title: Introduction to the special issue on mental health self-help.
abstract: Since the 1950s, people with mental illness and their families have been organizing a wide range of self-directed, mutual support oriented initiatives, including self-help groups, nonprofit organizations, and businesses. These initiatives have become increasingly widespread over the years and today mental health self-help initiatives outnumber traditional mental health organizations in the United States (Goldstrom et al., Admin Policy Mental Health Mental Health Serv Res 33:92-103, 2006). Mental health self-help embodies much of what community psychologists promote, including the self-directed organization of people to create social change and facilitate personal transformation. This special issue provides new insight into several prominent areas of inquiry surrounding these low-cost interventions including: (1) their evidence base; (2) the processes by which people benefit; (3) how they interface with the mental health system; and (4) the value dilemmas they face.
authors.affiliation: The Pennsylvania State University, 135 E. Nittany Avenue, Suite 402, State College, PA 16801, USA. ldb12@psu.edu
authors.forename: Louis D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Matthew D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Shepherd
authors.forename: Scott A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Wituk
authors.forename: Greg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Meissen
mesh_terms: D003255:Consumer Organizations; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D012657:Self-Help Groups; D009626:Terminology as Topic; D014481:United States