Carolyn S. Dewa, MPH, PhD, Health Systems Research & Consulting Unit/Dept of Psychiatry, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health/University of Toronto, 33 Russell St., Tower, Toronto, ON M5S 2S1, Canada, (416) 535-8501 x4101, carolyn_dewa@camh.net

Volunteer activities play an important role for those with serious mental illness and their caregivers. Yet we lack information about this type of meaningful activity and its contribution. Self-help groups in the mental health system provide services and supports complementary to the publicly funded system of care. Because self-help groups are primarily volunteer in nature, it is difficult to quantify their value for the system and for the participants. This paper takes the first step toward understanding the value of this volunteer component of the system by using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. Participants came from four consumer (n=79) and three family self-help (n=204) initiatives. Quantitative data about participation in self-help were collected through regularly scheduled interviews. Semi-structured qualitative interviews with a sub-set of subjects (n=30) explored the perceived role of self-help. Corroborating reports in the literature, qualitative findings suggest many benefits of self-help, including increasing coping skills and social support, creating a sense of community and decreasing stigma. Quantitative data indicate that over 14,000 hours of activity were spent in a nine-month period. The highest proportion of time is spent in activities that allow individuals to engage in both giving and receiving. Over time, participants spend proportionately more time helping others. Thus, for self-help groups to provide more support, it is important to retain participants over the long run.

Learning Objectives:

• 1.Describe the nature of participation in self-help and how activities change over time.
• 2.Describe the benefits to members of participating in self-help.

Keywords: Mental Health Services,

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.