Reflection Paper About Alcoholics Anonymous Meeting

The Alcoholics Anonymous meeting I attended was at the Parish Hall at the St. Stephen’s Church in Quinebaug, CT. The meetings are every Monday night at 7 PM. It was a small little hall with four long tables pushed together to give the feeling we were sitting in a circle. There was a row of additional seats behind one of the tables for extra people. It was a mixed group of about twenty men and women. There was a wide age range of people from young adults to elderly although most of them were middle aged.
I walked in and was greeted with a big welcome, given a raffle ticket and offered some coffee and desserts. I was invited to sit within the circle and could already feel the level of welcoming and support. Different members take turns each week taking the lead of the meeting. The night started with Step One were everyone went around the room introducing themselves and …show more content…
I noticed a very similar feeling of acceptance, respect and common ground that everyone has had their illness get out of control at some point. In both settings, I saw fully recovered people being respectful of people who are still struggling with their illness. This A.A. meeting was relatively small just like the other inpatient groups in the state hospital. Larger groups are more likely to be overpowered by more aggressive people and quieter people may be left out of the discussion. (Townsend, 2014, p. 168) Smaller groups are more beneficial so everyone can feel supported. In the A.A. meeting and in impatient groups people were sitting in a circle which is beneficial. Barriers should not be between the members such as sitting around a table. (Townsend, 2014, p.168) The A.A. meeting and some discussion groups in the state hospital were around tables which could be considered barriers between them. I have observed Yalom’s 11 Curative Factors for group therapy in this A.A.