Social Supports and Mental Illness Zealous Self-Help Groups as Adjuncts to Psychiatric Treatment: A Study of Recovery, Inc.

program for people with psychiatric problems, the au-thor found a decline in both symptoms and concomi-tant psychiatric treatment after subjects had joined the group. Scores for neurotic distress reported after join-ing were considerably lower than those reported for the period before joining. Scores for psychological well-being oflongstanding Recovery members were no different from those of community control subjects, and fewer long-term members than recent members were being treated with psychotropic medication and psychotherapy. The author concludes that peer-led self-help groups have value as an adjunct to psychiatric treatment. (Am J Psychiatry 1988; 145:1248-1253) A variety of peer-lcd self-help groups for psychiatric problems have emerged in recent decades, and although estimations of their effectiveness are gener-ally positive (1), there have not yet been any controlled observations of their effect on members ’ psychiatric status. The study presented here was carried out on Recovery, Inc., a self-help programcesigned to help its members cope with their general psychiatric disorders. The comparison reported in this paper of Recovery members who recently joined the group, longstanding Presented at the I 39th annual meeting of the American Psychiatri