EMPOWERMENT AND SELF-HELP AGENCY PRACTICE FOR PEOPLE WITH MENTAL DISABILITIES

During the past 15 years, there has been tremendous growth in the numb er of self help groups and agencies for mental health clients. This ar ticle examines the self-help perspective in relation to problems with traditional mental health services and the need for client-run service s. Self-help agencies see their goal as empowerment on an individual, organizational, and societal level. They strive to accomplish this by helping members obtain needed resources and develop coping skills; pro viding means of enhancing members' self-concept and lessening the stig ma of perceived mental disability, giving members control in the agenc ies' governance, administration, and service delivery, and furthering member involvement in social policy-making. The goal of this article i s not to endorse the self-help perspective but to use it as the basis for raising research questions that will further the mental health pra ctitioner's understanding of this service modality.