Group demographics in the mental patient movement: group location, age, and size as structural factors

This paper presents a descriptive overview of the mental patient selfhelp movement based on a sample of 104 groups. Groups are classified in terms of group structure, group affiliation, and evaluation of psychiatry and are then described in a demographic profile that includes the factors of location, age and size. After a review of the literature on functional models of selfhelp groups, the mental patient movement is shown to be composed of groups with widely varying political philosophies-from radical "separatist" groups promoting consciousness-raising, empowerment, and social reform to conservative "partnership" groups that emphasize individual reform through "alternative therapy". The movement is shown to be increasingly dominated by moderate "supportive" groups and, as such, is characterized as a true client-controlled social or "community" alternative to the professionally-controlled medical programs that dominate the mental health system today.