Contents • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Background [ ] Al-Anon defines itself as an independent fellowship with the stated purpose of helping relatives and friends of alcoholics. According to the organization, is a family illness.

General Service Conference-approved literature. “sponsor” was not used then; the Twelve Steps had not been written; but Bill carried the message to. Bob, who in turn safeguarded his own sobriety by sponsoring. In the phone book. Al-Anon literature and meeting information.

Its 'Preamble to the Twelve Steps' provides a general description: The Al-Anon Family Groups are a fellowship of relatives and friends of who share their experience, strength, and hope in order to solve their common problems. We believe is a family illness and that changed attitudes can aid recovery. Al-Anon is not allied with any sect, denomination, political entity, organization, or institution; does not engage in any controversy; neither endorses nor opposes any cause.

There are no dues for membership. Al-Anon is self-supporting through its own voluntary contributions. Al-Anon has but one purpose: to help families of.

We do this by practicing the, by welcoming and giving comfort to families of, and by giving understanding and encouragement to the. Not an program, Al-Anon does not have the stated primary purpose of arresting another's compulsive drinking. Members meet in groups. Meetings are usually small (five to twenty-five); in larger meetings, members often split into smaller groups after the opening readings so everyone has a chance to speak. Many Al-Anon family group meetings begin with the 'Suggested Al-Anon/Alateen Welcome', which starts: 'We welcome you to the [Name of Group] Al-Anon Family Group and hope you will find in this fellowship the help and friendship we have been privileged to enjoy.

We who live, or have lived, with the problem of understand as perhaps few others can. We, too, were lonely and frustrated, but in Al-Anon we discover that no situation is really hopeless, and that it is possible for us to find contentment, and even happiness, whether the is still drinking or not.' History [ ] Al-Anon was co-founded in 1951, 16 years after the founding of on June 10, 1935, by Anne B. And (wife of AA co-founder ).

Before the formation of Al-Anon, independent groups of families of alcoholics met. ' thought the[se] groups could be consolidated and that should be the one to take it on.' Al-Anon adopted the of Alcoholics Anonymous for their use 'word for word with the exception of the Twelfth Step', changing the word ' to 'others' ('we tried to carry this message to others'). Its name derives from the first parts of the words 'Alcoholics Anonymous'. Alateen, part of Al-Anon, began in in 1957 when a teenager named Bob 'joined with five other young people who had been affected by the alcoholism of a family member.' Purpose [ ] Although people commonly turn to Al-Anon for help in stopping another's drinking, the organization recognizes that the friends and families of are often traumatized themselves and in need of emotional support and understanding.

According to Lois W.: After a while I began to wonder why I was not as happy as I ought to be, since the one thing I had been yearning for all my married life [Bill's sobriety] had come to pass. Then one Sunday, Bill asked me if I was ready to go to the meeting with him. To my own astonishment as well as his, I burst forth with, “Damn your old meetings!” and threw a shoe as hard as I could.

This surprising display of temper over nothing pulled me up short and made me start to analyze my own attitudes. My life's purpose of sobering up Bill, which had made me feel desperately needed, had vanished. Scanmaster Elm Crack Keygen Websites more. I decided to strive for my own spiritual growth. I used the same principles as he did to learn how to change my attitudes.

We began to learn. That the partner of the alcoholic also needed to live by a spiritual program. Benefits [ ] Problems [ ] Al-Anon/Alateen literature focuses on problems common to family members and friends of alcoholics such as excessive care-taking, an inability to differentiate between love and pity and loyalty to abusers, rather than the problems of the. The organization acknowledges that members may join with low, largely a side-effect of unrealistically overestimating their and: attempting to control another person's drinking behavior and, when they fail, blaming themselves for the other person's behavior.

Improvement [ ] Participation in Al-Anon has been associated with less personal blame by women who, as a whole, engage in more initial personal blame for the drinking than men. Family members of alcoholics begin to improve as they learn to recognize family, assign responsibility for the pathology to a disease, forgive themselves, accept that they were adversely affected by the pathology and learn to accept their family members' shortcomings. Al-Anon members are encouraged to keep the focus on themselves, rather than on the alcoholic.

