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christian counseling today
Vol. 20 no. 4
a
As a licensed professional and frequent facilitator of counseling
groups, I like to think the average consumer would seek a
high level of expertise first when acquiring mental healthcare.
However, the truth is most potential clients access support
groups more often than all the mental health professionals
combined (Klaw & Humphrey, 2004). Recovery groups
have become common within American society and exist for
a myriad of presenting problems, ranging from alcohol and
drug abuse to recovery from life events such as the death of
a loved one or divorce. Many of these groups are sponsored
by churches that provide meeting space and resources to
both their members and larger communities (Lieberman &
Snowden, 1993). It is estimated that 2.1 million Americans
have used self-help, or recovery groups, as a means to improve
their lives (Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, 2005).
Additionally, the American Group Self-Help Clearinghouse
Web site lists more than 1,100 self-help groups in America and
internationally (White & Madara, 2002).
History
Recovery groups are not new to the American scene, having
been in existence since the 1930s. They owe their beginnings
to Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), a support program for alco-
holics that developed from Christian roots, as well as social
and cultural changes in the 1960s. The proliferation of illicit
drug use in America during this decade led to the need for
expanding the reach of recovery groups from alcohol as a sole
focus to numerous types of drug addictions. At the same time,
group work was coming of age—spurred on by cultural events
including the human potential and civil rights movements
and the Vietnam War protests. Young people rose up to chal-
lenge the status quo of American culture, forming groups that
would bring social change (Erford, 2011; Gladding, 2008).
Since these early beginnings, the small group move-
ment has expanded to address a broader range of problems,
including recovery and support from life crises events such
as the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks to mental illness
mutual support groups. More recently, the Substance Abuse
and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA
Den i se Dan i el
Therapeutic
Groups and the
recovery
process
