Mutual help groups for mental health problems: A review of effectiveness studies

American Journal of Community Psychology

Volumn 42, Issue 1-2, 2008, Pages 110-121

  Pistrang, Nancy ^a   Barker, Chris ^a   Humphreys, Keith ^b  

^a UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON   (United Kingdom)

^b STANFORD UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE   (United States)

Author keywords

Mental illness; Mutual support group; Outcome evaluation; Peer support; Self help group

Indexed keywords

ANXIETY DISORDER; BEREAVEMENT; DEPRESSION; HUMAN; MENTAL DISEASE; REVIEW; SELF HELP; TREATMENT OUTCOME;

ANXIETY DISORDERS; BEREAVEMENT; DEPRESSIVE DISORDER; HUMANS; MENTAL DISORDERS; SELF-HELP GROUPS; TREATMENT OUTCOME;

EID: 50249126033     PISSN: 00910562     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1007/s10464-008-9181-0     Document Type: Review

References (45)

1. C Barker N Pistrang 2005 Quality criteria under methodological pluralism: Implications for doing and evaluating research American Journal of Community Psychology 35 201 212
2. Borkman, T. J. (1990). Experiential, professional, and lay frames of reference. In T. J. Powell (Ed.), Working with self-help (pp. 3-30). Silver Spring, Maryland: NASW Press.
3. Borkman, T. J. (1999). Understanding self-help/mutual aid: Experiential learning in the commons. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
4. JI Bright KD Baker RA Neimeyer 1999 Professional and paraprofessional group treatments for depression: A comparison of cognitive-behavioral and mutual support interventions Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 67 491 501
5. L Burti F Amaddeo M Ambrosi C Bonetto D Cristofalo M Ruggeri M Tansella 2005 Does additional care provided by a consumer self-help group improve psychiatric outcome? A study in an Italian community-based psychiatric service Community Mental Health Journal 41 705 720
6. MS Caserta DA Lund 1993 Intrapersonal resources and the effectiveness of self-help groups for bereaved older adults The Gerontologist 33 619 629
7. S-K Cheung SYK Sun 2000 Effects of self-efficacy and social support on the mental health conditions of mutual-aid organization members Social Behavior and Personality 28 413 422
8. M Chinman B Kloos M O'Connell L Davidson 2002 Service providers' views of psychiatric mutual support groups Journal of Community Psychology 30 349 366
9. Davidson, L. (2003). Living outside mental illness: Qualitative studies of recovery in schizophrenia. New York: New York University Press.
10. L Davidson M Chinman B Kloos R Weingarten D Stayner JK Tebes 1999 Peer support among individuals with severe mental illness: A review of the evidence Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice 6 165 187
11. KP Davison JW Pennebaker SS Dickerson 2000 Who talks? The social psychology of illness support groups American Psychologist 55 205 217
12. PCAM den Boer D Wiersma RJ van den Bosch 2004 Why is self-help neglected in the treatment of emotional disorders? A meta-analysis Psychological Medicine 34 971
13. PJ Dunham A Hurshman E Litwin J Gusella C Ellsworth PWD Dodd 1998 Computer-mediated social support: single young mothers as a model system American Journal of Community Psychology 26 281 306
14. G Eysenbach J Powell M Englesakis C Rizo A Stern 2004 Health related virtual communities and electronic support groups: systematic review of the effects of online peer to peer interaction British Medical Journal 328 1166 1170
15. M Galanter 1988 Zealous self-help groups as adjuncts to psychiatric treatment: A study of Recovery, Inc American Journal of Psychiatry 145 1248 1253
16. BH Gottlieb LA Peters 1991 A national demographic portrait of mutual aid participants in Canada American Journal of Community Psychology 19 651 666
17. Helgeson, V. S., & Gottlieb, B. H. (2000). Support groups. In S. Cohen, L. G. Underwood, & B. H. Gottlieb (Eds.), Social support measurement, and intervention: A guide for health and social scientists (pp. 221-245). New York: Oxford University Press.
18. BE Hogan BE Linden B Najarian 2002 Social support interventions: do they work? Clinical Psychology Review 22 381 440
19. TK Houston LA Cooper DE Ford 2002 Internet support groups for depression: A 1-year prospective cohort study American Journal of Psychiatry 159 2062 2068
20. K Humphreys 2000 Community narratives and personal stories in Alcoholics Anonymous Journal of Community Psychology 28 495 506
21. Humphreys, K. (2004). Circles of recovery: Self-help organizations for addictions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
