Counselors and Self‐Help Groups

Abstract

Self‐help groups have become legion in both number and purposes. The authors review the growth of this movement and its current status and suggest ways in which counselors can draw upon such groups in their professional practices.

An Analysis of the Role of Overeaters Anonymous in Women's Recovery from Bulimia Nervosa

“…However, the group also served to create a culture or social system for its members. Human behavior involves interacting in social systems that meet the basic needs for contact, recognition, acceptance, approval, and esteem (Buie, 1987;Goldschmidt, 1963;Riordan & Beggs, 1987;Riordan & Walsh, 1994). Instillation of hope and universality was identified a feature of regular meeting involvement.…”

“…Self-help treatments have been increasingly recommended to BN clients by health professional as a supplement to their treatment (Carter & Fairburn, 1995;Fairburn & Carter, 1997;Peterson et al, 2001;Riordan & Beggs, 1987;Wilson, Vitousek, & Loeb, 2000). Others have found that an unguided selfhelp approach may offer an effective initial treatment or provide secondary prevention for a subgroup of women with bulimia nervosa (Carter & Fairburn, Downloaded by [University of Toronto Libraries] at 02:01 20 December 2014 1998; Carter, Olmstead, Kaplan, McCabe, Mills, & Aime, 2003).…”

The Impact of Peer Death on Adolescent Girls: An Efficacy Study of the Adolescent Grief and Loss Group

“…Most adolescent grief and loss studies have been gathered via surveys to assess the prevalence of bereavement experience within the adolescent population and tend to be descriptive in nature (cf. Balk, 1983;Dyregrov et al, 1999;McNeil, Silliman, & Swihart, 1991;Melhem et al, 2004;Noppe & Noppe, 1997;O'Brien et al, 1991;Rask, Kaunonen, & Paunonen-Ilmonen, 2002;Ringler & Hayden, 2000;Riordan & Beggs, 1987;ServatySeib & Pistole, 2007).…”

Substance Abuse Counseling in Community Corrections: A Primer

“…Self-help support groups, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, are popular in the United States. There are approximately one-half million such groups with a total membership of more than 15 million persons (Riordan & Beggs, 1987). The moral inventories and spiritual aspects of Alcoholics Anonymous provide a useful program for internalizing values through actual discovery of spiritual principles and are important in recovery (Alterman, 1981).…”