The term 'self-help' refers both to

• Groups
• Methods used by individuals outside services to help with managing their mental health

Self-Help Groups 

There are a number of self-help and support groups run by people with mental health difficulties in the city. Some of these operate within statutory or voluntary sector services and others are run by their members.

Self-help groups may be run by a facilitator. Others may be more informal. Many self-help and support groups have developed around a particular issue, providing a place where people with similar experiences can come together.

There are also some support groups for carers.

To find self-help groups in Sheffield click on the Directory of Services.

Self-Help Approaches

There is information available in a wide variety of forms such as leaflets, booklets and on websites to help promote mental wellbeing and to manage feelings, symptoms and situations associated with mental health difficulties. Such resources can help people address their mental health needs outside of services or in conjunction with other support. They have the advantage of being able to be tailored to a person's particular need or situation and done at the individual's own pace. They are also useful for people who find involvement with groups and services difficult or where they are not accessible.

There are a series of helpful booklets produced by Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust which can be found by clicking HERE or you can select specific titles with information about services in Sheffield:

• BEREAVEMENT
• CONTROLLING ANGER
• DEPRESSION
• DEPRESSION AND LOW MOOD
• OBSESSIONS AND COMPULSIONS
• PANIC  
• POST TRAUMATIC STRESS
• SHYNESS AND SOCIAL ANXIETY
• SLEEP PROBLEMS 
• STRESS
• STRESS AND ANXIETY 
• UNDERSTANDING VOICES AND DISTURBING BELIEFS    

There are self-help techniques available on the South East Glasgow NHS website and the BBC website.

See www.mind.org.uk for information factsheets.

There are two a computer based self-help programmes used in Sheffield which can be accessed through your GP or through an IAPT worker. These are sometimes referred to as Computer-aided Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CCBT).

Beating the Blues is available for people diagnosed with depression. . The programme consists of 8 weekly sessions with additional homework and requires access to a computer with broadband, sound and a recent Adobe Flash facility. It is available in English only.

Fear Fighter is a self-help resource for people suffering from panic/anxiety and phobias. It is 9-step programme of self-exposure therapy with goals and homework designed to work in the same way as clinician-guided therapy.