This document contains guidelines for social workers and other resource persons who are assisting self-help groups. It begins by defining the purpose of the resource person as meeting with group members on a consistent basis to provide information about available resources, offer suggestions and advice when appropriate, answer questions, and offer…

Offers a reassessment of the feasibility, even given "ideal" conditions, of conducting relevant research on the dynamics that take place in self-help groups. Examines kinds of changes, group methods, group members, group leaders, and environmental conditions. (Author/ABB)

Examined techniques of persuasion used in self-help organization for persons with mental problems. Concludes that successful affiliation with the group is a conversion process and that, although acceptance of the organizational ideology may facilitate an individual member's recovery, it simultaneously reinforces an understanding of mental problems…

Describes the experience of a group of relatively impaired, institutionalized elderly in a program of volunteer service to their peers. The focus of discussion is upon the volunteer group itself, its weekly group meetings, and the meaning that this kind of group experience has had for its members. (Author)

Notes that one of the most significant characteristics of mutual aid groups is the fact that they are empowering and thus delineating. They enable members to feel and use their strengths, their own power, to have control over their own lives. (Author/AM)

Examined applicability of Bednar, Melnick, and Kaul's model of early group development to college student self-help groups using undergraduates (N=101) who met in high-structure or low-structure groups. Found amount of group structure was positively related to ownership of group functioning; importance of performing group behaviors was positively…

In recent years, mutual help groups have been formed to address problems in substance abuse, chronic physical illness, mental illness, marital disruption, and child abuse. Despite the proliferation of these groups, little research has been conducted to assess their efficacy or what happens in them. The nature of mutual help groups (N=32) was…

Suggests that the single most important common denominator of the various types of self-help groups examined may be that the role of the person who has already lived through the experience is critical for helping others. (Author/AM)

Determined the extent to which social workers participate in self-help groups and examined their role in planning, developing, and supporting the groups continued existence. Results indicated that social workers perform important functions in supporting the growth and continued existence of self-help groups. (RC)

Supplementing a national survey of self-help group members, a study examined the functioning of an epilepsy self-help group in order to identify communication patterns establishing mutual aid. An examination of eight tape-recorded sessions was combined with an observer's field notes to develop a profile of the group. Analysis revealed a loosely…

Suggests that one of the reasons why many of the older self-help organizations rejected professional help may be that the help that was offered was of the more authoritarian variety. (Author/AM)

Offers some insight and understanding of the stress-producing components of counseling practice. Discusses some of the physical symptoms of burnout and examines why the syndrome is prevalent in the human services. Proposes the development of mutual aid groups as one solution to prevent or minimize burnout. (Author/RC)

This guide was designed to help individuals interested in developing caregiver support groups. It begins with an overview of the caregiving situation, identifying stresses associated with caregiving and factors which have been shown to moderate stress. Purposes of a support group are discussed; differences between support and therapy groups are…

Since objective data on the effectiveness of self-help groups are not available, participants' views of a program's value are instructive. A study was undertaken to contrast participants' (N=232) evaluations of their self-help meetings with independent observers' (N=11) evaluations and to describe the components of their respective views in terms…

Notes that while self-help groups are an important and encouraging development, they are more often a response to symptoms than to the underlying problems. (Author/AM)