Running head: SUPPORT GROUPS 1

Support Groups
Kathy Le
California State University, Stanislaus

Support Groups
There can be many types of support groups. The groups can range from acne support

groups to Zoloft support groups. This particular essay focuses on Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.)

and Weight Watchers (W.W.). The author found an interest in both of these groups and wanted to

learn more about them. This essay will discuss the purpose, group members, communication

techniques, participate roles, therapeutic factors, the authors participation, benefits, any other

interesting comments, and related research articles to both support groups. It will also discuss

any useful interventions for the individual with an addiction and the cycle of relapse and

recovery for the 12-step group. Finally it will address any useful group modalities for the client

and evidence of psychosocial difficulties in the members of the support group.

A.A. & W.W. Purposes
The author attended an A.A. meeting near CSU Stanislaus campus. The A.A. meeting is

a place for alcoholics to discuss their struggles and recover process. The participants who
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attended were in their mid-twenties to middle aged adults. It was not a friendly environment for

students solely because the group members are protective towards their participants. The group

members want the participants identities to be as anonymous as possible. The purpose of the

support group is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety.
The author also attended a W.W. meeting. This support group is for people who want

support through the W.W. program. These participates need guidance and support from the W.W.

employees and their peers. This group was very friendly and welcoming. The employees

allowed for the students to ask questions and stay for the newcomers orientation process. The

purpose of this support group is to assist individuals to lose weight and sustain a healthy

lifestyle.
A.A. & W.W. Group Member Roles
There was one group leader at the A.A. meeting and he had another group member

helping him. The group leader was there to lead the discussion, provide direction, instructions,

and guidance. Then another group member was there to initiate the discussion to make the

participants more comfortable about sharing their stories. She was there to share her own stories

and experiences first when no one wanted to say anything. The communication techniques the

group leader used were silence, accepting, offering self, and formulating a plan of action. The

purpose of using silence is to allow the participants to gather their thoughts (Townsend, 2015).

An example of this is when the group leader is introducing a new discussion point and pauses for

anyone who wants to share their views on the point. Accepting is used to show that the group

leader is receiving and listening to what the participants are saying (Townsend, 2015). An

example of this is when the group leader nods and shows eye contact to the speaker. Offering

self is used to let the participants know that the group leader is making himself available on an

unconditional basis (Townsend, 2015). This is used when the leader tells the participants that he

is available to talk individually after the meeting if they want to. Lastly, formulating an action is
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used to guide the participants with a plan to recovery (Townsend, 2015). This is shown with the

introduction of the 12-step program.

There was only a group leader leading the group at the W.W.s meeting. The group

leaders role in this meeting was to lead discussion, provide direction, instructions, and guidance.

The communication techniques the group leader used were using silence, accepting, giving

recognition, giving broad openings, and formulating a plan of action. As stated earlier, the

purpose of silence is used to allow participants to gather his or her thoughts (Townsend, 2015).

An example of this is used when the group leader asked a new question to promote discussion; it

allowed the participants time to think about his or her answers. Also discussed earlier, accepting

is used to reflect the group leaders active listening (Townsend, 2015). The group leader used

this by nodding and giving eye contact. Giving recognition is used in order to acknowledge and

indicate awareness (Townsend, 2015). The leader used this when she mentioned who had lost

weight that week and clapped to give recognition. Giving broad openings allows the participants

to introduce their own topics and create discussion (Townsend, 2015). The leader used this when

she asked the participants if they had anything to share with the rest of the group. One person

shared that Costco had a good deal for dried fava beans and said that they were a good snack.

Another person said to stay clear of the Sees Candies chocolates because eating two pieces have

an entire days worth of calories. Formulating a plan is still used to guide the group towards his

or her goals (Townsend, 2015). The group leader uses this when explaining the points in the

W.W. program. Each day a person is expected to only eat a certain number of points and that is

determined by personal factors. The people have to be weighed and assessed before given his of

her point allowances.

A.A. & W.W. Participant Roles
The participant roles in the A.A. group included active discussion and listening. The

group members all took on task, maintenance, and individual functions for the group. Each
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participant shared his or her thoughts on the discussion topics for the meeting. They are all

maintaining their sobriety and continuing to go to weekly support groups. The participants are

also taking on their individual functions for the group by following and sharing his or her

individual 12-step journeys. All of the 12-step plans are personal to his or her experiences.
The participant roles in the W.W. group also included active discussion and listening.

The participants also all took on task, maintenance, and individual functions. The members were

either engaging in discussion and or actively listening. Everyone was focused on the discussion.

They are all trying to maintain their weight loss and achieve more weight loss. The support

group helps them maintain their weight loss by interacting with others going through the same

struggles. The individuals all have their own individual functions. They can participate and

share their own stories in the groups.

