Mutual help, an important gateway to wellbeing and mental health

By Lizzie Finn and Dr Brian Bishop, School of Psychology, Curtin University, Western Australia (W.A.)

Mutual help groups provide an important gateway to wellbeing and mental health according to a study recently completed in Western Australia. The research indicates that these groups should be seen as complementary to other forms of therapy and an important aid in the reduction of relapse.

The finding comes in an Australian context where the potential of mutual help groups for improving wellbeing and mental health is largely unrecognised professionally. This omission can be explained by the dearth of research into mutual help groups (MHGs) in this country, and alongside this scarcity, a lack of teaching in mainstream health curricula about their potential benefits.

• Mutual help research to date
• Background to grow
• The W.A. grow study: mutual help and psychological wellbeing
• An ‘in vivo’ training ground
• A complement to mainstream mental health services
• References