Support Group Report
The birth of Alcoholic Anonymous (AA) and Narcotic Anonymous (NA) support groups
are the results of two alcoholics. Bill Wilson. and Dr. Bob discovered by sharing their common
bond and struggles of alcohol addiction, one addict to the other, could in fact bring about a
sufficient change in behavior, primarily the cessation of drinking and ultimately a change in a
person’s character through the help of a Higher Power. In 1934, Bill Wilson, a promising
stockbroker who quit law school, destroyed a successful career in the stock market, and failed
multiple times to stay sober even with hospitalization. He discovered with the help of the
concepts offered by the Oxford Group that the illness of alcohol could be arrested through a
spiritual approach. In addition, Bill Wilson also discovered that he had to share his new found
concepts to remain sober. Faced with the overwhelming desire to drink, Bill Wilson found Dr.
Bob Smith, a physician who began drinking n medical school, and shared his experience and
struggle with drinking. His meeting had such a profound effort on Dr. Bob that it lasted for six
hours and out of this interaction came the birth of AA, NA and other support group
organizations.
My observation of the different support groups I attended reflected the readings and the
Corey DVD in the Initial Stage. The support groups had an identified Chairperson who acts in
the role of a Group Leader who reads group instructions, current announcements, the 12 Steps,
12 Traditions, and set other guidelines for meeting conduct. He also introduces the guest speaker
who will facilitate the meeting topic. I discovered through my discussion after the group
meetings that these 12 Steps came from Bill Wilson desire to create methods of working with
alcoholics through obtaining a sponsor and working through the steps.
The group seems to move from the Initial Stage where the group leader set down
instructions and where the newcomers are indentified and recognized as stated “That the
Newcomer Is the Most Importance Person” in the meeting. As the group moved to what I
identified as the Working Stage. Here is where I witness, individuals who were older members
of the groups sharing what they called their “Experience, Strength, and Hope” or what I realized
were their experiences with addiction. Also shared was how they were helped through attending
the group meetings and obtaining an individual mentor who they call a “Sponsor”. The Sponsor
is responsible for helping them go through the Step process, remain sober and ultimately bring
about a change not only from not drinking but a personality or change in character or what the 12
Step called “an attitude sufficient for recovery”. The Final Stage is were I witness the
newcomers having obtained a Sponsor, worked the 12 Step and in return begin to sponsor
newcomers which is a basic principle (the best way to keep what you have is to give it away).
In my attendance, I viewed a natural leadership process that exist where the newcomer
does not know how to stop drinking or using drugs and must depend on the experiences and
leadership of other to learn how to. What I observed about leadership dynamics is that the
chairperson of each meeting has varying styles or versatility. The group leader would move from
an authoritative style, where he enforces time limit for talking or selecting individuals to share
their experiences. The chairperson also operated in a relationship leadership style where he listen
to group member, had a friendly demeanor and was approachable (Forsyth, 2014). My
observation of their productiveness was based on the full participation of group, the energy and
excitement, and the positive feedback provided at the end of the meeting.
One of the challenges, that I observed, was a lack of understanding of the jargon and
terminology without being a member of the group. For example: “To Beware Is to Be Alive” this
support the principle of Honesty which is the stated principle behind the 1st Step, “We admit that
we are powerless over alcohol and that our lives have become unmanageable” (Sachs, 2009).
They stated that the alcoholic needs to work this step perfectly and must be honest about the
devastating effects of taking that first drink. Another challenge of the group, I observed, were the
varying personalities of older members, some providing great personal stories and advice while
others seem to be just grand standing.
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