On Saturday April 23, I attended an Al-Anon group called Caring and Sharing. This meeting is held every Saturday that starts promptly at noon. It is held at The Recovery Club located at 1953 Sartain St in Horn Lake, Mississippi. I was able to easily find this meeting by accessing http://memphisareaal-anon.org/ which is Al-Anon locate website. This website abled me to search meeting on different days located in the Mid-South area including Mississippi, where I reside. I decided to attend a meeting close to me and not located in a church so I would feel more comfortable with my surrounding and not out of my element. I did not attend the meeting as a participant so I informed the host when I arrived of who I was, my status and why I would like to attend the meeting. I was allowed to say after addressing the group. The importance of this group was to ensure that no one was alone going through this process and life experience. This group bonded strangers who feel like their hands are tied when helping their loved one who is known as an addict of alcohol. There was two new members and five members who have been attending for the past four weeks but you could not tell who was new and who have been attending. These group members made each feel comfortable with opening up and talking about the things that are going on and how they feel about their loved one. I attempted to sit behind the group and observed but the members asked me to include myself in the circle so they did not feel as if I was judging anyone. This group installed hope back into its members. When I arrived at The Recovery Club I was greeted by the host and was asked to sign in and to fill out a name tag. The meeting started at noon with an introduction from the host and by an opening prayer. The members introduced their self and why they was attending. The host opened the floor for anyone who wished to start the discussion. The group communication pattern was that everyone was able to speak without being judged or frowned upon. Everyone was respected and no one carried on a side conversation while someone was speaking. Also each member supported each other. The group changed their topic by using the cueing and linking mechanism. If someone got choked up and emotional, someone picked up the topic and took the spotlight off of that
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Cohesiveness was also one of the group’s therapeutic factors. The members were forming a band with each other through this experience. The members knew what was expected from them and took cues when someone needs a shoulder to lean on. By the end of the meeting the members felt an emotional attachment to each other after hearing their stories and events that they are going through. The meeting held had many rituals. We started off and closed the meeting with reciting the Serenity prayer while handing hands. The host went over the twelve steps on the Al-Anon meeting. During introductions, they said their name and why they were attending. Another ritual was that if someone said something that related to you, then you would say “you are not alone” when they got done speaking. The group’s rituals made things easier on the members without
Cohesiveness was also one of the group’s therapeutic factors. The members were forming a band with each other through this experience. The members knew what was expected from them and took cues when someone needs a shoulder to lean on. By the end of the meeting the members felt an emotional attachment to each other after hearing their stories and events that they are going through. The meeting held had many rituals. We started off and closed the meeting with reciting the Serenity prayer while handing hands. The host went over the twelve steps on the Al-Anon meeting. During introductions, they said their name and why they were attending. Another ritual was that if someone said something that related to you, then you would say “you are not alone” when they got done speaking. The group’s rituals made things easier on the members without