Teaching College Students About Alcoholics Anonymous: An Experiential Approach Stephen Strobbe, PhD, RN, NP, PMHCNS-BC, CARN-AP m Stephanie M. Thompson, MSW m Robert A. Zucker, PhD Abstract Alcohol use disorders and their related consequences continue to be among the nation’s most prevalent and persistent healthcare problems across the lifespan. The vast majority of treatment facilities for substance use disorders in the United States report using some form of 12-step facilitation to help direct their patients to mutual help groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Yet, many students in various healthcare disciplines may lack familiarity and direct experience with this readily accessible and potentially lifesaving, low-cost resource. AA has a long-standing tradition of extending an open invitation to professionals and providing educational materials about this worldwide program of recovery. The purpose of this article is to describe an experiential, interdisciplinary approach that has been used to teach undergraduate psychology students about AA. Associated activities included (a) selected readings, (b) attendance at an open AA meeting, (c) the formulation of thoughtful questions by the students, and (d) a single, interactive didactic session. Undergraduate psychology students responded positively when principles of experiential learning were applied to educational activities related to AA. Keywords: Alcoholics Anonymous, college students, experiential learning, interdisciplinary, spirituality, teaching A lcohol use disorders and their related consequences continue to be among the nation’s most prevalent and persistent healthcare problems across the lifespan. The vast majority of treatment facilities for substance use dis- orders in the United States (80%) report using some form of 12-step facilitation to help direct their patients to mutual help groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2011). Yet, many students in various healthcare disciplines may lack familiarity and direct experience with this readily accessible and poten- tially lifesaving, low-cost resource. AA has a long-standing tradition of extending an open invitation to professionals and providing educational materials about this worldwide pro- gram of recovery. The purpose of this article is to describe an experiential, interdisciplinary approach that has been used to teach undergraduate psychology students about AA. Associ- ated activities included (a) selected readings, (b) attendance at an open AA meeting, (c) the formulation of thoughtful ques- tions by the students, and (d) a single, interactive didactic session. Rigorous scientific reviews have concluded that AA and re- lated 12-step treatments are at least as effective as other ap- proaches used to treat alcoholism (Kelly, Macgill, & Stout, 2009). In a large multisite study conducted in the United States, drinking outcomes attained through 12-step facilitationVwhich encouraged AA meeting attendance among randomized study participantsVwere comparable to those using other behav- ioral approaches, namely Cognitive Behavioral Coping Skills Therapy and Motivational Enhancement Therapy (Project MATCH Research Group, 1997). On the basis of neurobiological models for learning, indi- viduals are more likely to learn, retain, integrate, and apply information that has been obtained through active engage- ment and related activities, rather than passive receptivity. One means of generating active intellectual engagement is through experiential learning. Stehno (in Itin, 1999) indicated that experiential learning ‘‘includes: 1) action that creates an experience, 2) reflection on the action and experience, 3) ab- stractions drawn from the reflection, and 4) application of the abstraction to a new experience or action’’ (p. 91, italics added). One theoretical framework that can be used to help ex- plain the inner workings of AA is that of mutual aid, the Stephen Strobbe, PhD, RN, NP, PMHCNS-BC, CARN-AP, School of Nursing, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Stephanie M. Thompson, MSW, University of Michigan Department of Psychiatry, Ann Arbor. Robert A. Zucker, PhD, University of Michigan Addiction Research Center (UMARC), Ann Arbor. The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are respon- sible for the content and writing of the article. Correspondence related to content to: Dr. Stephen Strobbe, PhD, RN, NP, PMHCNS-BC, CARN-AP, University of Michigan School of Nurs- ing, 400 North Ingalls, Ann Arbor, MI 48109. E-mail: strobbe@umich.edu DOI: 10.1097/JAN.0b013e31828768e4 Journal of Addictions Nursing www.journalofaddictionsnursing.com 51 Original Article Journal of Addictions Nursing & Volume 24 & Number 1, 51Y57 & Copyright B 2013 International Nurses Society on Addictions Copyright © 2013 International Nurses Society on Addictions. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.