Alcohol Anonymous Meeting Assignment Reflection
Afrin Shah
Valencia College School of Nursing
NUR 2522C Health and Illness Mental Health
Professor Dr. Mayra Borrero
November21, 2022
Heading 1 meeting attended
I attended a Virtual (online) meeting the name of the group, link, time and date I attended listed below.
I searched central Florida intergroup and found different group and timing of AA meetings. I chose one
of them according to my convenience. The meeting I attended it was only for women.
Name of the group: WOMEN IN RECOVERY GROUP
November 17th Thursday, 6:15 PM to 7:30 PM 2022
https://cflintergroup.org/meetings/women-in-recovery-group-4/
Heading 2 meeting description
The meeting had 8 participants including me with different aged woman. The conductor of the meeting
welcomed everyone and read out the agenda of the meeting. Participants started reading from their
guidebook in turns. All of them read few lines from the guidebook, the book is all about AA meeting.
What is AA meeting, who attend this, its significance, its goal and purpose etc. are the content of that
guidebook. The conductor thanked them for their service. After that, the conductor requests the
participants to share their experience or if they have anything to share with. Here starts the main part of
the meeting, hearing their experiences and their stories. As I mentioned earlier this was only for women
participants, I got to hear how those women got addicted to alcohol, their struggles and their realization
to get help to get back to normal life. There was a different kind of association in that meeting, I was
amazed to see that. I learned from their shared stories that how helpless one can be when they lose
control of their own lives! What miserable consequences they can head to out of that uncontrolled
situation! Specifically for those women being an alcoholic and being a mother at the same time. I was
scared to think about their children. The conductor was appreciating their efforts to be able to be sober
and maintain that also for inspiring each other. The meeting was ended 15 minutes prior scheduled
time. It was a full of learning session for me.
Heading 3 nursing implications
According to comprehensive analysis conducted by a researcher from Stanford school of medicine and
his collaborators, Alcoholics Anonymous, the worldwide fellowship of sobriety seekers, is the most
effective path to abstinence. (Erickson, 2020) It is extremely important for a nurse to understand the AA
meeting process and how the nurse utilizes the information in her practice. Nurses work closely with
patients and play a vital role in the identification and treatment of alcohol use disorders. Providing
education and training about AA and how the program is used to help alcoholics in maintain sobriety is
crucial for nurses working in all healthcare settings. Alcoholism is a disease that is a significant threat to
health. today alcoholism identified as one of the major substances abusing problems. An alarming
number receives treatment for alcoholism. Despite these alarming situation nurses lack knowledge and
understanding of Alcoholics Anonymous. Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) has been identified as the most
powerful form of intervention for alcoholism. In order to improve patient care, patient awareness,
patient education and outcomes it is crucial to Increase nurses’ knowledge and understanding of how
AA works as a program of recovery is indispensable. It also enhances nurses’ confidence and
competence in working with this patient population. (Brown, 2015)
Alcoholism is a chronic and progressive illness which is needed to treat on urgent basis otherwise it,
could lead to both physical and mental health problems. Alcoholism is among the most widespread
disorders seen in both inpatient and outpatient in the healthcare. Alcoholism is a recognized cause of
many illnesses, disability and mortality in USA. The disease may also worsen or complicate co-occurring
conditions. Focusing on screening for people at risk for alcoholism is one of the initiatives should be
taken to prevent the problem. This practice should be followed in all healthcare settings because early
identification and intervention bring better outcomes. (Brown, 2015)
At first the nurses need to understand what AA meeting is. There is a misconception that AA is a
religious program. Whereas which is not actually. “AA has a focus on spirituality; however, it is not a
religious program. Discussion of a higher power in the twelve steps leads to misconceptions about AA.”
(Brown, 2015, para 6) A nurse’s duty it to fully understand and make the person understand who is
needing help that their religious belief can be anything it has nothing to do with the program. Having a
basic understanding of the twelve steps is important. For a person feeling powerlessness over the use of
alcohol, is the first step of twelve. Not all alcoholics readily admit they have problem. “Nurses need to
understand that not every alcoholic has realized that they have a problem with alcohol, to avoid feeling
frustrated if their efforts to help them are not producing results. The alcoholic must be willing and ready
to get better.” (Brown, 2015, para 5)
The nurse should be well-informed about all community resources available for the help seekers and the
nurse should be providing those resources to them. A nurse needs to be therapeutic, supportive and
facilitate the willingness of the patient to get sober. A nurse should inform the patients that “AA has
24/7 telephone support services that can be called anonymously. The AA support staff can assist a
person to find a meeting close to them and/or offer support when they are struggling to stay sober. AA
also has directories by state that list the time, location, day of the week and type of meeting being held.
The meetings are offered at different times throughout the day, morning and evening.” (Brown, 2015,
para 7) The nurse must convey the message to patients that, there is always someone in their group
within reach to help their fellow member in need. (Brown, 2015) “AA works because it’s based on social
interaction, Humphreys said, noting that members give one another emotional support as well as
practical tips to refrain from drinking. “If you want to change your behavior, find some other people who
are trying to make the same change,” he said.” (Erickson, 2020, para 3)
Heading 4: Yalom curative factors observed
Instillation of hope:
When people feel completely defeated and lost by life and due to their failure to have control on
substance abuse, they feel this is the end and nothing can turn their life back to normal. People like
these with view of life, join a group with people who are struggling similar kind of situation, there is a
huge possibility for them to be successful in the goal of becoming sober. It is because they observe
changes in others lives in the group, they get inspired, and their own achievement acknowledged and
encouraged by the fellow group members. Thus, hope begins, and power of hope help them to be
successful as individual and as group towards their goal. I exactly observed this curative factor,
instillation of hope in the members of the meeting. I observed a flow of hope among them, they were so
connected to each other in one point that they are not alone, and they are there for each other. They
were extremely supportive to each other.
Universality:
I observed universality among the group. I observed they all know they need help, and they were
positively looking for it even into each other. Substance abuse disorders tend to challenge relationships
and people tend to get into isolation. In a group setting experience, the clients meet other individuals
who are having similar problems. They get to know that they are not alone in their battle and can feel
tremendous satisfaction in this connection. The sense that their sufferings is not exclusive and that
others with similar problems are willing to support them can be significantly therapeutic. It helps
patients come out of their isolation, and it gives a sense of belonging and universality which brings
power to be successful. The group members were sharing their condition of isolation and difficult
personal relationships. They were expressing their gratitude to each other for being able to reach out for
help and support when they need it.
Imparting information:
There was a strong bond between members in terms of sharing information. Members were expressing
their feelings, what helped them achieve that feeling and what is not helping their condition and all.
They were talking about activities and habits that were helpful at the same time they were encouraging
their fellows to do those to feel better. They were very generous to share information The information
shared is personal and seemed as motivational. I felt mutually shared information is working as a
positive outcome for the members.
References:
Erickson, Mandy. (2020, March 11). Alcoholics anonymous most effective path to alcohol
abstinence. News Center. Retrieved November 19, 2022, from
https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2020/03/alcoholics-anonymous-most-effectivepath-to-alcohol-abstinence.html
Brown, Daisy. (2015, September 4). Increasing Nurses’ Awareness of Alcoholics Anonymous.
Elite Learning. https://www.elitelearning.com/resource-center/nursing/increasing-nursesawareness-of-alcoholics-anonymous/