Self‐help groups in Belgium: their place in the care network

Abstract

Many academics consider self-help groups as an important factor in the resurgence of democratic life in society. The academic debate on self-help groups however, neglects the contextual connection of these groups. The article is based on a two-fold piece of research in Belgium on self-help groups. The image and the position of self-help groups for breast cancer patients is examined. On the one hand, a quantitative network analysis shows the place of the group within the official medical health care network. On the other, this analysis is complemented by qualitative interviews on breast cancer patients. From these two analyses, some marked differences are detected between the positive image of self-help groups in academic literature and the personal views of their target group (breast cancer patients).

Some of our concepts are missing: reflections on the absence of a sociology of organisations in Sociology of Health and Illness

“…Such collective efforts are occurring, of course in the health field -not least, through the formation of user support groups and social movement organisations (see e.g. Williams 1989, Rogers and Pilgrim 1991, Crossley 1998, Damen et al 2000. As highlighted by Fox, postmodern organisation theorising, it seems, has the capacity to offer a taste of the interactionist cake, while at the same time enjoying something of a structuralist flavour.…”

Sharing the Same Fate

“…Support groups are organized around common life experiences by numerous voluntary and public organizations, but common experiences connect people in their personal networks as well (Damen et al 2000;Ketokivi 2008). The idea behind peer support is selfempowerment of people that professional treatment is unable to foster (Walter 1999).…”

“…Researchers who study support groups may use different terms that carry different connotations, including mutual help or aid (Walter 1999;Arminen 2004) and self-help (Kessler et al 1997;Riessman 1997;Damen et al 2000;Williams 2004). By using the term 'peer support' I wish to draw attention to the social bond between fellow sufferers as a peer relationship where a common life situation connects them as peers.…”

“…Severe illness, unexpected family disruptions and other such experiences sometimes wound selves to the extent that they 1. Goffman (1990Goffman ( [1963) uses the term 'fellow sufferers' when referring to the bond between the stigmatized, but it is also used by Thomas Mann in The Magic Mountain together 'fellow guests' and 'fellow patients' (see also Damen et al 2000). lose their sense of self entirely. When suffering selves mobilize themselves to seek recognition of their experience from others who share it, it is the search for the self that is the central determinant of the social bond (Ketokivi 2008).…”

Beyond the therapeutic: A Habermasian view of self-help groups’ place in the public sphere

“…However, despite these studies, it remains the case that limited attention has been given to this type of broader theoretical approach to self-help groups' study. At the same time, however, there is a widely held presumption that self-help groups play an important role in civil society (see for example Ben-Ari, 1998; Damen et al , 2000; Elsdon et al , 2000; Munn-Giddings, 2003; Williams, 2004). Other bodies of literature including sociology and voluntary sector studies have also alluded to this link.…”