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For Professionals and Students
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Please
note:
Some documents linked on this page are in PDF files that can only be viewed
with |
Thank you for your
interest in the Al-Anon and Alateen programs. Al-Anon works cooperatively with
professionals and institutions that provide services to people affected by
another person’s alcoholism. Al-Anon
participation is compatible with and can be complimentary to professional
counseling and medical treatment. A 2006
survey of Al-Anon membership revealed that about 36% of
Al-Anon members were influenced to attend their first Al-Anon meeting by a
professional!
Our home page and newcomer’s page provides information about the Al-Anon
and Alateen programs. Our meetings page provides a list of Al-Anon, Alateen, and
Al-Anon Adult Children meetings in District 5, which serves the
area in and around
Types of Al-Anon meetings are described on our newcomer’s page. Closed
Al-Anon meetings are
attended by anyone who feels his or her life has been or
is being affected by alcoholism. Open Al-Anon meetings are meetings where
Al-Anon/Alateen members tell their stories to anyone interested in hearing about
the family disease of alcoholism. Non-members such as observers or students are
welcome to attend open Al-Anon meetings to learn about
recovery in the Al-Anon program. Currently there are
no registered open
Al-Anon meetings in the District 5 area; there are occasional open Al-Anon meetings
in Wayne, Oakland, Lenawee and Monroe Counties and in other areas of Michigan
(please see our links page for information on how to
contact an Al-Anon Information Service to ask about locating an open Al-Anon meeting
in the area you are interested in.)
Al-Anon does not advise
members to take or to avoid any particular course of action, or to engage or
not to engage any particular resources. Al-Anon literature states that members
may benefit from tapping additional resources, and encourages members to engage
resources and/or obtain professional assistance that may be helpful to them.
A SPECIAL NOTE TO STUDENTS OR OBSERVERS WHO
WOULD LIKE TO ATTEND AN AL-ANON MEETING TO LEARN ABOUT THE PROGRAM (and to
their instructors):
We are always happy that students are
interested in learning about Al-Anon. You will most likely encounter people
affected by another person’s alcoholism or drug addiction in any profession,
and attending an open 12 Step meeting is a great way to learn about
alcoholism/addiction and family recovery as well as how the program works.
It is CRITICAL however that students and other observers understand that
“closed” Al-Anon meetings are intended to be attended ONLY by people affected by another
person’s alcohol or other drug use, and that all that is said in a meeting or
member-to-member MUST be kept entirely confidential. Al-Anon works through open
sharing among members, and that sharing can only effectively occur when members
feel secure that the confidential information they may share, their own
personal anonymity and the anonymity of the alcoholics in their lives will not
leave the meeting. For example, a member that is affiliated with a university
or who is in a relationship with an alcoholic that is affiliated with a
university will likely be inhibited from sharing if students from that university
attend the meeting as observers. Students and others who feel they may belong
in Al-Anon personally are always welcome to attend any meeting as a prospective
newcomer, and professionals and students are welcome to attend Al-Anon meetings
for their own personal support in their work with addicts and alcoholics, but
students who wish to attend solely to observe and learn about Al-Anon are asked
to please NOT attend closed Al-Anon meetings.
Since there
are currently no open meetings of Al-Anon in Washtenaw County, here are some ideas for
students who wish to learn more about Al-Anon:
¨ You can attend an open Al-Anon meeting in another county; please click here to learn how to
locate open Al-Anon meetings outside of District 5.
¨ You can attend open AA
meetings to learn about addiction, recovery and 12 Step programs.
¨ You can contact us; we will be happy to talk to you about Al-Anon!
¨ You can contact us
to ask if one or more Al-Anon members would talk to your class or group.
¨ You can read about the
program on Al-Anon web sites and in Al-Anon literature.
What do
professionals say about the
Al-Anon program?
We asked some
professionals who work or live in the
Al-Anon is not allied
with any religion, sect or denomination. Members of any faith and of no faith
are all equally welcome. Per Al-Anon’s Traditions 6 and 10, Al-Anon has
no opinions about, is not affiliated with and does not endorse any outside
enterprises or organizations, and does not support or oppose any matters
outside of the Al-Anon program. The opinions expressed in this section are
those of the writers; their inclusion does not imply endorsement of any
organization, business, practice, religion, denomination or publication. We are grateful to all who have shared their
professional experiences with Al-Anon on this web site!
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“Your First Al-Anon
Meeting”:
from Jeff Jay and Debra Jay: please click here! Jeff and Debra Jay are addiction specialists and interventionists.
