Philosophy Essay Example for Free

Philosophy Essay1. SettingsI scheduled my AA confluence for Tuesday September the eighteenth at 10 p.m. at the Sobe Room in Miami Beach (1718 Bay Rd. Miami Beach, Fl. 33139). When I arrived I noticed that the parking was far forward from the actual meeting point. The meeting point was a church type structure with no sing or any other identification. The door was open so I just went in I waited about 5 minutes for the meeting to start. The meeting took place in a large room, and the chairs were organized in a semicircle and at the front there was a kind of podium. In the Sobe Room all meetings are open, so I didnt take hold to rope an appointment.In the meeting were about 50 people, I guess because it was in south beach the majority were young people under 40. There were loosely white males, followed by white females some Latin and some African Americans. There were about 15 people who were there for the first time. I didnt have to say why I was there but I did have to say m y name when e reallyone else did.2. PhilosophyAlcoholics Anonymous (AA) was founded in 1935 by score Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith. The primary purpose of AA is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety. Although AA was founded on Christian principles and by white men, the organization has evolved to be multicultural. AA doesnt keep a list of members names, but estimates that it has 2 million members who come from all backgrounds. The philosophy behind Alcoholics Anonymous is that alcoholism is a disease. Even if soulfulness stops drinking, they are not cured. The individual is a recovering alcoholic.The organization follows a 12-step structure designed to help the recovering alcoholic have a healthy mind and spirit. By following the 12 steps in sequence, the recovering alcoholic can improve their thought processes and work on better their emotions.3. Therapeutic contentEven though AA is an independent organization and is not based on psychological or therapeutic resear ch or interventions, they have adopted some techniques of different theoretical models to help the group members deal with their illness.AA uses techniques from diverse psychological theoretical models such as existentialism, gestalt, and narrative therapy.The existentialism conjecture invites clients to explore their being and ask themselves philosophical questions such as what is the meaning of live, how do actions define individuals and to continually revise their set of values. AA uses this approach in its programme when they talk about the greater power, the purpose of their lives, etc.Gestalt theory sees each client as a unique individual and states that any change make by the client has to be his or her own decision, gestalt therapy is similarly very confrontational, and in both characteristics are included in the AA program. AA states that the client will mystify better if and only they really want it and commit to it.Also AA uses an approach similar to the narrative the rapy by treating the addiction as an illness and as a problem independent of the client, it externalizes it to try to confront it.4. Impressions and significanceWhen I arrived to the meeting the first thing that called my attention was the fact that we had to park really far away from the actual site (about two blocks) I later found out that it was purposely made this way so the members wouldnt feel self intended about having their cars outside of something that could be affiliated with alcoholism.I entered the location, it wasnt an actual church, but it had a church like structure. The doors were opened and most people seemed to distinguish each other, before the meeting started some people tell hi to me but no one asked any questions.The meeting began with a shot plea called the serenity prayer, which had me thinking about some contradictions found in the AA philosophy since they claim not to have any religious affiliation but it for certain felt a little inclined towards the Christian side. After the prayer everyone introduced themselves (most people said their names and Im an alcoholic, but some didnt) I said my name but gave no further information. Then someone proceed to talk a little about the AA program and the 12-step structure.After the greet process a guy (27) stood up and went to the podium. He started by repeating his name and saying he was an alcoholic. He said that since this time he see a lot of new faces he wanted to share his story again.The man shared a very powerful story about his pursuit with alcohol, he utter he started drinking virtually the age of 14, he said that at the moment he thought he was just having gaming and doing the same that everyone else did, but that now that he thinks about it he realizes he was using alcohol as a coping mechanism to deal with the sloppiness he was facing about his sexuality.He stated that he came out of the closet at the age of 16, that it was a very difficult time and that he was dating ol der men who encouraged him to drink. He continued talking about what coming out had done to the relationship with his family members he described the time as very painful and he cried while telling the story (some of the people in the meeting cried as well).He said that his mother was very supportive since the beginning, that his younger brother had a hard time understanding he said that he was a jog in school, so no one expected him to come out since he wasnt the gay type. But that the real issue was with his father, as soon as he gave him the news the father became very angry and he kicked him out of the house. He said that he sort of expected the reaction but thought that he would eventually get over it, but that that hadnt happened yet, and that its been 10 years and 7 months since the last time he spoke with his father.He said that he joined AA when he was 23, he decide to attend a meeting because he and his partner were having terrible fights while he was under the act upon o f alcohol and he even tried to hit him once. At that point the partner threatened with leaving him if he didnt get treatment. He stated that it was the best decision he made in his live. He has now been sober for 3 years and 4 months.Before going to the meeting I had galore(postnominal) opinions about what I would find there, I was sure that most people would be people of low socioeconomic status probably many homeless and very angry people. I was afraid of being forced to speak and that they wouldnt understand the reason that I was participating in the meeting. I expected to see a lot of people praying, singing, and hugging at the end. But the truth is that the reality was very different to what I had in my imagination, I think my perception was heavily influenced by movies Ive see about it. One thing that caught my attention was the first to realize that most people in the group were people with jobs and life situations fairly normal. But mostly I was surprised that people were a bit cold and distant. I was hoping that dodos were united and affable to each other but not the case.For me the story of gay guy was very powerful and I felt good to see people around me responding positively and nodding. One thing I did not like was the strong Christian influence of the program I feel that excludes many people who do not feel identified with this dogma.I think AA is a very powerful tool and can help many clients, but I also think is not for everyone. I would recommend it to clients with maladaptive behaviors that do not have the skills to deal with day-to-day problems. I think that a person has to be religious to some point to really identify with the program. I would not recommend this program to teenagers because I think that there are other programs much suitable for this population.