OT 532: Narcotics Anonymous Reflection

On Sunday night, one of my classmates, Lauren, and I attended a Narcotics Anonymous (NA) meeting. This was the first 12-step meeting I have ever attended. I did not know what to expect for the meeting other than what I've seen in movies or TV in the past. From that perspective, I expected group members to sit around in a circle and recite a few different things and then go one by one and share their experiences. I did not do any research before the meeting because I kind of wanted to go into the meeting without any expectations and to keep an open mind.

The meeting was held at a church and so while I think this can be a very welcoming atmosphere, members also may feel intimidated or un-easy because they do not want to be judged by decisions they have made in the past. From what I observed during the session, each of the group members that shared seemed to feel comfortable in this particular setting. The chairs were set up in a circle and there were also a few rows lined up outside of the circle. Members sat both in the circle and outside of the circle. Where the members sat did not seem to affect whether a member shared or not - both members outside and in the circle shared. 

The facilitator of the meeting assumed a facilitative leadership role. He started off the meeting explaining what would happen during the session and acted as a guide for the session. Before the session began, he handed out some reading to the members. He seemed like he has been a leader for a good amount of time because he was very comfortable in the setting. Lauren and I did not introduce ourselves to the group when he asked the newcomers to introduce themselves. The group was considered "open" but we didn't want the members to feel uncomfortable knowing they were being observed so we decided not to speak up. The leader did mention it was okay if you didn't want to speak up so we felt that was okay. Most of the group members were involved and respectful so the leader didn't have really work to hard to get members to share since many members were actively participating in the session. I believe this group followed a cognitive-behavioral because they were sharing ways they thought about their lifestyles, decisions and how that translated into their overall behaviors. By changing the way they thought about narcotics and sharing this with others, the members are able to change their behaviors. 

Overall, I do believe the session was therapeutic. I observed that members were attentive and respectful when others members were sharing. They also seemed supportive and encouraging towards one another. When a member would share how long they've been clean, other members would clap and show approval towards this statement. I believe this was highly encouraging toward the other members and allowed them to feel more confident that they were moving in the right direction through their attendance and participation in this meeting. At the end of the meeting, I heard one member tell another "Thanks for sharing, I can empathize with you because I'm going through the same thing." I would think receiving this type of confirmation will only encourage members to continue to be open and vulnerable to one another in future meetings.