meeting Reflection

Today I attended an Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meeting with a classmate. This assignment was one I have been looking forward to because I have been very interested in seeing how group facilitation works firsthand in our Memphis community. This group meeting was very structured and followed a step by step process. The leader played the role of a directive facilitator. He would ask a group member to read the rules and today's lesson, and then asked each member to share how they were feeling and coping with their addiction. In one instance, a group member began to speak off topic. The leader redirected him a minute or so after he began his story.
I believe the environment greatly impacts these meetings. This was an open meeting, meaning anyone could walk in or out of the room at any time. While this kept the environment more casual, it also brought upon some distractions for the members. 
To me, this session was very therapeutic. Each group member was very different and had a variety of stories and advice to share. The leader was very encouraging, and I sensed a great amount of unity among the members. 
I believe this was a behavioral cognitive group because the focus of the group is to change the mindset of the members in order to overcome an alcohol addiction. The group also addressed coping skills and did not allow any judgment among the members. 
I truly enjoyed my experience and appreciate the hard work that goes into each of these meetings. 

Comments

  1. Professor SasseMarch 10, 2018 at 12:19 PM

    Excellent share Camille. One of my favorite lines in the whole post was the very last one, "I truly appreciate the hard work that goes into each of these meetings." I wonder if that is in some part due to having to plan and facilitate your groups during this course, or perhaps it is just the first time you feel that you have seen this in community based practice, but I could not agree with you more. Sometimes I watch the facilitators in some of these crisis related groups, and I cannot believe how skilled they are... and then I realize that the best ones are probably the best because of the truly hard work that they put into supporting, planning, and facilitating these groups. I'm really thrilled that you got to experience this, and I know that you will continue to draw from the things that you learned for a very long time.
    Prof. Sasse

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