GROW (support group)

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Grow is a peer support and mutual-aid organization for recovery from, and prevention of, mental illness.

Contents

Grow was founded in Sydney, Australia in 1957 by Father Cornelius B. "Con" Keogh, a Roman Catholic priest, and psychiatric patients who sought help with their mental illness in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Consequently, Grow adapted many of AA's principles and practices. Much of Grow's initial development was made possible with support from Orval Hobart Mowrer, Reuben F. Scarf, W. Clement Stone and Lions Clubs International. [1] As the organization matured, Grow members learned of Recovery International, an organization also created to help people with serious mental illness, and integrated aspects of its will-training methods. [2] [1]

As of 2005 there were more than 800 Grow groups active worldwide. [3] Grow groups are open to anyone who would like to join.

"Grow" is not an acronym. [4]

Stages of decline and steps to recovery and growth

Grow's literature includes the Twelve Stages of Decline, which indicate that emotional illness begins with self-centeredness, and the Twelve Steps of Personal Growth, a blend of AA's Twelve Steps and will-training methods from Recovery International. Grow members view recovery as an ongoing philosophy of life rather than an outcome and are encouraged to continue following the Steps after completing them in order to maintain their mental health. [2] [5] [6]

Literature

The program of personal growth, generally referred to as the 'Blue Book', is the main book used in Grow groups (94 pages). It is divided into three sections based on the developmental stages of members: 'Beginning Growers', 'Progressing Growers' and 'Seasoned Growers'. There are related books used in conjunction with the Blue Book:

Effectiveness

Participation in Grow has been shown to decrease the number of hospitalizations per member as well as the duration of hospitalizations when they occur. Members report an increased sense of security and self-esteem, and decreased anxiety. [7] A longitudinal study of Grow membership found time involved in the program correlated with increased autonomy, environmental mastery, personal Growth, self-acceptance and social skills. [8] Women in particular experience positive identity transformation, build friendships and find a sense of community in Grow groups. [9]

Qualitative analysis

Statistical evaluations of interviews with Grow members found they identified self-reliance, industriousness, peer support, and gaining a sense of personal value or self-esteem as the essential ingredients of recovery. [3] Similar evaluations of Grow's literature revealed thirteen core principles of Grow's program. They are reproduced in the list below by order of relevance, with a quote from Grow's literature, explaining the principle. [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alcoholics Anonymous</span> Sobriety-focused mutual help fellowship

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a global peer-led mutual aid fellowship dedicated to abstinence-based recovery from alcoholism through its spiritually-inclined Twelve Step program. Following its Twelve Traditions, AA is non-professional and non-denominational as well as apolitical and unaffiliated. In 2020 AA estimated its worldwide membership to be over two million; 75% of those are in the U.S.—its country of origin—and Canada.

Twelve-step programs are international mutual aid programs supporting recovery from substance addictions, behavioral addictions and compulsions. Developed in the 1930s, the first twelve-step program, Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), founded by Bill Wilson and Bob Smith, aided its membership to overcome alcoholism. Since that time dozens of other organizations have been derived from AA's approach to address problems as varied as drug addiction, compulsive gambling, sex, and overeating. All twelve-step programs utilize a version of AA's suggested twelve steps first published in the 1939 book Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How More Than One Hundred Men Have Recovered from Alcoholism.

Recovery International is a mental health self-help organization founded in 1937 by neuropsychiatrist Abraham Low in Chicago, Illinois. Recovery's program is based on self-control, self-confidence, and increasing one's determination to act. Recovery deals with a range of people, all of whom have difficulty coping with everyday problems, whether or not they have a history of psychiatric hospitalization. It is non-profit, secular, and although it uses methods devised by Low, most groups are currently led by experienced non-professionals.

Schizophrenics Anonymous is a peer support group to help people who are affected by schizophrenia and related disorders including bipolar disorder, schizoaffective disorder, psychotic depression and psychosis.

