Support and Addiction Therapy Groups: Background, Meeting Structure, and Function

Support Groups and Treatment Groups
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Abstract
Support groups and addiction therapy groups are crucial in helping individuals struggling with drug abuse problems overcome this challenge. There are various support group categories, such as alcoholic anonymous (AA) AI-Anon, and narcotics anonymous (NA). All employ a twelve-step program that brings together individuals who face similar drug abuse struggles and help them cope with such struggles. Similarly, there are different addiction therapy groups, including psycho-educational groups, skill development groups, interpersonal process groups, and cognitive behavioral theory groups, that help individuals overcome drug abuse behavior. This paper discusses all these groups in detail, providing historical background and meeting structure and function of each group.
Support Groups
This section focuses on addiction support groups such as AA, NA, and AI-Anon support groups. These groups are voluntary and allow individuals facing common addiction struggles to meet and share mutual support (Zemore et al., 2017; Krentzman et al., 2011). This section summarizes the history, brief overview, meeting structure, and observations I made when I attended sessions in each of the aforementioned support groups.
Alcoholic Anonymous
Brief History of AA
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a fellowship that brings together individuals who intend to solve their alcoholism problem. It started when Dr. Bob, an Akron surgeon, and Bill W., a New York stockbroker, met in Akron, Ohio, in 1935 (Capuzzi & Stauffer, 2020). These individuals had been suffering from severe alcoholism. The interaction of these individuals resulted in the rise of AA. In subsequent years, particularly in Akron City Hospital, several patients through AA achieved sobriety. The idea also spread to other regions in the United States, such as New York and Cleveland. By the 1950s, over 100,000 individuals attending AAs had recovered from alcoholism. Today are present in over 180 countries, playing a crucial role in helping people suffering from alcoholism recover.
Meeting Structure and Function
There are two types of AA meetings, open and closed; the former is available to alcoholics and non-alcoholics, and the latter is only reserved for people with a drinking problem (Wnuk, 2022). In both these meetings, participants are requested to confine their discussions to matters related to recovery from alcoholism. In both cases, meetings are coordinated by one of the AA members who determine the format of the day's meeting (Wnuk, 2022). AA meetings can be held online, on the phone, or in person, with each group member deciding where, when, and how frequently they should meet. In-person meetings are common and take place in various places, such as churches, office buildings, treatment centers, and social halls. Some meetings may also take place in parks, beaches, and other outdoor settings. The chairperson usually opens the meeting with a few remarks and the AA Preamble with some calling for a moment of silence and reciting of the AA Serenity Prayer (Krentzman et al., 2010). The chairperson usually asks if any new attendees would like to introduce themselves to the group. Almost all m...