KAPITTEL 2 Selvhjelpsgrupper og behandlingsgruppers tilnærming til personlig endring – hva er likt og ulikt?

Abstract

In this chapter, the author discusses how, and to which extent, self-help groups differ from treatment groups in their approach to personal transformation. The focus is on the self-help group’s work, exploring what kind of community a self-help group is and what is happening there. The chapter compares two main models for self-organized self-help groups and points out some common “therapeutic mechanisms” that are also shared by therapy groups. At the same time there are interesting differences, not only between professional group therapy and self-help groups, but also between a 12-step group (e.g. Anonymous Alcoholics) and a typical “Self-help Norway group”. Self-help Norway is more psychologically oriented and emphasizes personal autonomy and self-control, while AA groups build up under a strong collective identity and view self-control as an illusory target for an addict. The author argues that the primary objective of self-help groups is not making new intimate friends. The therapeutic effectiveness of self-help groups seems to depend on that the intimacy and confidentiality within the group does not transform it into a “new family”. It is the quality of becoming “confidential strangers” that is the clue here.