I have been a member of AA for approximately 15 years. I work in the Mental Health Field and only because of AA. I went to college and majored in different subjects but all were in the Life Sciences. I would drop out just as it got near time to graduate. Anyway, My title is Mental Health Worker and in this capacity we are supposed to "council" residents ( Long Term Structured Resedential facility) for 15 minutes then redirect them to "use coping skills, journal, etc". Over 70% of our residents are dual diagnosed with a mental illness (ie; Bi-Polar, schizoaffective, etc) and alcoholism and / or drug addiction. I have to walk a thin line as we are not a "Drug and Alcohol Rehab" even though we do take residents to 12 step meetings. All or most of our staff know about my 'recovery' and I am called upon to take residents to these meetings - hence our residents also know that I am in recovery and come to me quite often. This is where - for me - the thin line comes in. I have been asked many times to be a 'sponsor' by residents and I have to redirect them to find someone in the program due to my being a staff person, BUT the residents, knowing about my recovery, still quite often come to me asking advice or questions regarding their recovery. Mngt at this agency tend to not view 12 step meetings as serious or as important to these individuals as their mental illness and I have gone round and round with the agency that these individuals need to be able to go to other meetings besides the TWO we take them to. Also I have been "warned" not to encourage residents to go to meetings - I am to put up a sign-up list and those (in the level system) on level 2 or above may sign up if they want to go. I think this is ridiculous that they shoud be encouraged - not forced - to go to meetings if they are dual diagnosed. As the Big Book states "...There are those, too, who suffer from grave emotional and mental disorders, but many of them do recover if they have the capacity to be honest". I assure you that many , or lets say a majority, "have the capacity to be honest"! i feel our agency is doing a disservice to many of our residents and would like to here opinions and any suggestions from other members. Thanks for taking the time to read this and God Bless... dcraig
theres one thing you might have noticed ,is that if everyone got well by doing a 12 step programme, and even healthy people would benefit, as everyone suffers from their own resentments, guilt, shame, and fears,etc, and from the people they have hurt, then all types of doctors would have less work, lets face it we live on a sick planet, and the only time doctors are working for the good of mankind is when they are being watched by the massess, if that wasnt the case then why are there so many tablets on the market.
I completely agree with you. I work for a Mental Health Society in South Africa, and we also have a lot of clients that have dual diagnosis, but as I far as I know, they are free to attend as many meetings as they like (I am the finance manager - so I don't know ALL the details). It really annoys me that people with mental disabilities are treated like that. Surely they deserve a fair chance, just like us, to deal with their addiction? And once the addictions are under control, surely it is much easier to deal with the disabilities? Anyway, my thoughts are running away with me again, but yes, I agree with you. Good luck with that!
Man oh man, talk about being between a rock and a hard place you've certainly hit a jackpot.
I'm on a rant here and I'm not going to hide it.
And that, "I have been "warned" not to encourage residents to go to meetings" is about as unprofessional as they can possibly get.
Helping these people to help themselves will reap great rewards, or are they only interested in keeping the rooms full because of the revenue it will bring in?
Obviously the residents that do come to you for help or advice recognize the you have something they want/need. The "staff" also, as it's you they ask to take them to meetings.
Do what you can without jeopardizing your job, and keep helping these people within the limits made available by management. Who knows, maybe in time management will change their minds if they see results.
Maybe all it will need is a resident or two saying something like, "You know, I feel better now going to those meetings." Who knows. HE does.
OK, rant off.
Good luck Bruce
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Until I know what I'm doing, I'll ask questions from someone who has what I want. If I don't like the answer, it's probably the one I need!
I can identify with all who shared here. I worked in a treatment facility that housed people from anywhere from 3 to 9 months, in-patient. This was a pro-AA place.
But I also was a part of a local program that, at the time, required me to get mental health services along WITH AA meetings. Some people though, were so very mentally ill that they were encouraged MORE on the side of getting to their psyche appointments and taking their meds, and a little less on the side of meetings. The rationale was that if they were not able to think rationally (i.e. meds) and take care of their own daily needs (bathing, social manners, etc...) that they could not "absorb" or function in a recovering capacity. This made sense to me, although I can say that they were never EVER 'discouraged' to go to meetings, and I could not imagine why any facility would do that, other than money they may be getting from the state based on what the curriculum is. I do know that state curricula and MONEY have a lot to do with how treatment centers have to operate these days in the U.S.
I think public treatment facilities really have to do a balancing act when it comes to treating dual-diagnosed people, especially the ones who have the roughest mental illnesses to deal with and manage. I would hope that the taste of AA that you are able to give these people will stick with them after they are gone from the facility, and that they will be willing and eager to go to meetings on their own when they leave. If you are able to plant a seed, that can be your biggest contribution.
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~Your Higher Power has not given you a longing to do that which you have no ability to do.
Hi- I'm an MSW with 30 years experience on the mental health side..and I find it appalling that mental health and chemical dependency still play "which came 1st, the chicken or the egg?" But they do. The MH people can sometimes cop attitude that their field is somehow more the "in depth" one, whatever that means...so medication and psychotherapy are promoted as more important. But truth be told, I never met an Rx or Tx that worked while someone was actively drinking. And psychotherapy alone never does anything for an alcoholic unless it is the bridge to AA. As for dual diagnoses- well, I had many so called co-morbid conditions side by side with drinking...all of which were made significantly worse by alcohol. My view is that it is not "in vino veritas" but "in vino exaggeratus" .
There are many layers to any diagnosis, but alcohol always confounds and worsens the picture. And those with more serious mental health issues will never find the support on the MH menu that can be found at AA.
Sorry if I digress, but my point is, shame on anyone who downplays or discourages meetings. Beachgirl
Surely they deserve a fair chance, just like us, to deal with their addiction? And once the addictions are under control, surely it is much easier to deal with the disabilities? Anyway, my thoughts are running away with me again, but yes, I agree with you. Good luck with that!