Group Observation

The group that I choose to observe was an AA group that is located in Pearland TX, and meets every Wednesday and Sunday from 7:00pm to 8:00 pm. The group meets at a church called Central Church of Christ. During my initial visit, I made sure I arrived 30 minutes early to talk to the facilitator and ask permission to observe. I was actually very impressed to speak to the facilitator Nadine she could not disclose her last name as the individuals that are participating and herself wished to maintain anonymous. I did learn that Nadine aside from being a recovering Alcoholic is also a master level educated individual and has been sober for fourteen years. In the beginning of my observation, Nadine had a tray full of chips, that the member get to
one of the things I learned about this group, is how ever thing has to start by the individual wanting to change and help themselves, the first step is being brave enough to recognize that they have a problem and wanting to make a change. One of the things I was very impressed is how they ask God for guidance and how they pray and believe that God can help them complete those twelve steps and achieve sobriety. Each individual has a story, people might think that those that join AA is due to being irresponsible or simple couldn’t control their drinking but it is nothing like that. The consequences of their drinking varies. Some people there have suffered illness, loss of a loved one, or simply been mistreated or bullied by either employers or family members. Whatever the case may be these individual are united by one common problem and its name is
She makes you feel welcome and not embarrassed or afraid, she understands that we all make mistakes but the beauty of them is recognizing them and staying sober and seeking help is the most important thing. No one is a looser or perceived as weak, as they all are there with a common purpose and goal. One of the things that can possible hinder me as a group leader is the fact that, I was a victim of domestic violence due to my father’s behavior. I have open wounds and although I am working on it, I am trying to find ways of coping and some of the things that has helped me is seeking god and asking for his guidance. Some skills that I acquired from being part of that group is that I am not alone, I am strong and I have nothing to worry about, I am not that scared little girls anymore and although I have made peace with my situation, I will not let this issue in my life stop me from doing what I love and that is helping others. I also learned that no matter the type of group or what issues are being discussed, the important things to do is to continue to work hard and never give up. I ended my visit by congratulating the group leader on her amazing work and asking her if I could come back possibly volunteering in the future and she said I was welcome to come anytime I wanted, so I was very satisfied about