Clinical Reflection: Group Meeting

Clinical Reflection: Group Meeting

I arrived thirty minutes earlier for the meeting scheduled at seven that evening, but the parking lot was almost full and teeming with activity. There were people talking, laughing, and some were loitering, wandering aimlessly before proceeding through a discreet door; ten minutes prior to the scheduled start. Hence, the scene reminded me more of an enthusiastic crowd being ushered in before the movie start or an eager bunch queueing up for the latest iPhone rather than a weary horde, about to face intervention. That was not what I had envisioned this discussion to be, much less, what I had expected. Moreover, behind those inconspicuous door, only made distinguishable by a small double A sign, was a …show more content…
These individuals are the very same people that we encounter everyday: a bank executive who is a father of four, a retired career military man who just got back from his last tour, a housewife who takes care of her grandchildren at home, and a student who aspires to make a change in this world. Significantly, behind each of those stories lies the the hurt, the disappointment, the anger, and the pain, all the reasons that had driven them towards their addiction. Support group meetings such as this one, facilitates for these individuals to add to their personal anecdote, their story of redemption. Truly, the importance of being a part of a support group is profound. Amongst those who were in attendance were newly recovering alcoholics who still manifest the struggles and harbor signs of denial. In the same way, others who grappled with their addiction came to term and overcame their addiction by both listening and expressing themselves therapeutically in such a meeting, experienced the genuineness of the talks, and those laughs heard at the parking lot. Therefore, society should not judge these individuals because of their addiction, instead, understand the root of that