ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews to look at what research can tell us about self help in Britain on a number of issues. Research findings are cited for the different positions they represent – not all researches are set out on each issue. It may be added that this is an under-researched area and, perhaps consequently, high on rhetoric and assertion. The considerations already set out can be illustrated by locating self help for social and health problems within major debates in the field of social policy in Britain. The popular image stresses the caring qualities and informality of self help groups. They are seen as a spontaneous response to the need to enhance active mutual caring in a bureaucratized world such that their organization is distinctive and their internal dynamics turn on participation and mutual care.
