As self-help groups have grown in number, mental health professionals have found themselves increasingly involved in such groups. This study examined how mental health professionals viewed the appropriateness of a variety of roles sometimes assumed by mental health professionals when they work with self-help groups. Social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists completed a mail survey assessing beliefs and practices toward self-help groups. A total of 132 useable surveys were returned out of 250 distributed (a 52.8% response rate). One scale on the survey called for an evaluation of which roles were appropriate for professionals involved in self-help groups. Using a four-point Likert type scale, participants responded to 12 roles often assumed by professionals working with self-help groups. The results showed that professionals viewed roles which were external to a group (consultant, speaker, advisory board, referral source) as more appropriate than internal roles (therapists, facilitator, leader, group member). When compared to the views of self-help group members, these findings suggest that professional helpers and self-helpers are quite similar in their beliefs about appropriate roles for professionals. (NB)