Step One

It is with definite grief that we have to realize that our society is not prospering as well as it should. Crimes are still being continuously committed, be it by cruel acts of violence or mass killings, and they need to be stopped. Yet although the culprits may be caught, they will eventually be released into our communities once more. They don't necessarily receive the adequate treatment to appease their psychotic desires. The same goes for individuals afflicted with a drug addiction. Too…

12-Step Meetings Summary As a nursing student, each student has to attend and observe two twelve step meetings such as alcohol anonymous, narcotic anonymous, or cocaine anonymous as part of the community health project. I attended two alcoholics anonymous meetings. Alcoholics Anonymous, also known as the AA, is an alcoholism treatment program. There are group meetings in which individuals share their personal experiences about alcoholism and motivate each other to stay sober. According to AA…

The 12 step meeting that I attended was an over eaters anonymous. When I arrived, I was greeted openly and the people were very friendly. I had to announced who I was and the purpose of me being there. I was surprise that I was accepted as part of the group. The group had given several pamphlets and invited me to attend their weekly meetings. There was a total of eight members and two guests. I took notice that there was not a speaker at the meeting. Instead it was a group of people viewing…

Spencer Group topic: Where Do I Pull From? PO attended group on time and moderately engaged in the group discussion on “Spirituality and its role in recovery”. PO was able to identify the difference between spirituality and religion, stated “anything can be a higher power. I have always used my higher power for faith, and ask for help with logical things”. PO attentively listened while other group members shared their insights and thoughts on the topic discussion, and provided positive…

pathways to develop the capacity to move beyond addiction, including caretaking, self-sacrifice and codependency to a healthy level of self-care are needed (Peled & Sacks, 2008). Codependents Anonymous (CoDA) promotes a 12-step approach to recovering from codependency. Twelve-step programs, while helpful to some, do have several drawbacks. First, Dodes (2014) suggests that AA is only 5-10 percent successful. He says that we only hear the success stories. Also, if the person seeking help does…

meeting went on I felt better about being there because I found that I might not have a problem with alcohol but I do have my own problems that I can apply some of the coping mechanisms that they learn and apply those to me. What I learned about the 12 step program is that the recovering alcoholic is ultimately responsible for their recovery and that they themselves are responsible for the actions that got them there and any of their actions that will happen for the rest of their lives. What I…

Finding meetings within one’s community is easy to access via the Internet, counseling offices, and state offices such as the courthouse. Once you find one meeting, it is not difficult to find another within the area, especially if the group does not meet each day. Different groups announce other meeting locations and opportunities for members and visitors at each meeting. Through the announcements,…

Two Effective Personal Characteristics One of the primary motivating factors for embarking on a career path in counseling stems from personal experience with the pain of addiction. The ability to truly empathize with the addicted populations’ experiences and pain is one of my most effective personal characteristics. While there is most certainly concern in regard to the area of compassion fatigue and countertransference, there is no way to teach the level of understanding that comes from having…

wouldn’t be a lawyer operating on a patient in a hospital. Doctors and lawyer vary greatly between their daily responsibilities, expensive and lengthy educations, salaries, and the traits of each professional. A doctor can do many different things in one day to help a patient. Even though doctors seem to be idolized…

compared to the teens (ages ranging from 14-20). Research done by Kelly and Myers (2007) had similar outcomes, reporting that although communities encouraged teen involvement/participation in AA programs, they were one third less likely to be involved, outside of their formal treatment, in 12-step programs and the dropout rate from meeting attendance is higher, when compared to adults. The study conducted concluded that attendance predicts sobriety, by two- to three-folds, and that those who…