Summarizes and compares findings from a series of studies of informal, interpersonal help given by four groups: hairdressers, divorce lawyers, industrial supervisors, and bartenders. Discusses the implications for mental health practitioners of the fact that most people do not take their psychological problems to the formal mental health…

This demonstration of enduring positive consequences lends further credence to the view that nonprofessionals, under appropriate conditions of recruitment, training, and supervision, have much to offer in human service helping activities. (Author)

Studied frequency of occurrence of four different types of physical contact (touching, holding hands, sitting-on-lap, and hugging) in school-based helping interactions between nonprofessional child aides and young referred children. Frequency of contact behaviors did not relate either to adjustment status at referral or to intervention outcomes.…

Helper-judged frequency and discomfort values were established for potentially challenging interaction situations between nonprofessional child aides and young maladapting school children. Child aggression, family problems, limit-testing behavior, and rarely experienced situations produced greater helper discomfort than did the child's need to…

The study's three main criterion measures were: (1) estimates of children's predominant mood state; (2) judgments about a child's predominant within-session mode of expression; and (3) aides' ratings of session satisfaction. Both predominant mood and mode of expression differed for children with different initial referral problems. (Author)

This study reports three-year, service-utilization patterns of the Primary Mental Health Project (PMHP)--an innovative school mental health program that uses nonprofessional child-aides as help-agents with maladapting primary graders. The PMHP model delivers, with relatively small cost increments, approximately 10 times more service than…