On Friday, September 15, 2017 from 7:30 pm-9:00 pm, I attended Gamblers Anonymous support group in Elk Grove, CA. Gamblers Anonymous is a free membership support group that guides and supports men and women of all ages who are compulsive gamblers to recover from their gambling addiction. The main goal of the support group is to stop compulsive gamblers from gambling. When I attended the meeting, the facilitator handed me a yellow booklet which contains information about Gamblers Anonymous. In the booklet, compulsive gambling is defined as “an illness, progressive in its nature, which can never be cured, but can be arrested” (Gamblers Anonymous, p. 8). This definition translates as compulsive gambling is like a disease which many not be cured …show more content…
They have “closed meetings” and “open meetings”. “Closed meetings” are exclusive for people who have gambling addiction and “open meetings” are for both the gamblers and their family members and friends. I attended an open meeting and we all sat in a circular seating arrangement facing each other. There was one facilitator and at least twenty members and five family members that were present. The facilitator was the one guiding the direction of the meeting. For example, in the beginning, he stated tonight’s agenda: read out loud some pages in the booklet (lasted about 30 mins), take 10 mins break, and then do therapy session (lasted about 1 hr). I would say that his leadership style is democratic, which means he supports group interaction. The facilitator was not doing the main talking, but was merely there to guide the meeting. The meeting was formatted in a way that all the members take turn to talk during the meeting. It was the members who were the main subject of the meeting. They were the key players in the meeting as they each shared their gambling stories, words of encouragements, hopes, advices, downfalls and successes. In addition, the overall behavior of the group showed respect and …show more content…
Instillation of hope was a big part of the group meeting. The group leader started the meeting by happily announcing that two of their members have reached 1 year without gambling. The group leader made a brief congratulatory speech about the success of the two members. The two members then shared their gambling addiction story and how Gamblers Anonymous support group have helped them in their journey. Not only the two members instilled hope that it is possible to stop gambling addiction, but every member shared their success story of how far they have come through the help of Gamblers Anonymous. In addition, I also noted how universality was one of the biggest factor that united everyone in that room. Everyone had one common goal, which is to stop gambling. They understood each other’s feelings and experiences about gambling addiction and these united them and made them feel that they are not alone in this battle. Lastly, catharsis was one of the therapeutic factor in the group that was also highlighted. As each group expressed their stories and feelings about their gambling addiction, their downfalls, and their successes, it felt like everyone felt relief because they were able share feelings and know that each member were listening to them nonjudgmentally and understood each