Although members believe that changed attitudes can aid recovery, they stress that one person did not cause, cannot cure and cannot control another person's alcohol-related choices and behaviors. Treatment of alcoholism [ ] Al-Anon's primary purpose is to help families and friends of alcoholics, rather than stopping alcoholism in others or assisting with interventions. When an alcoholic's spouse is active in Al-Anon and the alcoholic is active in AA, the alcoholic is more likely to be, marital happiness is more likely to be increased and parenting by both is more likely to improve. A 1999 clinical analysis of methods used by concerned significant others (CSOs) to encourage alcoholics to seek treatment indicated that Al-Anon participation was 'mostly ineffective' towards this goal.

The found (CRAFT) 'significantly more' effective than Al-Anon participation in arresting alcoholism in others. Demographics [ ] In 2007, Al-Anon Family Groups published its 2006 Member Survey Results of demographic and other information from Al-Anon members in and the U.S. Of the 645 respondents, 88 percent identified as white, 85 percent as and 58 percent as. One-third of the respondents had children under age 21 at home. One finding was that '82 percent reported their and well-being was much improved due to Al-Anon'.

For the 2006 Alateen Member Survey, conducted in the U.S., 139 Alateen members responded. Sixty-five percent of the respondents were female, 35 percent were, 72 percent were white and 20 percent spoke fluently. The respondents' average age was 14. Structure [ ].

Al-Anon/Alateen organizational structure The structure of Al-Anon Family Groups may be depicted as an inverted pyramid, with the organization's headquarters (the World Service Office) at the bottom and the 'autonomous' groups at the top. Groups [ ] Al-Anon and Alateen members meet in groups for fellowship and support.

Each group may elect a group representative to represent a group at district and area meetings. Districts [ ] In, Al-Anon and Alateen groups elect GRs to attend district meetings in the East Texas Area District Five. At these meetings they discuss service activities, group issues and are a forum for groups and information from the area and the WSO, with GRs having voting privileges. A district may host regular events, such as workshops and speaker meetings, for the local fellowship. Areas [ ] An area comprises several districts.

Is divided into two Al-Anon areas, East and West. Each Texas area has about a dozen Al-Anon districts, for a total of about 24 in the state. Each area has regular meetings (known as assemblies) where GRs meet and vote on issues impacting that area, host workshops and speakers and bring area information back to their groups. World Service [ ] At area assemblies, GRs elect a delegate to the annual World Service Conference. The WSC meets annually to interface with the World Service Office, which is managed by administrators and overseen by the Board of Trustees (who meet more regularly themselves).

Democracy and accountability [ ] Al-Anon promotes and. According to one of its General Warranties of the Conference, 'That though the Conference serves Al-Anon it shall never perform any act of government; and that like the fellowship of Al-Anon Family Groups which it serves, it shall always remain democratic in thought and action.' Another states 'That no Conference member shall be placed in unqualified authority over other members.' According to Tradition Two of Al-Anon's Twelve Traditions, for groups 'Our leaders are but trusted servants—they do not govern.' Tradition Nine says, 'Our groups, as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.' Districts and areas are directly responsible to the groups. The World Service Office is accountable to the World Service Conference.

The Conference is responsible to the areas through elected delegates and ultimately responsible to the groups. According to Concept One of Al-Anon's Twelve Concepts of Service, 'The ultimate responsibility and authority for Al-Anon world services belongs to the Al-Anon groups.' In film [ ] is a 2010 film about the wife of AA co-founder Bill Wilson and the beginnings of AA and Al-Anon. See also [ ] • • • • • (CRAFT) • • • • • • References [ ]. • Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc. (PDF).,: Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc.

Retrieved 2014-01-17. • Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc. (PDF).,: Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc. Retrieved 2014-01-17. • ^ Al-Anon Family Groups..

Www.al-anon.alateen.org.: Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc. Retrieved 2014-01-18. • ^ Humphreys, Keith; Kaskutas, Lee A (1995). 'World Views of Alcoholics Anonymous, Women for Sobriety, and Adult Children of Alcoholics/Al-Anon Mutual Help Groups'.

