Self-Help Assignment

Self-Help Assignment

Name of Self Help Program

Alcoholic Anonymous

Structure of the Program/and or Type of Meeting

The AA program runs scheduled meetings as closed or open meetings. The private meetings are restricted for only self-professed alcoholics with the desire to quit. Non-alcoholic observers like me are allowed in public meetings only. The sessions are informal and run by AA alcoholics themselves. The group uses the infamous 12-step model that recommends addicts to surrender to supreme power.

The climate of the meeting

Members of these meetings enjoy a great deal of respect from their peers. There is a sense of family with how they addressed each other during the meeting.

New Learning

The information I gathered from most of the patients is that addictions are usually substituted. There is a valid argument with this theory. People are predisposed to addiction, either genetically, from childhood traumas, or other factors. Therefore, upon blocking one pathway of brain reward, it’s logical that the body seeks another route to nourish the neurotransmitters.

Elements Seen as Curative from Various Biopsychosocial Perspective

The 12 step program taps into an individual spirituality and opens a person’s capacity to care and love others in their recovery journey. Among the 12-steps, individuals are also asked to address their flaws in character and to correct their past undoing. This approach is strategic in giving an addict a new design for living life. The support system, however, is the most effective tool in the AA program.

Client Types to Recommend to the Self-Help Groups

The spirituality aspect of AA is usually contested. It would be easier to recommend a religious person rather than an atheist. Freethinkers find it challenging to define and identify a higher power in their lives. People in the secular world still benefit from AA programs but identifying symbolic items like doorknobs as their higher power.

Methods to Reduce Client Reluctance to Attend the Program

The pejorative term thirteenth stepping is infamously linked with AA programs of late. The thirteenth step is where older members make sexual advances to new members. Addicts who feel threatened are encouraged to enroll in same-gender meetings. The AA culture can also accommodate members of the LGBTQ community by availing them of private sessions.

Part 2: Self Reflection From Values Clarification

In academic circles, professionals easily dismiss AA methods as folksy and unscientific. I have been loud over the years advocating for more evidenced-based alternatives to be implemented. However, the experience within an actual self-group has made me appreciate the efforts of this intervention. The 12-step program applies some kind of inverse logic to trap the minds of the afflicted into accepting what is seemingly apparent to others. The program, in a sense, forces a person to label themselves as alcoholics.

In my value clarification essay, I pointed out that self-actualization as the significant drivers for change. AA certainly works on a similar philosophy; an alcohol addict to accept they have a problem and admit they need help by submitting to a supreme being for help. The 12-step program similarly relies on a social network to facilitate the conditions for change. By addressing their character defects, AA members can identify the environmental and social cues they should deal with to avoid relapses.

An answer on which approach best deals with addictions would be an epiphany of epiphanies. However, without a method that is the best fit for everyone, people should adopt what works for them. If AA is your pathway way to lasting peace of mind, take it confidently.