Reference no: EM133236958

Chemical Dependency Assignment - Social Work Paper

EXPERIENCE PROJECT - SELF-HELP REFLECTION ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS

OVERVIEW - Social workers assist in the areas of assessment, intervention, advocacy, and prevention at many levels. Addiction can affect anyone. There are many ways to treat addiction and one way is through self-help groups. Most popular groups stem from the 12-Step model of Alcoholics Anonymous, founded in 1935. Al-Anon is a self-help group for loved ones. Celebrate Recovery is another self-help group and is geared toward evangelical Christians. Students who attend self-help groups, from an academic perspective, can observe the many aspects that occur within these groups enabling them the ability to process the experience toward a better understanding of chemical dependency and self-help.

INSTRUCTIONS - 1. Select the chemical dependency self-help group you plan to attend.

Attend a meeting* that emphasizes self-help for chemical dependency such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or Narcotics Anonymous (NA). If you are currently in recovery and already attended a 12-step program, were commend you attend a family support group like an Al-Anon meeting instead of a regular meeting.

*Note: The preferred method of attendance is in-person, but virtual is acceptable if in-person is not possible. You can find a meeting by doing an online search paired with your location. For example, if you want to attend an AA meeting, Google "Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) local meetings." Online meetings are not limited to your local area, so your search may be extended.

2. Prepare to arrive at the meeting at least 10 minutes before the meeting is scheduled to start.

3. Immediately after the meeting, plan to spend time writing notes about your experience while the experience is fresh. You can add more to it as you process the experience.

4. Review the Self-Help Reflection Paper Grading Rubric before writing your paper.

5. Complete a 3-5-page scholarly paper about your experience.

Part I - About Chemical Dependency Self-Help

Academic scholarly writing should include advanced inquiry and analysis. In this case, references can be used to emphasize points about self-help groups in general, for example:

-What does the literature say about self-help group interactions?

-What does the literature say about AA efficacy?

-Is there research to suggest 12-step self-help groups are helpful or not?

-What are some of the historical elements of chemical dependency self-help meetings?

-What are the differences between a self-help group and a professional therapy group?

-In what ways can a biblical perspective be integrated within self-help groups?

Please be creative with your discussion about chemical dependency self-help groups. Write this section in one to two paragraphs. Provide an introduction and conclusion along with a thesis statement.

Part II -

a. What type of meeting was attended (speaker, step, big book, or discussion)?

b. How many people attended the group?

c. What did you identify as the purpose of the group?

d. How involved/motivated were the group members? How did you feel as a first-time "participant" in the group?

e. What did you like or dislike about the functioning of the group?

f. How did the group members interact with one another?

g. What were some of the significant comments and feelings expressed or implied?

h. What spiritual issues were addressed or shared in the group?

i. What would you say are some possible areas for further discussion and exploration in the group based on what you observed?

j. What were some personal characteristics that you expected to experience and what characteristics were you surprised to experience?

k. Include a summary and analytical statement about the overall group interaction. If you attend the meeting with another person, you can compare/contrast your experiences.

l. What would be a biblical perspective of the self-help group? What are the direct implications of a biblical worldview?

6. Write your paper in current APA format. The paper must include:

a. Title page

b. Your responses to Parts I and II above in 3-5 pages (current APA format, double-spaced).

c. Reference page: References are required for Part I only. At least 3 of those must be from professional resources (e.g., peer reviewed journals, college textbooks, etc.) that have been published within the last 5 years. This is so to keep the information current. That said, you can use as many references as you see fit (minimum of 3 references) that would be helpful in advancing the academic excellence of your paper.

d. Paper Organization: Please use headers to separate each section of your paper to advance the organization and support the logical flow of information.