Editing a four page assignment , Must know APA and able to follow instructions (Ken Man ...only)

Approaching the meeting location, there were people gathered outside, chatting before the meeting started (or smoking, because the AA meetings are now smoke-free). As I entered inside, there was plenty coffee available. All the AA meetings started (and ended) on time. The leader would announce meeting and it begin with a moment of silence, sometimes followed by the recitation of the Serenity Prayer (“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference”). The leaders would ask someone to read the mediation, and other readings were included, such as “How It Works” from chapter five of the text Alcoholics Anonymous, colloquially known as “The Big Book.” And some leaders had, the "12 Traditions” read by a member or members.

During my time in the different groups meeting, the observation of the relationships between group’s members and the different kinds of leadership practiced in the different group meetings; which were somewhat of the ways in which the teachings of Corey were practices within four group meetings. They were implement effectively and there were some different in how they handle their meeting process as compared to Corey’s teachings as well. The four group meetings however shared many similarities in the way in which the members related to each other and in the processes of sharing and handling the meeting. From the four groups’ meetings I attended it was evident to see the different stages in which the group members presented themselves, some of the group members were in more advanced stages compared to other group members who were there because they were appointed by the court and were now growing (Corey, 2014).

Every group meeting had a leader with different styles of leadership within the group and some of the leadership styles were evident as mentioned by Corey in the DVD. Each group welcoming their members and most of the groups were made up of less than ten members. There wasn’t any group meeting that had two leaders facilitating at the same time and each group meeting had the same structure of starting their meeting however, some groups had closer relationships between the members. Another major difference noted is the way in which some of the groups were made fun, a lot of laughter and joking as compared to others using different activities. I did not get a chance to see a new group member, that was starting for the first time; because most of the members of the groups had already met and had done number of sessions together; therefore I did not get the privilege of witnessing the process of building a group from the beginning (Corey, 2014) or adding new members to the group.

From my observation of the AA East McComb Group, Alcoholics Anonymous group and in relation to Corey’s teachings, the different aspects were evident in every group and the most apparent aspects as given by Corey were the presence of group dynamics, the importance of the group leader in facilitating the activities and the relationships in the group. Additionally the processes within the groups also showed the importance of regular membership brings about improvement in the members and enhances them to stay clean. According to Corey (2014), the importance of membership is that the members will get to increase their knowledge of what they know about themselves; which will help the members get to recognize the changes they want to make and get the necessary skills as they look to achieve their goals and because of this, the members will improve, but only if they come to the sessions on a regular basis. They is why at the end of the meeting holding hands and saying to each other "keep coming back it works if you work it”. The regular membership attending is one of the major aspects in all the groups, most of the members in the groups would mention how long they had been part of the group when they were sharing. These were the main aspects from Corey’s teachings that I could see in the different group meeting. "Unlike group therapy, AA members share their own experience, strength, and hope with each other, rather than telling one another what to do.

From the relationship between the leaders and the members of the group, I believe the groups were past their formation stage and the groups were in their norming stage where the members were past the formulation of the activities and the formulation of policies, the groups were past this stage; because they have been functional for some time. Therefore the groups were in a stage where the members already know each other strengths and weaknesses. The stage of the group was easy to tell by the behavior of the members who seemed to have high spirits before they sat down to meet and even after the meeting. The members of the groups seemed like they trusted each other as they were speaking on a personal basis (Gladding, 2014).

Aside from the members, the most notable influence in the group was that of the leaders as their presence was felt as the members were gathering before the meeting. The welcoming of the members was done in a way that would break any tension; that allowed the member to feel free in order to share. Leaders would start the meeting on time by giving a welcome like "I am Sam, an alcoholic. I would like to welcome you to the Monday evening AA East McComb Group meeting.” And remind the group of their sole purpose and then would mention the goals of the meeting of the day so as to guide the members in a systematic manner, by giving a special welcome to new attendees and have them introduce themselves" The leaders were also personal as they knew all the members by name and would mention them by their first names. The leadership style of allowing the members to be free and including their opinions and allowing them to talk in the group created a secure atmosphere for the members to share. One of the main issues I noticed in the group was that the groups meetings vary in attendees; but in the larger meetings there were members not as bold as the others when discussing on certain topics. In those cases, some of the leaders would talk for a few minutes and then would call on meeting participants to talk or “share” and request that they limit their comments to three to five minutes and restrict their discussion to issues relating to alcoholism and recovery. Sometime during the meeting, the leader open the meeting to anyone who has not been called on who really needs to talk, frequently referred to as a “burning desire to share.” People who are called upon to speak usually did so by identifying themselves, for instance, “My name is rose and I am an alcoholic.” The group usually responds with “Hi, Rose and then the individual speak for a few minutes. If a person was called upon and did not wish to talk, he or she has only to say, “I think I will just listen today,” or, “I’ll pass.” The meetings last one hour , and at the end of the meeting, the group members stand, join hands, and recite the Lord’s Prayer or the Serenity Prayer, for those who care to join. This was the basic format for all four meeting. It was an open meeting; therefore any AA member can walk into a meeting anywhere and feel at home. It was a great experience and a reminder for me, where God had brought me from...

References

Gladding, S. T., & ERIC Counseling and Student Services Clearinghouse. (2014).Effective group coun seling. Greensboro, N.C: ERIC Counseling and Student Services Clearinghouse, University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Corey, Corey Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy. Place of publication not identified: Cengage Learning Emea, 2014