The philosophy and ethos of self help

Mutuality

The decision to attend a group can be a very positive and empowering step. Some new members will be seeking reassurance that how they feel, act and cope is 'normal'. Others may be seeking inspiration from those people who have lived through the situation and have survived and thrived. The reasons for choosing self help are varied and often very personal.

Through mutual understanding and support, members of self help groups share their knowledge and expertise in coping and find common solutions through the collective wisdom of the group. This pooling of information and joint problem solving creates a wealth of information which individual members can draw upon at times of need. Self help support groups attract and appeal to people who want to help themselves. Groups foster a sense of personal responsibility and self awareness which can lead to a greater sense of control and mastery of their particular condition or situation.

Reciprocity

People go to groups to meet their own needs; they may stay on to maintain their gains and to meet the needs of others. Hope and inspiration can come from listening to the experiences of longstanding members who have survived, overcome or conquered the situation or health issue shared by the group. Personal stories are the lifeblood of self help support groups and enable members to pull their experiences in an extraordinary way. Members learn new coping strategies, pick up invaluable practical information and benefit from the shared knowledge held within the group.

In time, new comers get a chance to listen as well as being listened to and perhaps uniquely they may swap between these roles throughout their membership of the group. Through sharing ways of managing, members continually reinforce and up-grade their coping strategies, there-by gaining personally through helping others. This reciprocal arrangement is sometimes referred to as mutual aid.

Understanding and acknowledging that as members help, they are in turn helped, encourages equal, respectful and honest relationships. Self help support groups are essentially egalitarian and cooperative gatherings which put shared experience and personal stories at the heart of the group. Priorities may change as treatments and attitudes change, but the core activity of self help remains listening and responding to the 'lived experience'.

Shared responsibility - Shared Benefits

There is much evidence to suggest that people who get most involved in the running of the group will gain most from the experience. Put simply, the more one puts in, the more one gets out. This is particularly true in the helping relationship - it feels good to help; it raises self esteem and can restore a sense of self-worth and self-value. For this reason many groups have developed innovative ways of including and involving as many members as possible in the business of the group. Some have rotating chairs, shared roles, sub-committees and open forums all in an effort to avoid the few doing the most. A broad understanding of how people gain from self help can avoid the pitfalls of having a leader or founder member running all the affairs of the group. Shared responsibility leads to shared benefits, even if at times it doesn't feel that way.

People benefit from self help support groups in many different ways but perhaps the most common are:

• Access to relevant information
• Feeling empowered to take an active role in one's own health
• Increased self confidence and self-esteem
• Opportunities to give as well as receive help
• Learning new practical ways of managing problems
• Gaining inspiration and support from others' experiences
• Feeling more in control and less isolated and alone
• Opportunities to increase social circle
• Opportunities to develop new skills
• Feeling less stressed, anxious or fearful

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