I, as a student, attended a alcoholics anonymous 12-step meeting on Sunday March 4, 2018. The group "leader" acted as a facilitator. I think this was done to keep the mood light and make it less difficult for the group members to share their thoughts and opinions. He shared that we was also an alcoholic himself from years past, which seemed to relax the newcomers. In my opinion, this was probably shared so the group members knew their "leader" could relate to them.
At the beginning, the facilitator reiterated that sharing wasn't required but encouraged throughout the entire meeting. Some discussions were open to all to speak in random orders, and other discussions were passed around the circle in a certain order. If someone hadn't said anything in a while, he would directly ask them if they had any thoughts about a certain topic. I say the majority of the group participated at all times, even if minimally, so there wasn't many needs to call certain people out.
The meeting I attended was at a church downtown. For some, I feel as if they felt intimidated for just being in a church rather than an AA meeting. This was never shared, just my observation. It was small (around 8 people) and intimate. They sat in a circle and I was listening a little ways away. I think sitting them in a circle had a huge impact on the amount of people sharing, as if they felt a closer connection to the people around them.
From the short amount of time I was there, I found this group to be extremely client-centered. The facilitator often stepped back and didn't speak unless it was absolutely necessary, such as the beginning of a new topic. He also stayed seated the whole time, as if he was letting them know that he was not superior but equal. It was also really interactive and followed what the members wanted to talk about / work on rather than what the facilitator felt was necessary for the group.
I definitely believe that the session was therapeutic for some, and for others not so much. As an observation, you could tell who really cared about being sober and who was there because they needed to be legally. You could also tell who had been attending longer than others based on friendships formed in the group and statements such as "as some of you know" and etc. No matter their AA background, they all seemed to get a long with the facilitator, in which is an important factor to building therapeutic relationships and rapport.
Thank you Makayla, for sharing this. I am glad that you could see some of the therapeutic roles of the leader. Your blog also made me wonder how the members felt about you sitting outside of the circle, I wonder if it would have changed anything to have you be within the circle? Lastly, I thought your observation about being in a church was particularly interesting- many AA meetings are held in churches or temples, and so I had not really ever wondered if the context alone would change the way an AA member might feel. AA was originally associated with and founded on Christian values by Dr. Bob Smith and Dr. Bill Wilson.
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