Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an international mutual aid movement which was founded to help people stay sober. Subsequent fellowships such as Narcotics Anonymous have adopted and adapted the Twelve Steps and the Twelve Traditions to their respective primary purposes AA generally avoids discussing the medical nature of alcoholism; nonetheless AA is regarded as a proponent and popularizes the disease theory of alcoholism.
¶ … group meets downstairs in a church. There are "tables" where the members sit and discuss their issues. In this group there are two tables, nearly filled with about 20 people at each table. There are mostly middle-aged to older adults here (40 years old and up), but a few that are under 30 years of age. There is a pretty even distribution of males and females at the two tables. The general interaction between the members is causal and quite friendly. After sitting at one table I wait for the meeting to get started. Once it is started there are a lot of formalities: an introduction by the leader (I am later told that this person is referred to as the chairperson and this position is a volunteer that changes weekly), the reading the stipulations of the group, a prayer, asking if there are any first time attendees (I remained silent, because I know that if I say I am a first timer I will be taken into a special group and I want to observe the ongoing meeting), and then more readings for the day. The group gets started and the people share their thoughts and feelings.
If the reader has not yet guessed I am at an Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meeting. I'm guessing that most of the members of this group would qualify for either a diagnosis of substance abuse (at one time) or a diagnosis of substance dependence. The vast majority of members her discuss their past usage of alcohol. Everyone starts with an introduction "Hi I'm (name), most say that they are an alcoholic, and group responds with "Hi (person's name)." When the person is finished talking the group says "Thanks (person's name)" and the next person speaks. There is no "cross talk" which means that when a person is speaking no one is allowed to interrupt him. Once is person is finished the next person talks, and if they wish to discuss something already discussed or offer advice to someone who has already talked they do it on their turn.
Only one person discussed their past usage of other drugs besides alcohol (prescription medications). Some of the people describe some really horrific experiences regarding their addictions. Several of the group members have been imprisoned as a result of alcohol-related offenses, several have lost their careers, and several describing losing spouses or alienating family members. Many of these people report that they continued to drink alcohol despite losing relationships, jobs, thousands of dollars, etc. The older members are often more matter-of-fact concerning their stories. But a couple of the younger members describe serious difficulties remaining sober. One younger member (I'm guessing he is in his early 20's) describes some current serious control issues with his alcohol usage. He is currently awaiting sentencing for a DUI and he has multiple past DUI's, so he will likely spend some time in jail. Nonetheless, he reports still going out in the last week and drinking. It is interesting because some of the older members reported similar past behaviors and their story indicated that they had to reach a person low point to make them realize that they needed to stop. This young group member obviously has not realized that point yet.
The method of intervention here appears to be one of learning from others' mistakes, putting faith in God, following the AA twelve steps and attending as many meetings as possible, and getting a "sponsor" which from what I gather is like a mentor who leads you through the program and gives you support. So the AA program is a bit like supportive therapy, and the group offers general advice and tells the young man to "keep coming back." When my turn to speak comes, I introduce myself and tell the group I am there to listen. No one questions me further. After the last person has talked the chairperson makes a few comments, we stand hold hands and recite the Lord's prayer. The meeting ends and I discussed a few issues with some of the members.
A few days later I attended a different AA group, this one also in a church but downstairs. There is one long table and the room is so full that I actually had to sit in a chair in the back of the room. Interestingly, many people from the first meeting I attended were there as well. Several of them acknowledge me. The group has a different chairperson than the other group, but the procedure is similar. The composition of this group is very similar to the first group I attended, and about half of the members were not at the previous meeting. This group also has a first-timer and after the formalities she is led into a different room with several members for a "first step" meeting. I almost followed them, but then thought better of it thinking that I would be required to share my story with the group, and since I would have to make up some details and perhaps offer advice I decided it was best to remain with the major group.
The format here is a bit different. All of the format and opening readings were identical, except for readings out of two AA books that have readings for every day of the year. Once it is time for the meeting to begin however, the chairperson did not have all the members speak (the first meeting I was at the format was to go around the table and everyone spoke), but here people just speak after the other person is finished. Because not everyone spoke a few of the group members talked at length about their issues, but the stories were always similar. One interesting conversation that came up referred to the actor Charlie Sheen. Apparently one group member had heard an interview with him where the actor where he stated that he had given up drugs, but not alcohol. This led to a big discussion (again no cross talk) of how total abstinence is the only way to success in treating alcoholism. Many people relate personal stories of relapses and their inability to control their drinking. Many also report that AA meetings are the only way that they can remain sober. The meeting closed as usual.
AA meetings are held in nearly every major city, and both of the groups offered me a list of local meetings that one may attend. Meetings occur seven days a week, in the morning, evening, and afternoon. I am told by one member that there are even online meetings. In addition, many of the group members socialize with one another and are there to support anyone having difficulty in the program. The support available from AA is certainly more extensive than you typically find in psychotherapy groups because there are not nearly the boundary issues one may encounter with a therapist. The person's sponsor is available nearly any time he or she is needed. Try getting that from a psychotherapist or counselor.
You’re 85% through this paper. Sign up to read the full paper.
Sign Up Now — Instant Access Already a member? Log inAlways verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.