AA and Al-Anon Research Paper
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Introduction
According to Zemore et al. (2018), Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a worldwide national program that is aimed at ensuring its members stay sober as well as helping other alcoholics achieve sobriety. The program is self-supporting apolitical, and nonprofessional. In order for an individual to be part of the program, they are required to have a desire to stop taking alcohol. On the other hand, Al-Anon is a fellowship program that helps the recovery of family and friends of an alcoholic regardless of the fact that the person acknowledges the existence of a drinking problem. In these two groups, the alcoholics, as well as friends and families of the alcoholics, are helped through the twelve-step program. As such, the main purpose of this paper is to conduct research on how the AA and Al-Anon groups function. In order to do this, I visited two such groups in district 8, Tampa bay Florida and watched how the fellowship programs take place.
The 12-step program
According to Litt et al. (2009), a huge part of the recovery of an alcoholic of a person close to the alcoholic is derived from the AA and Al-Anon meetings. For this reason, the meetings can be either open or closed. The closed meetings are designed for individuals who have or think that he has a desire to stop taking alcohol. In this case, one does not need to have participated in another meeting in order to attend a closed meeting. Typically, closed meetings are for individuals who are in the recovery process. On the other hand, an open meeting is a meeting that is designed for the members of the community who have a desire to know more about AA and Al-Anon. in the AA meeting that I attended, the meeting was clearly defined as an open meeting where it comprised of members of the society who wished to know more about AA. The open meeting was available to any interested party who was interested in the program and also non alcoholics who may want to attend as observers such as me. This also applied to the Al-Anon groups I attended. It was an open meeting for the members of the community who might have an interest and also for observers.
In regard to the functionality of the group, both meetings that I attended followed the 12-step meeting format. After everybody had settled down, the leader of the group welcomed everybody to the group and opened the meeting. After the invitation and welcome by the leader of the group, there was a moment of silence that was consequently followed by the recitation of the serenity prayer. According to Kaskutas et al. (2008), the serenity prayer was introduced in AA meetings in 1942 by one New York member of the program named Jack. In that particular meeting, he read a tribune obituary that interested everyone in that meeting. From then on, the prayer was printed on small cards and sent to the mails of all the members. After the recitation of the serenity prayer, an explanation of the twelve-step values is done. This was done by the leader of the group, and the main purpose of this is to enlighten new members regarding the process. At this stage, the leader reiterates that each and every member is expected to maintain confidentiality, be open to every person in the group and that there is no cost for members of the AA and Al-Anon groups.
The next phase of the meeting was reading from the 12-steps. The first step of the 12 steps is the members admitting that they are powerless to alcohol, and their lives have become unmanageable as a result. The second step is believing that a power greater than ourselves can restore us to sanity. The third step is making a decision to turn our will and our lives to God. The fourth step is making a searching and fearless inventory of ourselves. The next step involves admitting to God and to humans about the exact nature of our wrongs. The sixth step involves being ready to have God remove the defects in our character. The next step asks God to remove all our shortcomings. The next step creates a list of everybody that we have harmed and had the willingness to make amends. This is followed by making direct amends to these people. The tenth step is continuous personal inventory as well as swift admission of wrongdoing on our part. The next step is prayer and meditation, and the final step is spiritual awakening and the practice of these principles in our affairs. After reading the 12 steps, the next phase of the meeting was introductions from around the room. At this juncture, each and every person may stand and say their first. It is important to note that participation from the members is voluntary and not mandatory. The next phase of the meeting is the discussion phase. In this part, it is the role of the leader to ensure that he/she makes it easy for the group members to talk freely without disruption and without fear of judgments. The group leader ensures that the meeting takes place in an orderly manner. The meeting then comes to an end with announcements, which are made by the leader. This is then followed by donations, which ensure the sustainability of the group, and lastly, closing with a word of prayer.
From a personal perspective, I noted that in the open AA meetings, there was a lot of order and support from the group members. Each and every person was warm and welcoming regardless of the fact that they knew you or did not know you. This was also very evident in the Al-Anon meetings. This characteristic makes it very possible for a person wishing to participate in the group to do so without fear of judgment or exposure. In the same regard, I also learned from the meeting that the 12 step program is a very effective way of reducing alcohol addiction among its members. This is due to the fact that this twelve-step program ensures that the members are taken through a comprehensive step of acknowledging their addiction, accepting that as a result of the addiction, they have ruined their lives and that of others, and lastly, asking for forgiveness from those that they have hurt. This has given me the perspective that it is an effective method of helping alcoholics deal with addiction.
Analysis of the 12-step program
After attending these meetings, I was able to evaluate how the healing process works in addiction recovery groups. This is essential in understanding the power and significance of group work since group work is the foundation of social work. In the participation of these meetings, I was able to learn three elements from the groups that significantly altered my approach to social work in a positive manner. The first element I observed was the installation of hope. In these groups, the members could often talk about their past experiences and listened to the stories of the individuals who were done with the recovery process since it was an open meeting. By listening to these stories, the members of the group get the sense that sobriety is something that can be achieved by all. In the same regard, the leaders of the groups that I attended were all recovered alcoholics. These are individuals who had undergone closed meetings and lived a sober life for more than seven years. They, therefore, instill hope in the members of the group and to the members of the society that sobriety is not afar fetched goal.
