The differences between help offerer by members of mutual help groups and help offered by trained professionals are clarified. The perils for professionals who emulate the methods of mutual help associations are discussed. (Author)

Notes that widowed persons in the United States have little support following funeral. Describes Widowed Persons Service (WPS), service which offers one-to-one outreach to newly widowed by persons previously widowed and trained to help the newly widowed; and Talk Group, ongoing, open-ended support group for newly widowed formed by the WPS in…

Describes Comunidades Eclesial de Base (CEBs) or base communities which are self-help and mutual aid groups that assist in alleviating the effects of poverty and powerlessness in Latin America. Discusses two potential problems of CEBs - that they may encourage either passivity or increased violence. (Author/NB)

Describes approaches to leadership interventions in mutual support groups that will increase participants' awareness of the groups' developmental phases and the most likely sources of support during those phases. (Author/ABB)