Notes growth in number of self-help groups/agencies for mental health clients. Examines self-help perspective in relation to problems with traditional mental health services and need for client-run services. Goal of article is not to endorse self-help perspective but to use it as basis for raising research questions that will further mental health…

Autobiographies are typically included along with self-help books on resource lists for mental health clients. Although first-person narratives may have advantages of reader identification with the protagonist, little research has been done on this issue. One problem is that book categories overlap, e.g., some novels are autobiographical, and some…