A.A. & W.W. Curative Factors
The A.A. group had many curative factors. There is instillation of hope, universality,

imparting of information, altruism, development of socializing techniques, imitative behavior,

interpersonal learning, group cohesiveness, catharsis, and existential factors. However,

corrective recapitulation of the primary family group was not present because no one talked

about their family problems. Instillation of hope took place when all the group members shared

their own progress stories and encouraged the others that they could do the same. Universality

was initiated from start to end, from when the group leader introduced himself as an alcoholic to

the end in the alcoholics group prayer. Imparting of information was seen when the group

leader shared his personal story with the 12-step program. Altruism was employed throughout

the meeting because everyone showed genuine interest and concern whenever someone was

speaking. Development of socializing techniques is gained from just the attendance of the

support group meeting because they are able to socialize and share their feelings in a safe space.

Imitative behavior is shown throughout because all the alcoholics want to be like the group
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leader, who has reached all 12-steps and maintained it for 5 years. Interpersonal learning is

gained from the insight of others personal alcoholic struggles and successes. Group

cohesiveness was present because everyone was working towards the same goal. They all want

to follow the same 12-ateps and promote sobriety. Catharsis took place when everyone shared

his or her negative and positive feelings about recovery. Existential factors are clearly shown

because everyone wanted to better their lives by staying sober.

The W.W. group also had the same curative factors. There is instillation of hope,

universality, imparting of information, altruism, development of socializing techniques, imitative

behavior, interpersonal learning, group cohesiveness, catharsis, and existential factors.

Although, corrective recapitulation of the primary family group was also not present. This group

had instillation of hope as evidenced by the hope instilled from each members progress stories.

Universality is achieved from everyone realizing that they are not alone in their weight loss

goals. Imparting of information took place when the group members were sharing information

about where to buy healthy snacks. Altruism was evident from the mutual sharing and concerns

from all the Easter candies on sale in the grocery stores. Development of socializing techniques

was gained from the constant interactions and feedback from the discussion topics. Imitative

behavior is evident because everyone is following the W.W. program and wanting to lose and

maintain weight like the group leader. Interpersonal learning is achieved from the learned

insight of others weight loss journeys. Group cohesiveness is shown because everyone feels like

they belong there and relate to one another from the weight lost struggles. Catharsis took place

because everyone had the opportunity to discuss the positive and negative feelings towards

eating better. Existential factors were present because everyone wanted to take control of their

health and lose weight.

The Authors Role in A.A & W.W.
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The author did not have a role in the A.A. group. Upon entering the support group, the

group leader said that students could only observe and may not talk to members. Note taking

was also prohibited in the setting. The only therapeutic communication practiced was active

listening to who ever was speaking. This experience helped increase the authors professional

development by showing her what it is like to sit in on an A.A. meeting. She had first hand

experience and will be able to tell her future patients about the process. She will also be able to

refer them to meetings if they needed them.

The author also did not have a role in the W.W. group. This group was friendlier than the

previous support group and introduced the author to the group. The group was able to

understand the authors presence and be more accepting than the previous group. The group

leader encouraged the author to ask questions at the end of discussions. The authors role was

mainly to be an active listener and also observe. This experience also helped increase the

authors professional development. It showed first hand experience and she will be able to refer

her future patients to this support group as needed.

A.A. & W.W Benefits
The A.A. group was very beneficial for the alcoholics in recovery. The alcoholics are

able to interact with, learn from, adopt a 12-step plan, and support others struggling with

alcoholism. It helps them maintain a lifestyle free from addictive behavior because the meetings

offer support from people who understand them. The meetings are also weekly and located

everywhere, so it is very accessible to all the alcoholics in recovery. It gives structure to their

lives. It also gives them something to do, rather than going out and drinking alcohol.
The W.W. group was also beneficial. The participants are able to interact, learn from, and

support other struggling with weigh loss. The group experience helps them maintain a lifestyle

free from these addictive eating behaviors by providing nutritional facts and support. The
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meetings allow the participants to see progress and tips from others weekly. It gives them a

constant sense of hope and encouragement.

Useful A.A. Interventions
There are many useful interventions for an individual with an addiction. The assessment

of readiness to change, confrontation and motivational information, psycho education, and

network support are all useful interventions for alcohols. There needs to be an initial assessment

to see if the individual is ready to change. This is present because all the individuals stated that

they were ready for this change. This readiness to change enables the person to perceive with the

change to sobriety and maintain it. Confrontation and motivational information allowed the

individuals to come face to face with their alcohol problems and motivate them to change their

problems. This is seen when the individuals shared their stories of when they hit rock bottom in

their alcoholism and how they overcame it. Psycho education allows the individuals to learn

about their mental health condition and to deal with their condition in an optimal way. For

instance, just going to this support group is an optimal way to learn about the psychological

aspects of their alcoholism. Everyone spoke of the difficulties and recovery journey of their

mental addiction. Network support is also useful and clearly seen because everyone is there to

support each other.