22. K Humphreys J Rappaport 1994 Researching self-help/mutual aid groups and organizations: Many roads, one journey Applied and Preventive Psychology 3 217 231
23. K Humphreys CS Phibbs RH Moos 1996 Addressing self-selection effects in evaluations of mutual help groups and professional mental health services: An introduction to two-stage sample selection models Evaluation and Program Planning 19 301 308
24. RC Kessler KD Mickelson S Zhao 1997 Patterns and correlates of self-help group membership in the United States Social Policy 27 27 46
25. E Klaw D Horst K Humphreys 2006 Inquirers, triers, and buyers of an alcohol harm reduction self-help organization Addiction Research and Theory 14 527 535
26. Kyrouz, E. M., Humphreys, K., & Loomis, C. (2002). A review of research on the effectiveness of self-help mutual aid groups. In B. J. White & E. J. Madara (Eds.), American self-help clearinghouse self-help group sourcebook (7 ed., pp. 71-85). Cedar Knolls, NJ: American Self-Help Group Clearinghouse.
27. Levy, L. H. (2000). Self-help groups. In J. Rappaport & E. Seidman (Eds.), Handbook of community psychology (pp. 591-613). New York: Kluwer Academic.
28. Lewis, G., Anderson, L., Araya, R., Elgie, R., Harrison, G., Proudfoot, J., et al. (2003). Self-help interventions for mental health problems. London: report to the Department of Health R&D programme.
29. MA Lieberman L Videka-Sherman 1986 The impact of self-help groups on the mental health of widows and widowers American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 56 435 449
30. S Magura AB Laudet D Mahmood A Rosenblum E Knight 2002 Adherence to medication regimens and participation in dual-focus self-help groups Psychiatric Services 53 310 316
31. CR Marmar MJ Horowitz DS Weiss NR Wilner NB Kaltreider 1988 A controlled trial of brief psychotherapy and mutual-help group treatment of conjugal bereavement American Journal of Psychiatry 145 203 209
32. D Moher KF Schulz DG Altman 2001 The CONSORT statement: revised recommendations for improving the quality of reports of parallel-group randomised trials Journal of the American Medical Association 285 1987 1991
33. Munn-Giddings, C., & Borkman, T. (2005). Self help/mutual aid as a psychosocial phenomenon. In S. Ramon & J. E. Williams (Eds.), Mental health at the crossroads. The promise of the psychosocial approach. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing.
34. TJ Powell EM Hill L Warner WH Yeaton KR Silk 2000 Encouraging people with mood disorders to attend a self-help group Journal of Applied Social Psychology 30 2270 2288
35. TJ Powell WH Yeaton EM Hill KR Silk 2001 Predictors of psychosocial outcomes for patients with mood disorders: the effects of self-help group participation Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal 25 3 11
36. J Rappaport 1993 Narrative studies, personal stories, and identity transformation in the mutual help context Journal of Applied Behavioral Science 29 239 256
37. G Rathner C Bönsch G Maurer MH Walter W Söllner 1993 The impact of a "guided self-help group" on bulimic women: a prospective 15 month study of attenders and non-attenders Journal of Psychosomatic Research 37 389 396
38. LJ Roberts DA Salem J Rappaport PA Toro DA Luke E Seidman 1999 Giving and receiving help: interpersonal transactions in mutual-help meetings and psychosocial adjustment of members American Journal of Community Psychology 27 841 868
39. SP Segal C Silverman 2002 Determinants of client outcomes in self-help agencies Psychiatric Services 53 304 309
40. M Solomon N Pistrang C Barker 2001 The benefits of mutual support groups for parents of children with disabilities American Journal of Community Psychology 29 113 132
41. A Trojan 1989 Benefits of self-help groups: a survey of 232 members from 65 disease related groups Social Science and Medicine 29 225 232
42. F Tudiver J Hilditch JA Permaul DJ McKendree 1992 Does mutual help facilitate newly bereaved widowers? Report of a randomized controlled trial Evaluation and the Health Professions 15 147 162
43. MLS Vachon WAL Lyall J Rogers K Freeman-Letofsky SJJ Freeman 1980 A controlled study of self-help intervention for widows American Journal of Psychiatry 137 1380 1384
44. L Videka-Sherman MA Lieberman 1985 The effects of self-help and psychotherapy intervention on child loss American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 55 70 82
45. M. L. Ybarra W. W. Eaton 2005 Internet-based mental health interventions Mental Health Services Research 7 75 87