[Self-help groups--the idea of self-help and the concept of discussion self-help groups]

In recent years self-help-groups have grown in importance. The reason is an increasing gap between the needs of the population and the services, the medical system can supply. The patients themselves have started to take over the initiative to deal with the psychosocial aspects in connection with their illness. They no longer want to be passive objects but rather subjects, who take responsibility for their own well-being. After the creation of AA many other self-help-groups have been set up, which concern themselves with very diverse illnesses and emotional and social problems. In the above paper the group setting variables and the concept of the therapeutic work of self-help-groups are being presented. Also the model of "Gesamttreffen" is introduced, where several members of different self-help-groups join monthly to share view-points and experience. These "Gesamttreffen" can be accompanied by a professional from the medical or psychological field, whose help is offered if so needed.