Narcotics Anonymous Group Meeting Group

¶ … Narcotics Anonymous Group Meeting

Group therapy is a method of counseling that provides the opportunity for addicted individuals to benefit from each other's experiences. It allows participants to share their perspectives and experiences with others in similar positions and promotes more intimate sharing and greater honesty than many other forms of therapy, particularly those between one addicted patient and a therapist.

The setting of the group meeting varies from group to group, but generally, groups meet weekly. Group leaders are almost always former addicts themselves, and some groups divide leadership responsibilities among several individuals. In some groups, newcomers are welcomed and encouraged to introduce themselves and participate; in others, newcomer meetings either take place at different times or they immediately precede the regular weekly meeting. Many groups encourage members to partner up, to ensure that every member has someone to talk to in times of high stress or potential relapse.

This observation concerns an open meeting of a Narcotics Anonymous (NA) group meeting by necessity, because closed meetings do not permit non-member guests or other outside observers.

Group Dynamics and Leadership:

The group assembled into a large room with group members all taking seats arranged into a semicircle that stretched across most of both side walls, but left enough room between the center portion and the back wall to allow several traditional straight rows of seats for family members, prospective members, and other observers.

After everyone took a seat, a group leader started the meeting by welcoming all the guests and going over the basic rules, emphasizing that the most important rule was complete confidentiality about anything that was shared or revealed in the meetings. The leader then explained the process of anonymous sharing and related his own personal experiences with the different methods of dealing with his addiction problems before participation in group therapy.

The leader also explained that besides the rule of confidentiality, the other fundamental rule of the group is complete honesty. He elaborated by saying that the rule of honesty still allows for members to decide for themselves whether they wish to speak or share their experiences with the group and that the group setting is meant to encourage but not to require participation. Members are allowed to merely observe and listen without contributing, but they are not allowed to lie when they do choose to speak.

The leader then detailed the ways that lying in a group setting harms both the liar and the group: the liar is harmed because lying in a group setting makes it easier for him to believe his own lies and minimize the extent of his problems; it harms the group by depriving other members of the benefit of hearing how much other people's experiences mirror their own. The leader emphasized that theses meetings were even more important for members who were uncomfortable sharing their experiences, but cautioned anyone who was unsure of his ability to be completely honest to simply observe and listen until they became comfortable enough to share with the group.

At this particular group, three out of every four meetings are open, allowing non-members to attend as observers and the other three are closed. The leader concluded his opening remarks by passing out a revised schedule of open and closed meetings for the next two months.

The leader then opened the floor for prospective members to introduce themselves if they wished. According to him, honesty required those who do choose to speak for the first time to introduce themselves by honestly acknowledging their addiction to the group. He reminded everybody that the most important aspect of honesty was to always be honest with one's self and he congratulated all the new potential members for making the first step in addressing their problems by taking the initiative to come to the meeting. He asked for a show of hands from new prospects and several people sitting in the back raised their hands, after which the regular members all turned in their direction and applauded briefly to congratulate them for taking the first step in their recovery.

Then, the leader asked for a show of hands from people who wished to share with the group. After four people raised their hands, he assigned an order for them to speak and the first of the group shared a story about hanging out with the wrong people. He had previously tried to drink socially, but found after several drug relapses, that it was impossible for him to drink alcohol without leading to more destructive vices, because alcohol impaired his judgment and his ability to be honest with himself in all circumstances. He described going through the process of rationalization and justification of harmful indulgences starting as soon as he has a single drink. The previous weekend, he had attempted to spend time with people who currently do some of the things that he used to do, and even though he drank only non-alcoholic beer, the environment and social aspects of being in a bar brought him so close to feeling that he wanted to take heroin again that he had to take a prescription pill called Subutext that blocks any response to heroin. The leader spoke briefly again before the next member and reminded the group of the power of suggestion, even in circumstances that are considered "normal" for non-addicts. After thanking him for his contribution, the leader then gave the floor to the next person who had previously raised his hand, repeating that two more times afterwards.

Group Therapy Stage:

In general, the members in the group have varied lengths of association with the group counseling process and with this group in particular. Some have been in successful recovery for extended periods of time but are relatively new to this group after recently relocating to the area. Others joined the group very recently, and several, by their own admission, have been members of the group much longer than their current stretch of sobriety, having relapsed once or more since first joining the group.