SHARP is a hospital-based, self-help program for treating alcoholic veterans, which involves them in assuming major roles in governing the program and in helping one another. Because follow-up support is essential to maintaining sobriety, SHARP created an active social support system in the community. (Author)

The self-help movement currently sweeping the country has implications for health educators, school nurses, and counselors in particular. Despite the availability and reported success of self-help groups in assisting individuals with almost every imaginable condition, the referral value of this resource remains largely unrecognized and untapped by…

Reports on a training package that taught four consumers with physical, learning, or psychiatric disabilities how to write advocacy letters. The research design included baseline and training, and posttraining conditions. Results suggest that an action letter training program may enhance advocacy letter writing skills to address specific problems.…

The author discusses changes that the Texas Division for Blind Services made in its vocational rehabilitation program to increase competitive employment opportunities for vocational rehabilitation consumers who are blind and visually impaired. P. R. Warren, B. S. Cavenaugh, and M. J. Giesen (2004) reported that, nationwide, a higher proportion of…

Outlines what help is available and how it can be provided for Ontario teenagers with alcohol-related problems through community agencies and programs, services of professional social workers and counselors, group support, residential treatment, therapeutic goals, and family involvement. (NEC)

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and behavior therapy have been characterized as having opposing views of alcoholism. This article describes theoretical foundations, view of the change process, and treatment practices of AA and behavior therapy. Theoretical and practice perspectives on integration of the two models are examined, and advantages and…

Evaluates the incremental effects of the use of a self-help booklet, computer-generated personalized feedback, and outreach telephone counseling in a population-based, nonvolunteer sample of smokers. Smoking status was ascertained 3, 12 and 21 months postrandomization. Overall, the telephone counseling significantly increased smoking cessation at…

Observed 2 Gamblers Anonymous (GA) groups in South Wales over a 12-month period. Determined 2 broad consequences arose from encountering fellow sufferers: acceptance of diagnosis and commitment to recovery and to will of GA, or rejection of the diagnosis with the knowledge that they are returning to the outside world with a reconstituted…