DustinSK

Hey guys, lemme start off by saying I am not a alcoholic. I'm 18yo and a senior in highschool. In order to graduate we must complete a senior project, which consists of a 10 hour project. My project is on alcoholism, however, for my 10 hour project I do not know what to do. You basically need to do something time consuming, that deals with your topic. My teacher wanted me to go to AA meetings and look over them to see how they teach and take notes. However since it is ANONYMOUS, I am not allowed to! Does anyone have any ideas that I can do that is related to alcoholism? Thank you.

ANGELINA243

You can attend an open meeting. As far as note taking, I'm not sure what "the rules" would be--guess it would be up to the individual group. I have seen nursing students as well as people from the medical community come into some of the meetings I have been to--they carried a notepad and occasionally would write down some things. I do know that you are supposed to not use anyone's name and say what they shared. If someone was quoting something out of literature...things that be found written in Alcoholics Anonymous primary text--Big Book....I don't know why you couldn't write that down. You could even get an AA Big Book at the local library and read through it yourself to get an idea of what to write your paper about. But--yes, anonymity (as far as who you see in a meeting and what is shared by the individual) is supposed to be protected. But the program of AA--you can get an idea..even without taking notes by attending an open meeting. Anyone can attend an open meeting, including family members of alcoholics.

**Also, there are some t.v. shows that deal with addiction--Intervention, Celebrity Rehab (with Dr. Drew), Addicted, etc that might also help---not sure if your teacher would also include these as part of project or not but you can find previous shows online.

Pinkcuda

We have Students coming to one of our meetings all the time. Make sure it's an open meeting and they'll probably be glad to have you.

Edit; Don't go to a Club.

HumbleBee

Hello Dustin,

When I went to AA in early sobriety, there was one student I remember who did the same thing you're talking about.

He took notes, but did not name names (which nobody at meetings really divulge anyway) and absolutely no pictures are ever allowed.

He was quiet, sat in the back and basically captured the emotions of the stories that were shared, how people interacted with each other during the break and after the meeting.

Nobody minded because he did not probe or try to investigate - he just observed and listened. Some meetings are closed. Even a meeting that is open might frown on the project idea, but there are typically plenty of open meetings available to try. Good luck.

JimInTexas

Angelina pretty much posted what I was going to. Open meetings are just that. You might also approach some of the people at the meeting about sharing their experiences with you on an anonymous basis. All they can say is "no", and remember that no one at the meeting speaks for AA.

Dee74

Hi Dustin
Hope you've got some good ideas now - but, as one of our rules here is
I hope you'll understand I have to close the thread.
D