Attending a 12-step meeting: My experience

On February 28,  2018 at 7 pm, I attended an open group meeting for individuals participating in the A.A. program. This experience was somewhat different but still very effective. To begin, the meeting was held in a church on a rainy Wednesday night. The group started with only 3 other people but 2 more showed up within 10 minutes to the meeting starting. The role of the facilitator was voluntary. The facilitator was also an individual participating in the program. He is a recovering alcoholic and was very familiar with the protocol and dynamic of the group. He opened up the meeting by mainly reading from a scripted protocol and then shared his story. He then encouraged the other 4 men in the room to share their stories as well. He was not as much of a directive leader as he was a relatable leader for the other group members. The leader demonstrated active listening and provided commentary when appropriate during the sharing portion of the other members. The environment of the session was chaotic to say the least. Originally and typically, this group meets in a more private room within the church. However, the door was locked and they were unable to meet there. Therefore, the group moved the meeting to an area beside the gym in the church which was only sectioned off by a very thin and retractable wall. In the gym, there was a youth group sermon going on. The teachers of this group had microphones and the speakers were overpowering several times during the A.A. meeting. The youth group would also do activities such as playing basketball which definitely caused some distraction as well as frustration in the A.A. meeting. I believe the session was therapeutic overall despite the external factors creating distractions. The group did not necessarily follow every step we have learned to follow in our OCP Groups course. However, I believe the group was a very meaningful and personal experience. The members shared their stories and opened up to others allowing people to see their weaknesses as they struggle to accept them for themselves. The session did not have any activities or processing steps. It was primarily a forum to share their experience and how they overcame what they have. I do believe the group could be better developed if led by someone who was educated in how to lead a group therapy session. Considering, the member leading was not and he was just volunteering to more or less open the group. It did strike me at times as being closer to a business meeting when reading directly from the pieces of paper about what an A.A. meeting is and what A.A. stands for. That process seemed as if it was too much and the time could have been used better in a different way. I believe this group was a self-help and self-management group because the members and the leader had close to the same amount of speaking in the group and the topics discussed were how and why they have the addiction they do as well as a recognition of why even taking one sip of alcohol is not good for them. A reoccurring theme I heard from each group member was "We don't drink like others." and I found that to be a common way to admitting their own personal weakness which they have turned into a strength.