The second element that altered my approach to social work is the element of universality. According to Brandsma et al. (1980), alcoholism is an equal opportunity illness that does not discriminate. It does not see race, color, or geography since it can affect anybody from anywhere. This is an important element to learn, especially seeing it first-hand from recovered addicts in the group. There were signs of relief that I could see from some of the group members when some individuals spoke about feeling broken and almost reaching insanity due to alcoholism. This is a clear sign that the people talking were not the only people who were feeling that not only in the group but also in the community. Other members who were brave enough to open up about their feelings openly stated that no matter how hard or how crazy they may feel, they find solace in the fact that they are not alone in the struggle. This changed my approach to social work by understanding that it is easier to deal with a problem as a group rather than alone.
The third element I learned was the imparting of information. In the two groups that I attended, there was a mingling session before and after the group meeting where members socialized with one another, in these mingling sessions, in noted that there were many members requesting information about rehabilitation facilities, hospitals, hobbies, and activities that reduce idleness as well as general advice. This created a free and comfortable atmosphere that helped the members hare information that was helpful to one another.
As a result of this new information to the approach of social work learned, I would recommend the twelve-step program to any of my clients. This is because, in addition to providing the necessary help and support needed to curb addiction, the program also creates an environment in which the members can call a safe haven. Through this program, the members have a comprehensive way in which they can deal with addiction. One of the reviews that have been made regarding the effectiveness of the 12 step program is the 2020 Cochrane review. In this review, Kelly et al. (2020) state that the AA results in alcoholics are more abstinent and for longer periods of time than other methods of treatment but only as well as in the drinks per day and other measures. This study compares the 12 step program to other alcohol intervention programs and reveals that the 12-step program has an abstinent rate of 42% while other intervention programs have a 35% abstinent rate. This, therefore, means that the 12 step program is more effective due to its higher abstinence rate. Another study that focuses on the effectiveness of AA and the twelve-step program is the Kaskutas (2009) study. This study states that despite the fact that there are positive effects among patients who undergo the 12 step program, it cannot be determined if it is the AA that has a specific effect that helps maintain sobriety or it is other factors such as group support. This, therefore, implies that the achieving of sobriety cannot be credited to the 12 step program but rather the support structure that has been established through attending the meetings. After reviewing these two studies, the information in these studies did not change my opinion but rather reinforced it. This is due to the fact that in the two studies, the main reason for sobriety in attendance of the AA meetings. In these meetings, the twelve step program is covered and, as a result, strengthening the desire, and the will power of the members to maintain sobriety. As such, the support system couple with the 12 step program is the reason for the high numbers of members who have maintained sobriety after attending AA meetings.
Core value of respect
According to Emrick (2016), respect is the due regard to the feelings, wishes, and rights of other individuals. An example of the show of respect by a leader is when the leader does not rule or lead according to his thoughts or opinions, but according to the opinions of his subordinates. This shows that the leader has respect for the subordinates and their opinions and wishes. In the groups that I attended, respect was a very important aspect. The leader ensured that he did not interrupt any of the members and addressed each of the members through the prefix of sir/madam. The leader also ensured that everybody was comfortable by offering his seat to some of the members who did not have one.
Conclusion
The AA meetings that I attended in the course of this research have shed light on new information. AA meetings require that all the members maintain confidentiality as well as respect and desire to maintain sober. In regard to the effectiveness of the twelve-step program, I have witnessed first-hand through testimonies how the fellowship has saved individuals from the brink of their own destruction. For this reason, this is a program that has the ability to save millions of lives and families.
References
Brandsma, J. M., Maultsby, M. C., & Welsh, R. J. (1980). Outpatient treatment of alcoholism. Baltimore: University Park.
Emrick, C. D., & Beresford, T. P. (2016). Contemporary negative assessments of alcoholics anonymous: A response. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, 34(4), 463-471.
Kaskutas, L. A. (2009). Alcoholics Anonymous effectiveness: Faith meets science. Journal of addictive diseases, 28(2), 145-157.
Kaskutas, L. A., Ye, Y., Greenfield, T. K., Witbrodt, J., & Bond, J. (2008). Epidemiology of alcoholics anonymous participation. In Recent developments in alcoholism (pp. 261-282). Springer, New York, NY.
Kelly, J. F., Humphreys, K., & Ferri, M. (2020). Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12‐step programs for alcohol use disorder. Cochrane database of systematic reviews, (3).
Litt, M. D., Kadden, R. M., Kabela-Cormier, E., & Petry, N. M. (2009). Changing network support for drinking: Network Support Project 2-year follow-up. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 77(2), 229.
Zemore, S. E., Lui, C., Mericle, A., Hemberg, J., & Kaskutas, L. A. (2018). A longitudinal study of the comparative efficacy of Women for Sobriety, LifeRing, SMART Recovery, and 12-step groups for those with AUD. Journal of substance abuse treatment, 88, 18-26.