E-Book Overview
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.
<EM>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.
<EM>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.
E-Book Content
Mental Health Self-Help
Louis D. Brown · Scott Wituk Editors
Mental Health Self-Help Consumer and Family Initiatives
13
Editors Louis D. Brown Prevention Research Center The Pennsylvania State University 135 E, Nittany Ave Suite 402 State College, PA 16801 USA
[email protected]
Scott Wituk Center for Community Support and Research Wichita State University 1845 Fairmount, Box 201 Wichita, KS 67260-0201 USA
[email protected]
ISBN 978-1-4419-6252-2 e-ISBN 978-1-4419-6253-9 DOI 10.1007/978-1-4419-6253-9 Springer New York Dordrecht Heidelberg London Library of Congress Control Number: 2010931246 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010 All rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher (Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013, USA), except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis. Use in connection with any form of information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed is forbidden. The use in this publication of trade names, trademarks, service marks, and similar terms, even if they are not identified as such, is not to be taken as an expression of opinion as to whether or not they are subject to proprietary rights. Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)
Dedicated to mental health consumers and family members who inspired us, Greg Meissen who mentored us, and our families who supported us.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank the thou