Liberty University
Alcoholics Anonymous Support Group Report
Group therapy has evolved so much that the participant are learning how to help themselves and others. Self-help groups are one of the most popular forms of group therapy. One of the most known self-help groups is Alcoholics Anonymous also known as A.A. Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an international organization produced to assist alcoholics to recover and live alcohol free lives. It was founded by Bill Wilson and Robert Holbrook Smith in 1935. It is a program, complete with twelve steps and twelve traditions, that was put together to help addicts recover from their addictions and inspire them to remain sober.
Robert Holbrook Smith was a doctor who struggled with an alcohol problem since his teens. He tried unsuccessfully for many years to overcome his addiction. His alcoholism had impacted his personal life and profession in a negative manner. He could not function properly without alcohol. In quest of finding help, he found in Bill Wilson. Bill Wilson was a part of the Akron Oxford Group that Smith joined in efforts to sober up. Bill Wilson saw how detrimental alcoholism affected his life and spoke to other alcoholics to try to help them. He helped Smith to completely abstain from alcohol and dedicated his life to assist alcoholics to remain their sobriety. The main idea to their approach was to recognize alcoholism as a disease and to realize that recovery could be maintained through working with others who were experiencing the same problem, alcoholism.
I attended an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting called A New Day. This group was held in a shopping center where two sports bars are located. I thought that the location was not an ideal place to have an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. There were about twenty-five people at each meeting that I attended. They were all very
References: Corey, G., Corey, M. S., & Haynes, R. (2014). Groups in action: Evolution and challenges (2nd ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole. Forsyth, D. (2014). Group dynamics (6th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing. Jacobs, E. E., Masson, R. L., Harvill, R. L., & Schimmel, C. J. (2012). Group counseling: Strategies and skills (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.