Psychology

According to healthy place.com (2008), Alcoholism is a chronic illness characterized by the habitual intake of alcohol. Alcohol use is to the degree that it interferes with physical or mental health, or with normal social or work behavior. Its effects range from physical to psychological. Physically, it affects the brain which further leads to Difficulty walking, blurred vision, slurred speech and nausea while psychologically, it may lead to slowed reaction times, impaired memory among other effects. Alcoholism is also for responsible for diseases like oesophageal cancer, liver cancer, cirrhosis of the liver and epilepsy (About.com, 2010).

Apart from cigarettes, alcoholism is currently the worlds biggest health concern with relations to drug abuse. The severity of its abuse exceeds the costs of all lung diseases combined with Cancers. In fact, in USA, it is estimated to be the third largest killer after smoking and obesity (Vaillant, 2002).  As of 2004, a report by the WHO (World Health Organization) estimated 2 billion people being in consumption of alcoholic beverages. In spite of these grim statistics, the graph of more alcohol consumers getting trapped in the tragedy-bound web of alcoholism just keeps rocketing higher every day. So to what pleasure do we owe this treacherous addiction are we amused by the prospects of losing our jobs and families in the name of being alcoholics, or are we just too lazy to the point of not caring about putting a halt to this habit

Primarily, alcoholism affects the immediate consumer. However, recent researches amass that on a secondary level, alcoholism affects the people close to the victim. This includes siblings, friends, relatives, workmates and even children in the case of victims with families. It is for these great risks posed by alcoholics that constant efforts are made worldwide to curb the problem of alcoholism.
Some of the method commonly used to help alcoholics include counseling, rehabilitation centers, doctored prescriptions of anti-alcoholic drugs and joining support groups. Most of the aforementioned method offer great help. However, lately, there has been an increased use of support groups in the name of alcoholics anonymous groups. This is mainly because of their intensive program which has been many times attested of being efficient.

In my recent visit to gaylesbianTranssexual alcoholics anonymous meeting in my community, I was able to interact with the members, learn from their support group and generally, got to be enlightened on the operations of alcoholic anonymous groups.

The main purpose of this alcoholics anonymous group is to cultivate an amiable environment where the people struggling with alcohol addiction are able to come into terms with their problem, and then decide to voluntarily make positive efforts towards changing. More aptly represented in the motto of alcoholic anonymous To stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety.

Initially, the group constituted of residents who were from our immediate surroundings. However, with its growing popularity, alcoholics from other areas who were propelled with the need for change were incorporated as members. Currently, the group consists of approximately 80 members. This is inclusive of men, women and teenagers ranging from the age of 15 up to 75 with the men slightly outnumbering the women.
 
According to a report by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (2004), Heavy drinking may have extensive and far reaching effects on the brain, ranging from simple slips in memory to permanent and debilitating conditions that require lifetime custodial care. This is the reason why most alcoholics find it difficult to control their drinking. In response to this, members of the alcoholic anonymous group from my community advocate for a rigorous and interactive process which, if followed, will utterly reform the alcoholics.

To begin with, the process involves attendance of group meetings twice a week. During the first meeting, focus is made on encouraging new members to stay alcohol free. This is mostly done by recovered alcoholics through testimonies of their experiences. The second meeting is then centered on the new members voicing out their experiences, challenges and asking for help if need be. Depending on the directive from the group leaders, meetings can occur in an open or confined environment.
In other groups, programs like rehabilitation from other harmful drugs are incorporated in their curricula (About.com, 2010). However, in our communitys alcoholic anonymous group, focus is only made on solving alcoholism. This has normally ensured maximum efficiency. (Vaillant, 2002) supports this Singleness of purpose by saying that it streamlines the focus of members towards recovery and is very effective in edging out denial.

In addition, there are normally counseling sessions that are held during the second (weekly) meeting. The main reason for this is to ensure that the new members are mentally strong to deal with the challenges of recovering from alcoholism. Counseling is mostly done by seasoned members of the group. However, there are times when expert counselors are invited to the group to offer their expertise to the members.

This whole process occurs in a systemized way. Just like in many other alcoholics anonymous groups, the process occurs in a 12-step module where the steps are inculcated within the weekly and special meetings. Completion of these steps is viewed as a positive step in the right direction but is not necessarily an end to the recovery process. Much more has to be done in order to ensure full soberness as well as help the members not to drift back into alcoholism (A.A. Information, 2008).
The leadership style exhibited by this group is almost synonymous to that seen in most alcoholic anonymous groups. Top leadership is composed of the chairman, organizing secretary and other group leaders. All these leaders are overseen by the founder of the organization who is mostly concerned with the managerial aspects of the organization.

These leaders are democratically elected once in six months by the members. Other than that, there is free interaction between all members since equality is key pillar of the organization. Members are also free to hold their independent opinions on various issues like religion, political affiliations among other issues. They are therefore not constrained to ascribe to the opinions by their leaders unless it is in relations to the guidelines instituted for members of this group.

Different leaders utilized variant theoretical approaches in dealing with the members. However, the most used approach was the person-centered approach. This proved quite effective since it ensured that members were free enough to open up on the various issues affecting them (Corey, 2008). For example since this group is mainly for gayslesbians, some of the members (mostly new ones) had difficulty in being opening up about the bad experiences they had as alcoholics. At such time, the leader would tactfully ease in into the members by stating anonymous examples of such situations and how they were solved. By doing this, the member eventually feels comfortable and less anxious thus easily talking of hisher situation.

In the same way leaders have roles to play, so does members of the group. Fundamentally, members are charged with the responsibility of supporting one another. They should also ensure smooth running of the group by being disciplined, promptly attending meetings and cooperating with their fellow members as well as the leaders. Another role is to assist researches being conducted in the group by being cooperative with the researchers.

There was good interaction between the members. In effect, this made them highly cohesive. However, there were a few disagreements that were sometimes witnessed between members and the leaders. This conflict was majorly based on the difference in opinions which were tabled from both ends. But on a positive note, the conflicts were easily resolved through consensus and this left a win-win situation for both parties.

As a personal observation, the group was quite effective in-terms of helping the members recover from alcoholism. In fact, most members attested of feeling at home when together with other members. However, more programs should be incorporated to help the staunch addicts of alcoholism. The two-time weekly meetings might not adequately monitor and help such people. The leaders should also be keener on attendance. This is because most members either arrived late or alternatively missed the meetings without giving prior notice and this greatly affected the smooth and ardent running of the group.

In conclusion, more groups should be incepted not just to deal with alcohol, but also other harmful forms of addictions and as much as alcoholism causes a variety of medical complications, alcoholism in itself is not a disease with the right mindset, right associations and a positive attitude, recovery from alcoholism is more than just possible (Vaillant, 2002).