Main description:

Building on earlier patient-empowerment movements, consumer- and advocate-driven mental health self-help (MHSH) initiatives currently outnumber traditional mental health organizations. At the same time, this apparent success raises significant questions about their short-term efficacy and their value to lasting recovery.

Mental Health Self-Help assembles the state of the evidence on the effectiveness of MHSH, beginning with the individual and larger social factors behind the expansion of consumer-directed services. Clearly organized and accessibly written, the book traces the development and evolution of MHSH as both alternative and adjunct to traditional mental health structures, offers research-based perspectives on the various forms of MHSH, and identifies potential areas for consumer initiatives to work with-and help improve-mental health systems. Contributors weigh strengths and limitations, raise research and methodology questions, and discuss funding and training issues to give readers a deeper understanding of the field and an informed look at its future impact on mental health treatment. Individual chapters cover the spectrum of contemporary self-help initiatives in mental health, including:

* Online mutual aid groups.

* Consumer-run drop-in centers.

* Family and caregiver groups.

* Certified peer support specialists.

* Consumer advocacy initiatives.

* Technical assistance organizations.

* Professional/self-help collaborations.

Mental Health Self-Help is a bedrock guide to an increasingly influential aspect of the mental health landscape. Researchers studying these initiatives from a variety of fields including community and clinical psychology, and public health-as well as clinicians, counselors, social workers, case managers, and policymakers-will find it an indispensable reference.

Contents:

Introduction to Mental Health Self-Help.- Frameworks for Research and Practice.- Theoretical Foundations of Mental Health Self-Help.- Participatory Action Research and Evaluation with Mental Health Self-Help Groups and Organizations: A Theoretical Framework.- MHSH groups.- The Contributions of Mutual Help Groups for Mental Health Problems to Psychological Well-Being: A Systematic Review.- Online Self-Help/Mutual Aid Groups in Mental Health Practice.- An Overview of Mutual Support Groups for Family Caregivers of People with Mental Health Problems: Evidence on Process and Outcomes.- Consumer-Delivered Services.- Consumer-Run Drop-In Centers: Current State and Future Directions.- Certified Peer Specialists in the United States Behavioral Health System: An Emerging Workforce.- The Development and Implementation of a Statewide Certified Peer Specialist Program.- MHSH Policy.- Finding and Using Our Voice: How Consumer/Survivor Advocacy is Transforming Mental Health Care.- How Governments and Other Funding Sources Can Facilitate Self-Help Research and Services.- Technical Assistance.- Consumer and Consumer-Supporter National Technical Assistance Centers: Helping the Consumer Movement Grow and Transform Systems.- A Statewide Collaboration to Build the Leadership and Organizational Capacity of Consumer Run Organizations (CROs).- Self-Help/Professional Collaboration.- Helping Mutual Help: Managing the Risks of Professional Partnerships.- The Contribution of Self-Help Groups to the Mental Health/Substance Use Services System.