They are co-authors of "Love First: A New Approach to Intervention,"
which is a Hazelden Guidebook. Debra Jay is also the author of "No More
Letting Go: The Spirituality of Taking Action Against Alcoholism and Drug
Addiction" and co-author of “Aging and Addiction: Helping Older
Adults Overcome Alcohol or Medication Dependence.”
Jeff Jay is the co-author of "At Wit's End: What You Need to Know When a
Loved One Is Diagnosed with Addiction and Mental Illness." “A Treatment
Professional’s Experience”: from James Balmer: please click here! Contributed by James Balmer; President, Dawn Farm Community of Programs. “An Obstetrician’s
Experience”:
from Carl Christensen, MD, Ph.D.: please click here! Contributed
by Carl Christensen, MD, Ph.D.; obstetrician and addictionologist; Associate
Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Wayne State and the Detroit Medical
Center; Associate Residency Director of the Detroit Medical Center; Medical
Director of the Eleonore Hutzel Recovery Center; Medical Director of Dawn Farm; Associate
with Pain Recovery Solutions. |
“From a
Psychotherapist”:
from Perry H. Engstom: please click here! Contributed by Perry H.
Engstom, LMSW, psychotherapist. “Alateen/Al-Anon and
Students”:
from Mark Schuby: please click here! Contributed by Mark
Schuby, MSW, Student Assistance Coordinator, “What Al-Anon Offers”: from Renee Baumunk:
please click here! Contributed by Renee
A. Baumunk, CPS (Certified Prevention Specialist.) “Reflection on Al-Anon”: from Ken Wilson: please
click here! Contributed
by Ken Wilson; Senior Pastor, “One Professional’s
Experience”: from
ernie kurtz: please click here! Contributed by Ernest Kurtz, Ph.D. (Harvard 1978) Adjunct Assistant
Research Scientist (than which rank there is no lower) The University of |
Al-Anon Publications and Information for Professionals
Al-Anon World Services produces materials referred
to as “Conference-Approved Literature” (CAL.) Al-Anon conference-approved literature
provides a valuable resource to help people learn about Al-Anon, including
professionals, students, and potential members.
The Al-Anon World Service Office web site “resources
for professionals” page provides several pamphlets that may be helpful to
specific professions as well as for helping individual clients to identify with
Al-Anon as a resource that can help them.
Al-Anon publishes an annual outreach magazine, “Al-Anon
Faces Alcoholism,” that includes information about Al-Anon and Alateen, stories
from Al-Anon and Alateen members, and perspectives on Al-Anon/Alateen written
by people in various helping professionals. Please click here to
be linked to Al-Anon Faces Alcoholism 2009 posted on the Al-Anon World Services
site.
Additional information about Al-Anon literature is
available on our literature page. A complete
listing of Al-Anon Conference Approved Literature and an order form is
available in the literature area of the Al-Anon World Services web
site. The materials below are all Al-Anon
publications which are targeted to professionals:
(All
of the following are reprinted with permission of ©Al-Anon Family Group
Headquarters, Inc.,
An overview of
the Al-Anon program
for professionals is provided by the Al-Anon publication, Fact Sheet For
Professionals (S-37),
“Fact Sheet for Professionals” (S-37) is reprinted with permission of ©Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc.,
Guidelines for Al-Anon
and Alateen meetings held in institutions
have been developed by the Al-Anon World Services Office. Al-Anon meetings that
are held in institutions (including treatment centers, hospitals, clinics,
mental health service providers, shelters, juvenile homes, correctional
facilities, rehabilitation organizations, and others) often provide a newcomer
with his or her first exposure to Al-Anon/Alateen. Institutional meetings are facilitated by
experienced Al-Anon/Alateen members. Guidelines for institutional meetings can
be viewed here.
“Al-Anon/Alateen
Institutions Group Meetings” (S-22) is reprinted with permission of ©Al-Anon Family Group
Headquarters, Inc.,
Additional fact sheets
include
the following:
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“Spiritual Leaders” fact sheet (OS1)
is reprinted with permission of
©Al-Anon Family Group
Headquarters, Inc., |
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To Doctors” fact sheet (OD2) is reprinted
with permission of
©Al-Anon Family Group
Headquarters, Inc., |
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“To
a Lawyer” fact sheet (OL3) is reprinted with permission of ©Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc., |
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“To
the Police” fact sheet (OP4) is reprinted with permission of ©Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc., |
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“To
My Teacher” fact sheet (OT5) is reprinted with permission of ©Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc., |
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“Human
Services Professional” fact sheet (OH6) is reprinted with permission of ©Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc., |
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“Student
Assistance Professional” fact sheet (OSP7) is reprinted with permission of ©Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc., |
We thank you for visiting
us and for your interest in learning about the Al-Anon and Alateen programs! If you have questions or
comments that you would like to direct to District 5 of Al-Anon, please contact us!
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