Group Dynamics in Support Groups

Group Dynamics in Support Groups

In order to complete this assignment I had to identify four open support groups that were in the local area. Finding information about support groups was fairly easy as this information is widely published. Churches and public buildings are often the location of choice for such meetings and they are scheduled on a near daily basis with some locations alternating. In each of the group sessions I attended, I noticed many consistencies in the group dynamics as well as few deviations. I attended Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous and visited each group twice. I was surprised at the orderliness of the meetings and how effective they seemed to be for the majority of the participants. Although there were a few people who seemed unhappy that I was attending these meetings, most of the leaders and the participants were hospitable to me after I introduced myself and why I was attending. This brief overview will give some examples of some of the group dynamics I witnessed in these group sessions.

Discussion

Both the alcoholics and narcotics anonymous are modeled of a twelve-step program that has been shown to be effective in many settings. Motivational interviewing (MI), cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), and Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) are the most common therapeutic approaches for alcoholism recovery; whereas the former two are clinical treatments grounded in scientific theory, AA emerged as a peer-led program grounded in an array of scientific, social, and spiritual concepts (Young, 2011). However, since the AA groups fall into a realm that is outside of the social sciences, it is often difficult to evaluate these programs effectiveness. However, there are many different studies that have come to different conclusions on the program's effectiveness based on various criteria (Sharma & Branscum, 2010).

Without digging any deeper it to the analysis of the effectiveness of such programs, an AA or NA meeting is an excellent place to examine the social group of people recruited from jails and prisons and the evolutionary psychology and the adaptation of its members to deal with social status, group decision and intragroup relations (Harris, 2013). One of the things that I initially noticed is the wide range of different social classes that were present. Although the image persists that most attendees are of lower social status, this was not entirely the case. In more than one meeting there were lawyers, doctors, and other people that have achieved a professional status in society.

Each session has a leader who begins the meeting and takes the groups through a series of predefined steps. These consist of the follow schedules:

Welcome

Prayer (Serenity)

Opening Comments

The Twelve Steps

Contributions

Announcements

Newcomers

Introductions

Group Guidelines

Sharing Prayer

Closing

Although the groups are stated to be secular in its organization, it borrows heavily from the Christian faith with its prayers and its organization in general.

The groups I attended were well organized. There is a rule however that was constantly broken in each of the group sessions I attended. The rule is called cross-talk and when a member is sharing their story or whatever it is they decided to participate to the group, the other members are supposed to be in complete silence. Each member is given between three to five minutes to speak as they please with no interruptions. However, members were often interrupted in meetings. It seemed as if many of these interruptions may have been caused by newcomers who were not used to the format. Yet in each case, if the disruption was too disruptive to the group then the leader would moderate and redirect the group to the speaker's attention.

Even if the distractions were not so prominent, they were still present. People would nod their heads in agreement or mutter some kind of message under their breadth. However, just gestures did not really cause much of a disruption for the speaker and in many cases it actually helped them to feel more comfortable. In both AA groups that I attended the meetings flowed smoothly from the different steps of the meeting. The NA meetings did not run quite as smoothly however.