Abstract
The self-help (SH) movement in mental health (MH) is on the rise and its growth is necessary and inevitable. SH is an attempt by people with a mutual problem to take control over adverse circumstances in their lives. Formal SH efforts in general involve participation in organized groups for individuals with similar problems or in more differentiated and structured multi-service agencies. SH agencies include independent-living programs that help members to access material resources and gain practical skills, as well as drop-in community centers that provide a space for members to socialize, build a supportive community, and obtain advocacy and a gamut of independent-living services. SH agencies are distinguished from SH groups that work to help individuals gain control over or acceptance of their problems in that they are formal organizations providing services and often have a parallel focus on efforts directed toward changing social conditions. For example, some SH agencies are set up to assist poverty-stricken ex-patients and adopt the belief that members’ problems result from social and economic inequities; however, these agencies also take the position that members must be responsible for making changes in their own lives and for reforming social structures. On the other hand, agencies may also reject the victimhood mentality and adopt the position that some poverty-stricken ex-patients (primarily addicts, criminals, and the attitudinally challenged/those with poor work ethics) are in their undesirable situation due to the sum total of the decisions they have made in their lives.
The challenge is to devise cost-effective, user-friendly interventions and to work with target populations involved to enhance their desire and ability to retain the program without, or with minimal, outside assistance. Such empowerment efforts increase stake-holders’ sense of ownership of the program and the probability that the program will become incorporated into the setting’s routine mode of functioning.
(Jason & Glenwick, 2002b).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Beutler, L. E., & Clarkin, J. F. (1990). Systematic treatment selection: Toward targeted therapeutic interventions. New York: Brunner/Mazel.
Beutler, L. E., Clarkin, J. F., & Bongar, B (2000). Guidelines for the systematic treatment of the depressed patient. New York: Oxford University Press.
Beutler, L. E., & Harwood, T. M. (2000). Prescriptive psychotherapy: A practical guide to systematic treatment selection . New York: Oxford University Press. Translated to Italian: (2002) Psicoterapia Prescrittiva Elettiva. Roma: Sovera.
Beutler, L. E., Moleiro, C., Malik, M., Harwood, T. M., Romanelli, R., Gallagher-Thompson, D. et al. (2003). A comparison of the Dodo, EST, and ATI factors among co-morbid stimulant dependent, depressed patients. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 10, 69–85.
Harwood, T. M., & Beutler, L. E., (2008). EVTs, EBPs, ESRs, and RIPs: Inspecting the varieties of research based practices. In L. L’Abate (Ed.), Toward a science of clinical psychology: Laboratory evaluations and interventions (pp. 161–176). New York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
Harwood, T. M., & Beutler, L. E. (2009). How to assess clients in pretreatment planning. In J. N. Butcher (Ed.), Oxford handbook of personality assessment. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Harwood, T. M., & Williams, O. B. (2003). Identifying treatment-relevant assessment: Systematic treatment selection. In L. E. Beutler & G. Groth-Marnat (Eds.), Integrative assessment of adult personality (2nd ed., pp. 65–81). New York: Guilford Press.
L’Abate, L., Cusinato, M., Maino, E., Colesso, W., & Scilletta, C. (in press). Relational competence theory: Research and mental health applications. New York: Springer.
Webpsych (2009). InnerLife: A proprietary software program.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2010 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Harwood, T.M., L’Abate, L. (2010). What Constitutes Self-Help in Mental Health and What Can Be Done to Improve It?. In: Self-Help in Mental Health. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1099-8_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1099-8_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-1098-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-1099-8
eBook Packages: Behavioral ScienceBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)