National Self-Help Clearinghouse

About Self-Help

Understanding the Dynamics of Mutual Aid and Shared Wisdom

Self-help is a way to deal with problems that everyone faces from time to time in their lives—illness, divorce, the loss of a loved one, emotional upsets, or life strains. Talking over these problems with other people who have lived through them can help us cope with today’s difficulties and help us learn how to navigate tomorrow.

In the past two decades, the self-help movement has expanded significantly. Organizations like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) report over one million members in the United States alone, and national estimates place the total number of people participating in self-help support groups at over 20 million.

The Scope of Peer Support

Mutual aid groups exist for a vast range of human experiences:

  • Addictions: Alcoholics Anonymous, Gamblers Anonymous, Debtors Anonymous, and Narcotics Anonymous.
  • Family & Relationships: Families of the Mentally Ill, Mothers of Twins Clubs, and Tough Love.
  • Illness & Disability: National Association of People with AIDS, Us Too (prostate cancer support), and the Tourette Syndrome Association.
  • Mental Well-being: Emotions Anonymous, Recovery, Inc., and GROW.
  • Bereavement: The Compassionate Friends, Survivors of Suicide, and Widow to Widow programs.
  • Lifestyles: Single Mothers by Choice and Society for the Second Self.

How Mutual Aid Works

Helping is at the center of all this activity: knowing how to receive help, give help, and help yourself. Self-help group members:

  1. Reduce Isolation: Members feel less isolated knowing others share similar problems.
  2. Exchange Strategies: They trade practical ideas and effective ways to cope with daily problems.
  3. Active Engagement: Members work actively on their attitudes and behaviors to make positive changes.
  4. Regain Control: They gain a new sense of control and self-determination over their lives.

The knowledge base of self-help mutual support groups is experiential, indigenous, and rooted in the wisdom that comes from struggling with problems in concrete, shared ways. Rather than labeling individuals as problems, self-help groups build on the inherent strengths of their members.