A.A. Cycle of Relapse and Recovery
The cycle of relapse and recovery is familiar to all the alcoholics at the support group.

Relapse is common to many of members and it took them various times to maintain sobriety.

Their friends and family who still drink mainly triggered their relapse. There were some

members who also achieved complete recovery. There were many individuals at different stages

of the recovery process. There were new members who have just been introduced to the 12-step

program. They have just arrived at the first two steps of the program. They admitted

powerlessness and found hope. The other members who attended have been attending for a few
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months and stated that they have not reached all the 12-steps yet. They stated that they were still

on the step six, which is having God remove all defects of their character. There were also a few

who have reached all 12-steps and have been able to maintain their sobriety for years.
Useful W.W. Group Modalities
There were many useful group modalities for the W.W. clients. Re-motivation,

reminiscence, accepting, and psychotherapy were all present. Re-motivated is applied from the

group leaders discussion questions to the members. The questions allowed the members to

think about their food and weight successes in order to stay encouraged. Reminiscence is also

applied from the group leaders discussion questions. The questions allowed the member to

think about their past progress and stay hopeful. Accepting is widely displayed by the active

listening and general leads from the group leader. Psychotherapy is addressed throughout the

group because everyone is talking about their weight lost struggles. It helped them learn more

about their moods, feelings, and behaviors towards food.

W.W. Psychosocial Difficulties
There were a few psychosocial difficulties addressed in members of the group. The first

one observed in a member was the struggle with all the Easter candy on sale and on display at

the store. The member stated that it is hard to buy healthy food when holiday candies surround

her. Another difficulty observed is a member stating she struggled with all the chip refills at

Mexican restaurants. She would eat all the chip refills that were placed in front of her and had

no self-control. It seems that the members struggle when the unhealthy foods are placed right in

front of them. They have troubled thoughts and have a hard time controlling their behaviors.
Other Pertinent Thoughts for A.A. & W.W.
The author thought that it was interesting how the age range in both groups ranged from

people in their mid-twenties to mid-fifties. The A.A. group had college-aged members seeking

to recover from their addictions and mid-aged members just starting out too. It was interesting to
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see how addiction and recovery has no age limit. The same goes to the W.W. members. It seems

that people can of any age can struggle with weight loss and weight gain.
A.A. & W.W. Peer Reviewed Summaries
The chosen A.A. peer reviewed articles purpose is to investigate the effect of spiritual

and religious change from individuals in A.A. and individuals not in the A.A. treatment

Robinson, Krentzman, Webb, & Brower, 2011). There were 364 alcoholics recruited from two

abstinence centers, a moderation drinking program, and untreated alcoholic in the community

(Robinson et al., 2011). The study used quantitative measures to find the change in spiritual and

religious change at the baseline and six-month mark (Robinson et al., 2011). They used this data

to predict the nine-month outcomes (Robinson et al., 2011). The results stated that the change in

spiritual and religious views concluded in good drinking outcomes (Robinson et al., 2011). It

helped the alcoholics learn about the purpose in life, forgiveness, and negative religious coping

(Robinson et al., 2011). Therefore, the A.A. support groups are an important part of the

community. It clearly helps the alcoholic remain sober as stated in the essay and the peer-viewed

article.
The chosen W.W. peer reviewed articles purpose is to know what it means to live with

obesity and identify their perception towards support groups (de Lima Santos, Pasquali, &

Marcon, 2012). It is a qualitative approach using 14 participants (de Lima Santos et al., 2012).

They attended a support group called, Support Group free to LoseWeight Thanks to God (de

Lima Santos et al., 2012). The data was collected by observation, tape recorder, and semi-

structured interviews (de Lima Santos et al., 2012). The results stated that resources, guidance,

and support helped the participants promote weight loss changes (de Lima Santos et al., 2012).

Therefore the W.W. support group is an important resource for people struggling with weight

loss. The essay and the article both state the effectiveness of support groups.
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This essay discussed the purpose, group members, communication techniques, participate

roles, therapeutic factors, the authors participation, benefits, any other interesting comments,

and related research articles to both support groups. It also discussed any useful interventions for

the individual with an addiction and the cycle of relapse and recovery for the 12-step group.

Finally it addressed any useful group modalities for the client and evidence of psychosocial

difficulties in the members of the support group. 12-step and support group are important and

effective community resources. Both should be promoted as a resource for the mental health

community.

References
de Lima Santos, A., Pasquali, R., & Marcon, S. S. (2012). Feelings and living experiences of

individuals taking part in a supportive group for control of obesity: An exploratory study.

Online Brazilian Journal Of Nursing, 11(1), 3-13 11p.

Robinson, E., Krentzman, A., Webb, J., & Brower, K. (2011). Six-month changes in spirituality

and religiousness in alcoholics predict drinking outcomes at nine months. Retrieved

from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3125889/