Self-help groups and mental health/substance use agencies: the benefits of organizational exchange
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Published on: May 31, 2019
Thomas Powell1, Brian Edward Perron
1School of Social Work, University of Michigan, South University Avenue, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48103, USA.
Abstract:
Self-help groups benefit clients by linking them to people who have "been there" and are successfully coping with their situations. Mental health/substance use agencies can increase access to evidence-based benefits of self-help groups by engaging them in organizational exchanges. Organizational theories are used to frame beneficial exchanges with self-help groups. Adaptational theory is used to frame exchanges with self-help groups and various service agency subunits, e.g., board, practitioner, and client units. Institutional theory is used to frame joint agency/self-help initiatives to promote community acceptance of self-help groups, which in turn may enhance the credibility of the professional agency.
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