Leading Peer Support and Self-Help Groups

More Americans try to change their health behaviors through self-help/peer support groups than through any other form of professionally designed program. Peer support groups have exploded in popularity, as the public and the healthcare community recognize that they provide an effective complement to formal care, whether they focus on medical problems like diabetes or cancer, mental health problems like addiction or depression, or life challenges like grief or job stress. Their growth is all the more surprising when we consider that there is no profit incentive promoting their expansion - people attend because they find them helpful. Few peer support/self-help group leaders have more than minimal training in how to lead a group successfully. This is unfortunate, as leading a self-help group is often challenging. This pocket resource is designed to provide easy access to key information and strategies to help Peer Support Specialists and volunteer group leaders develop and expand their group facilitation skills so they can lead healthy thriving peer support groups. This second edition includes new material on strategies for leading groups and dealing effectively with common challenges. There is updated information about available peer support groups and resources, as well as a summary of the latest research on self-help group outcomes. The field of self-help groups is evolving quickly, and this updated edition provides the latest information for those supporting these important resources