Describes the establishment and development of a support group for the parents of children infected and/or affected by HIV infection. The group is hospital-based, meeting monthly since April 1992, facilitated by professionals but with a self-help and peer support emphasis. Explains the planning, setting, and running of the group. Identifies…

An eating disorder prevention program was completed with middle school, high school, and college females. Some successful outcomes included: (1) facilitating an acknowledgement of pressures to attain a model skeletal look; (2) changing attitudes about standards of beauty; and (3) altering the participants' current and future intentional use of…

The values of private association and self-help through individual effort have been a compelling aspect of the American philosophy. Reaffirming Americanism was not the only reason that immigrant or minority groups created mutual aid or self-help societies, however, since immediate economic and social goals were significant motivations for such…

These materials provide documents related to the efforts of African, Jewish, Hispanic, and Asian Americans to help themselves and improve their communities through mutual assistance and self-help groups. These materials are designed for teachers of high school history. The study of self-help groups for minorities is a useful part of U.S. history…

This paper reviews issues in the provision of services to individuals who are mentally ill chemical abusers and addicted (MICAA). Introductory material defines this population and notes that these people are frequently ineligible for services aimed at either mental illness or chemical abuse alone. Service provisions within the psychiatric/mental…

Suggestions are made for establishing a policy for prohibiting smoking on school property. First, a working committee for policy formation should be established. This committee should consist of representatives from all populations affected: students, teachers, parents, staff, bus drivers, cooks, administrators, and union and community…

A comprehensive picture of existing services to families under stress can be useful for immediate and long-range planning. In order to determine the range of services to families under stress, including those identified as involved in child abuse and neglect, the Council for Child Protection and Family Support, Missoula, Montana, surveyed, through…

The preventive health care curriculum described in this paper was designed for the employees of Autotech Automatic Test Equipment Division in Los Angeles, California. First, the paper describes Autotech, and its health insurance and on-site health facilities. Next, a rationale is provided for offering employees classes on preventive medicine and…

Using the perspective of sociology and social welfare, the report focuses on issues and concerns by considering the concepts and underpinnings of personal development, social development, community development, women's issues, rural social welfare, and self-help. Contexts are the social development and social welfare of total societies as well as…

Community psychology, as a profession, was born in 1965 and showed much promise. Unfortunately, it has been content to rest on its humanistic and systems-oriented perspective instead of using it as a foundation upon which to empirically build the necessary research, service, and training bases. Issues central to community psychology's evolving…

This guide is designed for teachers of the "Body Revolution" weight control program. The program may be used either in conjunction with a school program or as an activity for adults in community education programs. The emphasis of the program is on weight loss. Activities are outlined that focus on behavior change, nutrition, and physical fitness.…

The results of an informal survey of the characteristics, composition, capacity building needs and future directions of sixty Cambodian, Laotian and Vietnamese Mutual Assistance Associations (MAAs) are documented in this report. Included among the survey findings are the purposes, current achievements, and future goals of the associations,…

A program for conducting a series of adolescent group counseling sessions that focus on the problems and needs of abused adolescents is presented. The materials, which emphasize self-esteem and feelings and teach youths to think of themselves in positive ways, share their experiences with abuse, and discuss coping strategies, are intended to be…

A series of weekly seminars were conducted in which 15 elementary and secondary teachers were encouraged and helped to investigate, in some depth, topics related to their current practice. The project was designed to help teachers develop and carry out research investigations in their own classroom. Another project objective was to get the…

This workbook provides a model for mental health professionals to use in developing and implementing a plan for their self-directed job-related learning and skill enhancement. The materials describe techniques for mastering a specific body of knowledge. Questionnaires are provided to help the user organize individual needs and goals; suggestions…