The first International Conference on Health Promotion in Ottawa in 1986 established the basis for boosting community participation, supporting the caregiver and the creation of social networks that encourage the participation of different social groups within the community. The creation of a European Centre of Mutual Help Groups gave the kick-off for this type of approach. Once caregivers of people with mental disease are the focus of numerous negative pressures that are the cause of depression, apathy, exhaustion, social isolation and burnout, it is important to encourage and facilitate dedicated spaces for psychological and social support, as well the transmission of the information among caregivers (http://www.guiasalud.es/GPC/GPC_484_Alzheimer_AIAQS_compl.pdf).
In this regard, the Self-Help Groups (SHG) are a community response in ongoing expansion in Spain. At first the Self-Help Groups were initially stimulated by the community as an acute need but are now being boosted by the support of different private and public organizations in the social and health sectors. They are a new paradigm and a modern "social health model”. Emotional, psychosocial and health aspects are being increasingly recognized as a feasible and efficient supporting method. They act as an active therapeutic intervention based on self-experience (help others and self-help-himself). More than the simple psycho educational support interventions, the SHG aim to stimulate educational and emotional support, the facilitation of resources and sharing of experiences through a continuous monitoring over time. Self-Help Groups encourage an understanding sense, a space for overcoming problems and enhance caregiver’s skills according to a proactive intervention. Constituted by people who share the same problem with similar experiences (social and care giving overload), they seek to improve the resilience related with the care giving role, stress reduction and quality of life for themselves and their families. Although the scientific reserves in relation to the SHG validity the feeling of care and support experienced by caregiver’s, participants cannot be denied in different Spanish studies. This evidence endorses the value of these community interventions.
The Self-Help Groups are valuable resources with a great potential in the community services, therefore, health teams should act as driving forces of these initiatives supporting the creation and maintenance of these groups. This intervention model offers the ability to have a legal and complement attention that can help caregivers overcome the isolation that often accompanies their role, ensuring more useful information to meet the specific needs of their daily life. This type of support is increasingly easy to find in Spain with a diverse distribution of such services by the different provinces. Find out about the activities in your local council and see if any of them suits your needs.
“We have traveled some distance along Humphreys and Rappaport’s (1994) ‘‘one journey’’ towards a better understanding of the effectiveness of mutual help groups but still have miles to go before we sleep”.
(Pistrang, N., C. Barker, and K. Humphreys, 2008)