The Clubhouse model of psychosocial rehabilitation is a community mental health service model that helps people with a history of serious mental illness rejoin society and maintain their place in it; it builds on people's strengths and provides mutual support, along with professional staff support, for people to receive prevocational work training, educational opportunities, and social support. The model was created by Fountain House, one of the prime settings for what would, in the space of forty years, become the type specimen of the clubhouse model. Its validity is moderated and approved by Clubhouse International.

Peer support occurs when people provide knowledge, experience, emotional, social or practical help to each other. It commonly refers to an initiative consisting of trained supporters, and can take a number of forms such as peer mentoring, reflective listening, or counseling. Peer support is also used to refer to initiatives where colleagues, members of self-help organizations and others meet, in person or online, as equals to give each other connection and support on a reciprocal basis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emotions Anonymous</span>

Emotions Anonymous (EA) is a twelve-step program for recovery from mental and emotional illness. As of 2017 there were approximately 300 Emotions Anonymous groups active in the United States and another 300 around the world.

Patient advocacy is a process in health care concerned with advocacy for patients, survivors, and caregivers. The patient advocate may be an individual or an organization, concerned with healthcare standards or with one specific group of disorders. The terms patient advocate and patient advocacy can refer both to individual advocates providing services that organizations also provide, and to organizations whose functions extend to individual patients. Some patient advocates are independent and some work for the organizations that are directly responsible for the patient's care.

Psychiatric rehabilitation, also known as psych social rehabilitation, and sometimes simplified to psych rehab by providers, is the process of restoration of community functioning and well-being of an individual diagnosed in mental health or emotional disorder and who may be considered to have a psychiatric disability.

The recovery model, recovery approach or psychological recovery is an approach to mental disorder or substance dependence that emphasizes and supports a person's potential for recovery. Recovery is generally seen in this model as a personal journey rather than a set outcome, and one that may involve developing hope, a secure base and sense of self, supportive relationships, empowerment, social inclusion, coping skills, and meaning. Recovery sees symptoms as a continuum of the norm rather than an aberration and rejects sane-insane dichotomy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neurotics Anonymous</span>

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Abraham Low (1891–1954) was an American neuropsychiatrist noted for his work in establishing self-help programs for people with mental illness, and for his criticism of Freudian psychoanalysis.

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Drug addiction recovery groups are voluntary associations of people who share a common desire to overcome their drug addiction. Different groups use different methods, ranging from completely secular to explicitly spiritual. Some programs may advocate a reduction in the use of drugs rather than outright abstention. One survey of members who found active involvement in any addiction recovery group correlates with higher chances of maintaining sobriety. Although there is not a difference in whether group or individual therapy is better for the patient, studies show that any therapy increases positive outcomes for patients with substance use disorder. The survey found group participation increased when the individual members' beliefs matched those of their primary support group. Analysis of the survey results found a significant positive correlation between the religiosity of members and their participation in twelve-step programs and to a lesser level in non-religious SMART Recovery groups, the correlation factor being three times smaller for SMART Recovery than for the twelve-step addiction recovery groups. Religiosity was inversely related to participation in Secular Organizations for Sobriety.

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The National Empowerment Center (NEC) is an advocacy and peer-support organization in the United States that promotes an empowerment-based recovery model of mental disorders. It is run by consumers/survivors/ex-patients "in recovery" and is located in Lawrence, Massachusetts in Essex County.

Father Cornelius Brendan (Con) Keogh, OAM, was an Australian Roman Catholic priest who founded the International Community Mental Health Movement GROW.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abraham Low Self-Help Systems</span>

Abraham Low Self-Help Systems (ALSHS) is a non-profit organization formed from the merger of Recovery International and the Abraham Low Institute. ALSHS facilitates the estimated 600 worldwide Recovery International meetings and all projects formerly run by the Abraham Low Institute including the Power to Change program. The organization is named after Abraham Low, founder of the mental health self-help organization now known as Recovery International.

