Abstract
Self-care, self-help and mutual aid are not the same thing (Williamson and Danaher 1978). Self-care is a huge field incorporating the maintenance of health, the prevention of disease, self-diagnosis, the negotiation of diagnosis and management of problems referred to professionals, the monitoring of disease and treatment, self-treatment, and, of course, the whole socio-political question of participation. Self-help is less pervasive than this and in its usual visage it refers to the phenomenon by which a lay person joins with others to define or meet some perceived need. The difference between self-help and mutual aid is that, whilst the latter involves a contract for reciprocal giving and taking, self-help can involve people whose problems have already been solved and so derive less from their involvement as a ‘sufferer’ and more from their involvement as a helper.
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References
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© 1980 D. Reidel Publishing Company
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Williamson, J.D. (1980). Self-Help and Mutual Aid. In: Fine, S.H., Krell, R., Lin, Ty., Beiser, M., Freeman, D.S., Nann, R. (eds) Today’s Priorities in Mental Health. Priority Issues in Mental Health, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-9073-9_42
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-9073-9_42
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