Evaluated a self-help treatment manual consisting of stimulus control, rapid smoking, and coping relaxation techniques. While the overall program was moderately effective, groups did not differ in percentage of baseline smoking or in number of subjects abstinent at posttreatment. Implications for self-help smoking reduction manuals are discussed.…

Presents a behavioral technique that permits clients to manage their own depression by coaching clients through self-observation, self-mediation and self-reinforcement activities, counselors can use minimum intervention to achieve a maximum amount of client gain. The program is most effective for moderately depressed clients. (Author/JAC)

Examined whether computerized self-help stress coping program was effective in reducing stress among 30 adult male juvenile counselors. Compared to controls, subjects who participated in program showed decreases in personal strain and state anxiety and increases in personal resources. Concluded that program could provide relief for situational…

Describes the Compassionate Friends self-help group as an effective intervention in the severe bereavement after the death of a child. The decision to attend the group, to affiliate, to transform oneself into a helper within the group form the framework of the description. (Author/NRB)

Pleasant imagery relieves pain and may account for much of the effectiveness of stress inoculation training. Women who used imagery controlled their pain better; women who did not use imagery had longer tolerance when they heard pain conceptualized as a multistage process. Self-instruction did not affect pain control. (Author)

This document notes that, as health care costs continue to rise, the elderly are monitoring themselves as a means of cost containment, and as a way of enhancing their sense of well-being and their ability to lead active lives. It points out that more and more organizations are sponsoring health programs that promote the concept of self-care and…

One strategy for helping clients develop their own self-development systems is educational intervention. The counselor assumes a teacher role to teach clients specific skills to better cope with problems of living. Presents a five-step counseling and self-help method to be learned by clients. (Author)

Describes Farmers Helping Farmers, a network of rural mutual-help support groups that aim to extend support, increase adaptive coping skills, and share information in rural communities. Discusses individual, family, and community treatment aspects as they relate to rural culture and the rural crisis. Contains 18 references. (SV)

Psychological well-being following mastectomy is a concern of rehabilitation psychologists as the life expectancy of women treated for breast cancer is increasing. Well-being can be threatened by stress that these women may suffer from the diagnosis of cancer and amputation of a significant body part. A study was conducted to examine the…

Examines self-help groups for Vietnam veterans, the reasons for their effectiveness, typical group processes, and issues for counselors who work with these groups. (Author)

Describes the role of the counselor in self-help groups for the bereaved. Based on experience with the Compassionate Friends, a group of bereaved parents, the counselors' most useful role appears to be that of an intermediary, resource person, and facilitator of group processes and organization. (Author/JAC)

Counselor burn-out is characterized by feelings of frustration, rigidity, omnipotence, and the like. Reality therapy uses systematic plans to increase love, worth, fun, and self-discipline to deal effectively with burn-out. (Author)

The nature of the processes involved in the phenomena of psychological change and self-development as related to the concept of self-help and mutual aid are examined in this paper. Awareness, motivation, and self-actualization are seen as part of a fundamental process of growth and development. It is suggested that a parallel to the personal…

The purpose of this study was to determine what kinds of people are motivated to join a medical self-help group and whether and in what areas of psychological and social functioning such self-help groups have positive benefits for adolescents and their families. Extensive survey questionnaires were sent throughout the United States to all former…

The Support Development Group is an approach which explores and develops a theory for the relationship between network characteristics and notions of psychosocial adaptation. The approach is based on the assumption that teaching people to view their social world in network terms can be helpful to them. The Support Development Workshop is presented…