Addiction Research & Theory. 3 (3): 231–243..

• Al-Anon Family Groups. Www.al-anon.alateen.org.: Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc. Retrieved 2010-04-26., 'Suggested Al-Anon/Alateen Welcome' •. Alcoholics Anonymous. Retrieved 2014-01-17.

Stepping Stones: The Historic Home of Bill and Lois Wilson. Retrieved 2014-01-17. Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc. Retrieved 2014-01-19. • 'Al-Anon's History'. How Al-Anon Works for Families and Friends of Alcoholics.,: Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc.

• (PDF).,: Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc. Retrieved 2014-01-17. • 'Al-Anon's History'. How Al-Anon Works for Families and Friends of Alcoholics.,: Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc. 'Lois's story'. How Al-Anon Works for Families and Friends of Alcoholics.,: Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc. • Kingree, J.

B.; Thompson, Martie (2000). 'Twelve-Step Groups, Attributions of Blame for Personal Sadness, Psychological Well-Being, and the Moderating Role of Gender'.

Journal of Applied Social Psychology. 30 (3): 499–517...

• Humphreys, K (April 1996). 'World view change in adult children of Alcoholics/Al-Anon self-help groups: reconstructing the alcoholic family'. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy. 46 (2): 255–63... • Al-Anon Family Groups (1997).

Paths to Recovery: Al-Anon's Steps, Traditions and Concepts. Al-Anon Family Groups..

• Wright, KD; Scott, TB (September 1978). 'The relationship of wives' treatment to the drinking status of alcoholics'. Journal of studies on alcohol. 39 (9): 1577–1581... • Corenblum, B; Fischer, DG (May 1975). Carvewright Torrent.

'Some correlates of Al-Anon group membership'. Journal of studies on alcohol. 36 (5): 675–677... • Miller, WR; Meyers, RJ; Tonigan, JS (October 1999). 'Engaging the unmotivated in treatment for alcohol problems: a comparison of three strategies for intervention through family members'. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 67 (5): 688–697....

• Meyers, RJ; Miller, WR; Smith, JE; Tonigan, JS (October 2002). 'A randomised trail of two methods for engaging treatment-refusing drug users through concerned significant others (CSOs)'. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 70 (5): 1182–1185.... • ^ Al-Anon Family Groups (2007). Www.al-anon.alateen.org.: Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc. Retrieved 2010-04-27.

• Al-Anon Family Groups. Www.al-anon.alateen.org.: Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc. Retrieved 2010-04-27. Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc. Retrieved 2014-01-18. Retrieved August 28, 2015. Retrieved August 28, 2015.

• In keeping with Al-Anon’s structure, only Group Representatives can vote on issues and officers here too. Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc. Retrieved 2014-01-18. Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc. Retrieved 2014-01-18. Further reading [ ] • Kirby, K.

C., Marlowe, D. B., Festinger, D.

S., Garvey, K. A., & LaMonaca, V. (August 1999). 'Community reinforcement training for family and significant others of drug abusers: A unilateral intervention to increase treatment entry of drug users'. Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

56 (1): 85–96... CS1 maint: Uses authors parameter () • Rychtarik, R. & McGillicuddy, N. (April 2005). 'Coping Skills Training and 12-Step Facilitation for Women Whose Partner Has Alcoholism: Effects on Depression, the Partner's Drinking, and Partner Physical Violence'. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 73 (2): 249–261...

'Review of The Lois Wilson Story: When Love is not Enough'.. 24 (4): 159–162.. J., Apodaca, T. R., Flicker, S. M., & Slesnick, N. 'Evidence-based approaches for the treatment of substance abusers by involving family members'.

The Family Journal. 10 (3): 281–288.. CS1 maint: Uses authors parameter () • Zajdow, G. (April 1998). 'Civil society, social capital and the Twelve Step group'. Community, Work & Family.

1 (1): 79–89.. External links [ ] Wikimedia Commons has media related to.

• • • • • in libraries ( catalog) •.