12 Step Meeting Reflection


After attending a 12-step meeting, I could really see the group process and the effectiveness of group therapy. I attended a NA meeting where the role of the facilitator seemed to be advisory because he was somewhat of a passive leader in that he let the group make pretty much all of the decisions and group members were of a higher functioning cognitive level. The facilitator encouraged participation by asking the group what they wanted to talk about today and opened the floor for anyone who wanted to share something. He would ask for a volunteer to read aloud certain handouts but other than that, the activities were decided by group members. Members were not forced to share but everyone ended up sharing on their own. I felt the environment had a positive impact on the session because it was held in a quiet church building which seemed welcoming and the windows were open so it didn't seem so claustrophobic. The environment was also familiar to group members so that probably helped make them more comfortable. I thought the session was therapeutic because many of the members were able to get things off of their chest and had the support of others who could understand them on a level maybe no one else can. I believe this group to be psychodynamic because group members were not forced to participate, but did so anyway voluntarily. The floor was opened to whoever wanted to speak, and whenever a person spoke, everyone respected them. I learned a lot from going to this group, not just about group process but it was eye-opening to see what others may be experiencing.

Comments

  1. Professor SasseMarch 10, 2018 at 10:31 AM

    Wow Lauren, I am not sure that you always realize how powerful some of your words and thoughts are. I really love that you noticed that the windows were open and so the room didn't feel "claustrophobic" that is what one of my disciplines (somatic psychology) would call an embodied response, meaning that you (probably without realizing it) were reflecting on a deeper level than just about what the members were probably thinking, or on what they were doing, but instead, you were focusing also on how they were feeling. Anyway, this is a well written, and clearly reflected upon Blog. Good job.

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