According to Kelly et al. (2020), the effectiveness of the self-help group known as A.A. is
superior in minimizing relapse and death from alcoholism. Bluma (2018) argues that spirituality,
"not" religion, is religiously endorsed by a 12-step program that seems to inquire about a God or
higher power on one's own. Understanding. I thought the information attained at the meetings
would serve me well in dealing with clients who have this presenting problem.
I kind arrived at the meeting when they were praying the serenity prayer. I admit I've been in
these meetings before as an undergrad, but it seems like light years because everything was new.
I was welcomed into the group as they introduced themselves; when it came to my turn, I didn't
want to say much, but I acknowledged that I was observing and asked. Though it was an open
meeting, the respect was due to those who might not have wanted me there. I was told I was
welcome, but they preferred it if I was not press, radio, or film, as they have this in the rules they
address every meeting. As I began my observation, there were no dues, payments, or counseling
fees. It seemed that everyone, no matter occupation, ethnicity, or gender, was allowed in the
meetings, and the only requirement was the desire to stop drinking; they made it clear that desire
does not mean you have to be stopped, but they strive for complete abstinence. There was a
chairperson who led the meeting, and they opened the meeting after the prayers, and the
members began telling stories of how they developed alcoholism. Everyone introduced
themselves as an alcoholic, but I have never seen so many smiling, cheerful, and loving bunch
people. Hearing some of the circumstances that brought them to the program was amazing. Dads
got their wives and families back, while others did not get their families back. Most of them
seemed to build new bonds, especially in the group. It was just my luck. Someone they called an
old time was celebrating 50 years sober, and the other was one young man who picked up his
white chip of surrender out of an assortment of colored chips, white representing the white flag
of surrender, meaning one has had enough.
References
Bluma, L. (2018). "The role of spirituality in alcohol abstinence self-efficacy amongst
alcoholics anonymous members,"Drugs and Alcohol Today, Vol. 18 No. 4, pp. 227–239.
https://doi.org/10.1108/DAT-09-2017-0049 Links to an external site.
Kelly, F., Abrey, A., Ferri, M., & Humphreys, Keith. (2020).Alcoholics Anonymous and 12-
Step facilitation treatments for alcohol use disorder: A distillation of a 2020 Cochrane Review
for Clinicians and Policy
Makers. Alcohol and Alcoholism 55(6), November 6, 2020, p. 641-
651.https://doi.org/10.1093 Links to an external site.
Mental illness is a crucial contributing factor to many maladaptive behaviors, including
substance abuse issues (Green et al., 2015). However, not all people suffering from substance
abuse have a mental illness. It seems that finding a community of people with similar
experiences has a positive impact on an individual’s recovery from using substances (Dekkers et
al., 2020). Narcotics Anonymous is one such community.
I attended an online meeting of Narcotics Anonymous on 11/28/2023. The experience was vastly
different from when I went to the Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in person a few weeks back.
While the two meetings did share some of the same bones, there were some apparent differences.
I was starting at the beginning. When I first logged on to the meeting, the site said that cameras
and audio were optional. I thought that was perfect as I was there to observe. I wanted to be as
anonymous as possible. Not five minutes into the meeting the group leader asked me to turn my
camera on to make sure I was not a “bomber.” I suppose that refers to a fake person. At this
point, I was worried the leader would call on me to read or share, but I had to keep telling myself
that is not how these meetings operate. Once this realization set in, I was able to be much more
relaxed.
The meeting progressed much like the Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in that they began by
reciting the serenity prayer and led into reading the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions. From
