Al- Anon Meeting Reflection
This
evening I had the chance to attend an Al-Anon meeting, which is a 12-step
program for the families of alcoholics. I wasn’t really sure what to expect,
but when Caitlyn and I arrived there were only 4 other people there. This was a
very small, close meeting. I think the number of individuals has a big impact
on the session, it seemed more personal. Our group flowed very well. Since it was so small everyone had multiple
chances to share and to give each other feedback/let each other know they aren’t
alone.
We sat around a small table, and while the binder with notes sat in
front of one individual, I could not figure out who the leader/facilitator was, we were all around as equals. Two people sort of lead and got the group going and then everyone shared, it
was such a community that it was hard to tell if there even was a leader. That
being said, one of the ‘leaders’ would ask if anyone else wanted to share and
both leaders encouraged participation, honestly everyone in the group did. There were never really any times that any problems/specific personalities needed to be addressed. I
asked Caitlyn when we got to the car if she knew who the leader was, and she was also not sure. I think that factor really impacted the session in that there was
no one ‘above’ anyone else or ‘in control’, it was just a group of individuals
coming together to form a community and support each other. Even though the facilitator was directing the meeting, it seemed to flow really well and everyone stayed on task and respected the rules of Al-Anon.
I think the session
was definitely therapeutic, even for an 'observer/outsider'. The group members
talked about everyday life struggles and how they apply their Al-Anon slogans
to get them through the day. They shared the slogans with us and I honestly
think that I could really benefit from using a lot of those in my daily life. Everyone seemed to leave the meeting refreshed, like a weight came off of the room. I know I left with a different perspective on a lot of the situations going on in my life right now.
I
think this was a psychodynamic group. It started out with the generic Al-Anon
introduction/purpose statement but once the sharing began it was very loosely
structured and was based a lot on gaining insight and introspection/self-reflection. I enjoyed my experience and am thankful that the group was so welcoming and encouraging.
Emily, thank you so much for your Blog share. It felt very authentic and insightful. I appreciate the level of depth that you reflected with regarding the small number of people in the group, and the fact that it was difficult, if not impossible, to tell who the leader was. Most significantly striking to me was this statement in your post, "Two people sort of lead and got the group going and then everyone shared, it was such a community that it was hard to tell if there even was a leader." This is a definite sign that this was a mature group, but I think it was particularly profound that you used the word community to describe this, 'everyone is around the table, as equals,' quality. If you look at the etymology of the word community, its root word commune- comes from Old French and means, to talk intimately... this sounds as if it describes perfectly the group that you visited. I feel sure that you will draw clinical and practical connections to OT practice and when leading small groups from your time visiting Al-Anon for a very long while.
ReplyDeleteThis was well written.