(Classmate Eric) <\/p>\n
I attended an Al-Anon Family and Friends SMART recovery support group on Monday Novemeber 28th\u00a0at 9pm through a zoom meeting. Al-Anon are support groups intended for for friends and family members, or loved ones, of alcoholics to come together to share in their challenges (Capuzzi & Stauffer, 2020). The meeting was led by a facilitator and a co-facilitator and there were up to 23 participants who joined the meeting. The facilitator had instrumental music playing as participants joined the meeting, which set a warm and welcoming atmosphere despite the limitations of using technology. The facilitator started the meeting by introducing herself, introducing SMART recovery and Al-Anon support groups, and provided the opportunity for participants to introduce themselves. Next the facilitator provided recommendations for various tools and resources. Then the facilitator explained the guidelines and expectations for discussion, including but not limited to issues of confidentiality. The group was open for discussion, which allowed individuals to share about their struggles related to family members that are recovering alcoholics. The facilitator provided the space for other participants to respond and guided the discussion so that each member had enough time to share. The facilitator provided further tools and resources helpful for topics brought up by the participants. The facilitator also provided an opportunity individuals who have not spoken to participate if they wanted to. Finally, the facilitator concluded the session by providing relevant updates regarding the sessions and stayed behind for anyone who needed anything.<\/p>\n
One thing I was surprised by was the amount of psychoeducation provided by the facilitator. The facilitator provided various resources and tools at the beginning of the session. In addition, the facilitator provided tools and resources relevant the the topics shared by the participants. Some of the topics that came up throughout the session included issues of self-care and boundaries. The facilitator provided a self-care count down, which included a visual of 10 items of self-care to remind participants the purpose of the group is to focus on self because many of the participants have likely spent too much time focusing on others, especially the family members of alcoholics (SMART Recovery, 2022). Another resource provided by the facilitator was a visual of a girl with hula hoop, which emphasized we have control of the things inside our hula hoop and we do not have control of the things outside our hula hoop (SMART Recovery). A final resource reviewed was the \u201care my behaviors helpful questionnaire\u201d, which helps individuals determine if they are helping or enabling the family member with alcoholics (SMART Friends & Family, 2021). There were more tools and resources provided, but these three resources stood out to me. I could see myself potentially pulling from one of these resources in my clinical practice if I felt it were applicable to my client.<\/p>\n
Resources<\/p>\n
Capuzzi, D., & Stauffer, M. D. (2020).\u00a0Foundations of addictions counseling (the merrill counseling series)\u00a0(4th ed.). Pearson.<\/p>\n
SMART Recovery. (2022). Al-Anon Family and Friends. [Zoom Meeting].<\/p>\n
SMART Friends & Family. (2021).\u00a0Questionaire: Are My Behaviors Helpful?\u00a0SMART Recovery. https:\/\/www.smartrecovery.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/S10E1-Questionnaire-Are-My-Behaviors-Helpful-0825.pdf<\/p>\n
(Classmate Margan) <\/p>\n
Al-Anon:<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Al-Anon group that I joined consisted of 14-15 members, all of whom were women and all, but one was in their 30\u2019s or older. One member who had only just begun to attend the group was in her early to mid 20\u2019s. A few of the women were divorced from their husband who still constituted as the Qualifier (i.e. the addicted person in their life) in their lives as they continued to cooperant; while it is unknown how many group members were divorced, this trend reflects the high divorce rate that many families with addicts experience (Capuzzi & Stauffer, 2020). \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0I was one of two observers who had joined the group and we were both asked to keep our cameras on so that the members could see our faces as that made them more comfortable. The two hosts or appointed leaders of the group recognized who would be the primary sharer as well as who would be the meeting\u2019s timekeeper so that each member could have four minutes to share or respond uninterrupted. Then the group had a moment of silence followed by any housekeeping and then reading through the 12 steps. The women who shared first read from \u201cOne Day at a Time in Al-Anon\u201d about spiritual awakenings before sharing about her first spiritual awakening since beginning the program years ago.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Following her time to share, each member was able to contribute her own reflection about her spiritual foundation or a spiritual awakening of her own. Two of the women acknowledged that they understood their higher power as \u201cDivine Love,\u201d and seemed to resonate more with this higher power as feminine rather than masculine. Though the group\u2019s online descriptors had not specified that it was an all-female group, the members seemed to benefit and connect well because of this homogeny. One of the younger members who was newer to group was in her third trimester of pregnancy and was able to really connect with some of the other mothers in the group in a unique way. Studies have found that hope oriented therapy can help reduce pain for women during the deliverary of their child (Samavi, Najarpourian, & Javdan, 2019). The groups\u2019 ability to help this one women recognize her own peace and capability while married to her Qualifier could help instill more than just peer support, but actual physical change.<\/p>\n
Many of the women also shared about their week; members varied in whether or not it had been a hard week as well as whether the difficulties were associated with their Qualifier. A lot of the women reflected on how their recovery through Al-Anon\u2019s program had empowered them to take responsibility for their own life, emotions, and responses rather than seeking to impose their will on the qualifier in their life.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Capuzzi, D. Stauffer, M. (4th\u00a0ed.) (2020).\u00a0Foundations of Addictions Counseling.\u00a0The Merrill Counseling Series. Pearson.<\/p>\n
Samavi, S. A., Najarpourian, S., & Javdan, M. (2019). The Effectiveness of Group Hope Therapy in Labor Pain and Mental Health of Pregnant Women.\u00a0Psychological Reports,\u00a0122(6), 2063\u20132073. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/0033294118798625<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
(Classmate Eric) I attended an Al-Anon Family and Friends SMART recovery support group on Monday Novemeber 28th\u00a0at 9pm through a zoom meeting. Al-Anon are support groups intended for for friends and family members, or loved ones, of alcoholics to come together to share in their challenges (Capuzzi & Stauffer, 2020). The meeting was led by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[10],"class_list":["post-106940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-research-paper-writing","tag-writing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/papersspot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106940","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/papersspot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/papersspot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/papersspot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/papersspot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106940"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/papersspot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106940\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/papersspot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/papersspot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/papersspot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}