Serious mental illness (SMI) is characterized as any mental health condition that impairs seriously or severely from one to several significant life activities, including day to day functioning. Four common examples of SMI include bipolar disorders, psychotic disorders, post-traumatic stress disorders, and major depressive disorders. People having SMI experience symptoms that prevent them from having experiences that contribute to a good quality of life, due to social, physical, and psychological limitations of their illnesses. In 2021, there was a 5.5% prevalence rate of U.S. adults diagnosed with SMI, with the highest percentage being in the 18 to 25 year-old group (11.4%). Also in the study, 65.4% of the 5.5% diagnosed adults with SMI received mental health care services.

References

  1. 1 2 Keogh, C.B. (1979). Grow Comes of Age: A Celebration and a Vision!. Sydney, Australia: Grow Publications. ISBN   0-909114-01-3. OCLC   27588634.
  2. 1 2 Kurtz, Linda F.; Chambon, Adrienne (1987). "Comparison of self-help groups for mental health". Health & Social Work. 12 (4): 275–283. doi:10.1093/hsw/12.4.275. ISSN   0360-7283. OCLC   2198019. PMID   3679015.
  3. 1 2 Corrigan, Patrick; Slopen, Natalie; Garcia, Gabriela; Keogh, Cornelius B.; Keck, Lorraine (December 2005). "Some Recovery Processes in Mutual-Help Groups for Persons with Mental Illness; II: Qualitative Analysis of Participant Interviews". Community Mental Health Journal. 41 (6): 721–735. doi:10.1007/s10597-005-6429-0. ISSN   0010-3853. OCLC   38584278. PMID   16328585. S2CID   476941.
  4. ↑ Rappaport, J.; Seidman, E.; Toro, P. A.; McFadden, L. S.; Reischl, T. M.; Robers, L. J.; Salem, D. A.; Stein, C. H.; Zimmerman, M. A. (Winter 1985). "Collaborative research with a mutual help organization". Social Policy. 15 (3): 12–24. ISSN   0037-7783. OCLC   1765683. PMID   10270879.
  5. ↑ Clay, Sally (2005). "Chapter 7: Grow in Illinois" (PDF). On Our Own, Together: Peer Programs for People with Mental Illness. Nashville, Tennessee: Vanderbilt University Press. pp. 141–158. ISBN   0-8265-1466-9. OCLC   56050965.
  6. ↑ Grow (1983). Grow: World Community Mental Health Movement: The Program of Growth to Maturity. Sydney, Australia: Grow Publications. OCLC   66288113.
  7. ↑ Kennedy, Mellen (1990). Psychiatric Hospitalizations of Growers. Second Biennial Conference on Community Research and Action, East Lansing, Michigan. cited in Kyrouz, Elaina M.; Humphreys, Keith; Loomis, Colleen (October 2002). "Chapter 4: A Review of Research on the Effectiveness of Self-help Mutual Aid Groups". In White, Barbara J.; Madara, Edward J. (eds.). American Self-Help Group Clearinghouse Self-Help Group Sourcebook (7th ed.). American Self-Help Group Clearinghouse. pp.  71–86. ISBN   1-930683-00-6 . Retrieved 2008-01-06.
  8. ↑ Finn, Lisabeth D.; Bishop, Brian; Sparrow, Neville H. (May 2007). "Mutual help groups: an important gateway to wellbeing and mental health". Australian Health Review. 31 (2): 246–255. doi: 10.1071/ah070246 . ISSN   1449-8944. PMID   17470046.
  9. ↑ Kercheval, Briony L (March 2005). Women's experiences at Grow: 'There's an opportunity there to Grow way beyond what you thought you could...' (PDF) (Master of Applied Psychology (Community) School of Psychology, Faculty of Arts thesis). Victoria, Australia: Victoria University, Footscray. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-10-13. Retrieved 2010-01-22.
  10. ↑ Corrigan, Patrick W.; Calabrese, Joseph D; Diwan, Sarah E.; Keogh, Cornelius, B; Keck, Lorraine; Mussey, Carol (2002). "Some Recovery Processes in Mutual-Help Groups for Persons with Mental Illness; I: Qualitative Analysis of Program Materials and Testimonies". Community Mental Health Journal. 38 (4): 287–301. doi:10.1023/A:1015997208303. ISSN   0010-3853. OCLC   38584278. PMID   12166916. S2CID   528448.
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