Bethuel Best ONLY #6
STEP 1: Initial Discussion Board Post (600 words)
Topic: Wrap-Up Thread Prompt: Summarize your experience attending the AA meetings by sharing the thing that you are most surprised about after attending 6 meetings. What surprised you the most? What expectations did you have that were not realized? What have you learned in attending that you would not have learned, or what concepts from the course would you not have understood as well if you had not attended? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reply Prompt: For your replies, respond to at least 2 classmates. In each reply, share further insights you have gained through reading your classmate’s reflections on meeting attendance.
STEP 2: Reply to this post below (200 words) J. Franklin
The experience that I got from attending the AA meetings was wonderful. I’m appreciative for the warm welcome that I received there. The thing that I was surprised about most was the open and transparent way some members shared. They would almost share as if in a therapy session where you can share freely. I would have thought before that the sharing would be more of what you thought someone wanted to hear instead of what was really going on with you. Besides being surprised by that, the other thing that really surprised me was that there were couples there that were recovering together. One man had 27 years and his wife had 22 years sober. When one of them shared that it shocked me and that they didn’t meet in AA, they were together before coming to AA.
I think that’s amazing to see them recovering together. There was at least two couples like that and they shared that they were all close friends who started out together in the program. I expected that after initially introducing myself to the chairperson before each meeting and stating that I am a student attending as a requirement for a class that it would influence how the members shared. The members embraced me, and it seemed they had gotten used to seeing me come to the meetings. An expectation that was not realized is that I would like to see the full transformation and growth of a member from the start. That would be the ultimate experience of attending AA meetings for me.
I have learned that all alcoholics share similarities in their experiences with addiction and I would not have conceptualized that element had I not attended those meetings. I know I had ideas about different aspects surrounding AA members and meetings but, it was not the way I thought in most instances. Just to reiterate I’m glad for the experience to attend the meetings and would go on to say that all the classes that I have taken thus far at the ending of my degree completion have been quite helpful for future reference working in addiction. Thank you for an informative class and the tools that you have deposited in me.
You mentioned that the family dynamics have an influence on the child which I agree. “Frequently families will not talk or express feelings about the user’s behavior in an effort to maintain a general sense of stability (Clinton & Scalise, 2013, p. 73). They would rather pretend that it’s not happening. “Also, they are often told not to trust anyone else with the problem because there is power in holding on to the “secret” (Clinton & Scalise, 2013, p. 73). It is quite the opposite that when we share our problems the load is lessen which is a good thing. I realize that in counseling that every client situation may be different and therefore the solution cannot be generalized to everyone.
It was inspiring to see young people come to AA and during one meeting an older member shared that he wished he had the been introduced to AA when he was their age, instead of when he was 62. I get that, my hope is that the younger members stick around to recover maintaining sobriety. I think that most of what I witnessed in meetings attendance has been reflected on and gives so much more meaning to what I saw and heard from the members. Matthew 6:33 King James Version (KJV) But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
STEP 3: Reply to this post below (200 words) J. Hudson
Since I began walking this path to become a counselor, I have experienced and learned a many new thing. As my initial motivation and inspiration for pursuing this career was based on both my own past experiences with substance abuse and seeing the plight of this affliction on our society; this area of counseling has been a distinct interest of mine during my studies. All that being said, it would be easy to say that I have had a lot of experience with most aspects of addiction, including self-help groups. Having been to a few different types of meeting and different Alcoholics Anonymous groups, I felt that there was not much that would surprise me. I was delightfully incorrect.
What surprised me most with my experience with AA, was the commitment that this particular group has to the spiritual aspect of the program. As Hester and Miller (2003) note, the core principal of Alcoholics Anonymous is surrendering your addiction to a higher power, often some sort of spiritual entity (i.e. God). Despite this being a keystone of the process, there are many groups that try to avoid this topic, glossing over it or taking the time to note all the non-spiritual things that can represent the higher power in a person’s life. Unfortunately, this has been something I have witnessed first hand in some of my past encounters with Alcoholics Anonymous. That being said, you can imagine how surprised and impressed I was to hear nearly every member (particularly those with the longest tenure with the organization) testify to the importance of this step and the impact it had on their life and sobriety.
I firmly believe that this spiritual aspect also facilitates the support portion of the process. The group process can prove invaluable to most people, due largely to the fact that the person is surrounded by people who are going through the same troubles and are supported by them fully (Hester & Miller, 2003). This is an aspect of the program that I have understood, but it carried so much more affect to see it happen in front of me. This group would freely offer help of any kind to one another at all times of the day and night for phone calls or meeting up for coffee, all in the name of being supportive and helping the individual resist the temptation to drink. In the end, that support is not only valuable to the person who is fighting the temptation; but, it is also valuable to the person or persons providing support, as it makes them feel like they are giving back some of the support and love that they have received over time. Again, this is a pillar of the program that often gets overlooked and under-appreciated.
Finally, I have to admit I was somewhat reluctant to undertake this part of the course. As I said, I have attended AA in my tenure as a counseling student and have had some experiences that were not all that favorable. After seeing Alcoholics Anonymous groups that avoid steps, skirt issues and break down to infighting and negative thought process, it was a breath of fresh air to be part of one that embodies the core principals of the group. Furthermore, I feel like knowing what we know about the history of the organization and its founders, the core of Alcoholics Anonymous has always been in Christ; and not some vague, nebulous spiritual concept. I realize that the idea is put in place to be inclusive and to help underscore the necessity for people to understand that there is something greater than themselves in this universe; but at the end of the day, that power needs to be recognized for who and what it is: God, the creator of the universe, who sent forth the son, Christ, to sacrifice His life so that we may all be free from the bondage of all sin, including addiction.