Spirituality and Recovery from Familial Aspects of Alcohol and Other Drug Problems: Analysis of an Online Al-Anon Meeting

ABSTRACT

Al-Anon World Service Office recruited nine experienced Al-Anon members to hold an online Al-Anon meeting in a chat room on the Web site of the primary author. A transcript of this meeting with commentary by the authors is published in its entirety in this article. This transcript offers first-hand data about the process of a Twelve Step meeting and the use of the Internet for the purpose of supporting recovery from addiction. The theme of the meeting, the Second Step of the Twelve Steps of recovery from addiction, illustrates the role of spirituality in recovery from addiction. This theme is also reflected in the group's process.

KEYWORDS:

• Spirituality
• recovery
• familial aspects of alcohol and other drug problems
• online group
• Al-Anon