Narcotics Anonymous and Yalom's Therapeutic Group Factors

Overview of the Narcotics Anonymous Open Meeting

Narcotics Anonymous is a non-profit society, or Fellowship, comprising people of both sexes who are battling drug addiction. The major function of the Fellowship is to create an avenue where recovering addicts can meet one another regularly, which helps them stay clean. This Fellowship fosters complete liberation from addiction. Total recovery from all forms of addiction can be achieved through the 12 Traditions and 12 Steps of Narcotics Anonymous. The Fellowship is a worldwide, community-based society of recuperating drug addicts, and it holds over 67,000 meetings every week across more than 139 countries globally (Narcotics Anonymous, n.d.).

Every recovering addict is welcome to the Sunday Open Meeting organized by Narcotics Anonymous, held at St. Andrews near the Sea Lutheran Church. The theme of the meeting is "We Do Recover," and it is aimed at helping anyone who desires to be free from drug abuse. This meeting is supportive and therapeutic in nature. These open Narcotics Anonymous meetings can be attended by anybody who wishes to be part of the Fellowship, and everyone is welcome (Narcotics Anonymous, n.d.).

Anybody can attend the Fellowship, irrespective of race, religion, age, sexual identity, lack of faith, or creed. Any forms of photographic and/or recording devices are banned from meetings, ensuring that members are under no surveillance at any time. Equally, note-taking is discouraged, as members often find it unusual. At a given point in all meetings, everyone is asked to introduce themselves — only a first name is required, along with whether one is an addict, visitor, student, or simply interested in the institution.

Group Leadership and Member Participation

The Fellowship does not provide exclusive meetings for any specific persons. People who have confidentiality concerns may attend a closed-door meeting instead, where only addicts or those still unsure of their status are allowed (Narcotics Anonymous, n.d.).

Leaders can arise organically within these meetings. Certain individuals often take charge of others within the peer group; these persons commonly set the mood and carry out organizational duties for the other members. Extroverts often command more attention than introverts; however, people who do not speak frequently but who engage in thoughtful analysis and self-examination can equally rise to become capable and respected leaders.

Most groups desire and enjoy healthy interactions. Leaders in occupational therapy apply a number of techniques to aid interaction within the group. When a session commences, the group leader initiates interaction by inviting members to state their opinions of one another or to suggest ideas to which everyone can respond. Once the meeting starts, members expect the leader to provide direction, though it is important to ensure that everyone — not just the leader — is able to communicate freely. When asked a direct question, the leader can redirect it to another member with prompts such as "What would you do in Mary's situation?" or "What do you think?" (Creek & Lougher, 2011).

Task Roles Within the Group

By observing which members respond most often, the leader then creates methods to better involve the less vocal members, ensuring everyone has equal chances of participation. Silence can raise anxiety among certain members; however, not every silent moment needs to be interrupted. In some cases, silence gives members the opportunity to reflect on the topic under discussion and form their own opinions. When a discussion question is asked, it is important that a large proportion of members have the chance to respond before moving on. It should not be assumed that a few members speak for the entire group. Only when all members have had their say can a valid consensus be achieved (Creek & Lougher, 2011).

By classifying members according to task roles, an initiator will surely be present — someone who proposes new ideas to the group, offering fresh perspectives on problems, goals, procedures, and solutions. There will also be an information seeker who requests clarification of proposed suggestions in order to determine their accuracy as well as relevant facts and authoritative information related to the issues under discussion. Similarly, there is an opinion seeker who requests clarification of the values related to the group's objectives or to previously suggested ideas (Bate, 2010).

The information giver provides generalizations and facts, drawing on personal experience relevant to the group's issues. The opinion giver offers his or her perspective on a given suggestion, with the aim that their beliefs should become the guiding values and concerns of the group rather than simply related facts. The elaborator expands upon suggestions by developing meanings or examples, provides a rationale for previously proposed ideas, and attempts to assess how a suggestion would work if adopted. The coordinator clarifies and shows the connections between suggestions and ideas, attempting to combine contributions or organize the actions of different sub-group members. The energizer motivates the group to take a decision or action, stimulating members toward higher quality or more ambitious activity. Finally, a procedural technician speeds up group actions by taking care of practical tasks personally — such as arranging chairs or distributing materials (Bate, 2010).

Conclusion

Therapeutic groups are also influenced by existential factors. Existential factors such as loss or death are common sources of significant pain and discomfort within substance-abusing groups. The time-limited nature of a group experience brings these issues to the surface and gives members the opportunity to address them openly within the safety of the group environment.