12 Step Meeting or Recovery Support Meeting Paper Date: 7/20/21
Attend one open 12-step recovery group meeting and prepare a reaction paper summarizing your experience. Guidelines for your participation and reaction paper are listed below.
Meeting Attendance:
Attend one 12-step recovery group meeting. You may select from Alcoholics Anonymous, Al-Anon, Narcotics Anonymous, Adult Children of Alcoholics, Codependents Anonymous, or another recovery group. You may also attend an online meeting, you may find one In the Rooms, AA or NA online, or by googling 12-step or Recovery Support Meetings online.
You must attend meetings in community-based settings (not treatment centers, hospitals, or mental health centers).
If you identify as a recovering person, you must go to a meeting that addresses a different substance than you are addicted to.
If you do not identify as a recovering person, you must go to a meeting designated as “open”. Open meetings are designed for anyone interested in twelve-step programs.
Should someone ask, be honest about your reason for attending…. “ I am here because I want to learn more about twelve step meetings.”
On a participant/observer continuum, your role leans more towards observer. You may want to research the type of meeting you plan to attend as well as the philosophy of the program before you go. To be a good observer, you need to know something about what you are observing. Do not take notes during the meeting and remember that they are anonymous.
Above all, respect the anonymity of the people you meet during the experience. You may meet people that you know, but did not know about their participation in a recovery group.
Reaction Paper Organization:
Review of Meeting- You must provide a brief review of the meeting, covering the major points. This section will give me a sense of your overall understanding of the format, structure, and atmosphere of the meeting. You should provide demographic information, and compare and contrast the meeting you attended.
Relationship to Course Content- This paper is not a mere description of what occurred at the meeting. You are also attempting to analyze and conceptualize the event you observed and how it relates to your work in the field (past, present or future work).
Implications for practice- This section should explore your experience in the twelve step groups as it relates to your practice as a social worker. You may address issues from a micro, mezzo, or macro perspective. For instance, you might discuss the ethics around mandated 12-step groups, how 12-step groups serve counties where formal services are scarce, the evidence on 12-step groups for dually diagnosed individuals, etc. You are required to use three scholarly resources (beyond the text and assigned articles).
Personal Reaction- This section should be more than a simple summary of the material; it should contain your reaction to the meeting.
What was this experience like for you (specifically preparing for and attending the meeting)?
How would your experience influence your work with addicted clients?
How did your personal constructs about substance abuse and recovery change as a result of this project?
What was the most important thing you learned from this project