Service Providers

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Many of the mutual aid groups listed in the Guide have developed materials specifically for service providers and professionals. As you visit their websites and learn more about them, keep an eye out for these resources.

In addition to the groups that you can search, there are mutual aid opportunities for doctors, lawyers, nurses, anesthesiologists and other professionals seeking or in recovery and their families. There are also employee-based assistance programs for professions such as lawyers assistance programs and nurses assistance programs that are not listed here. Find out more about occupational mutual aid groups here.

Here are resources that we recommend for you to check out as you learn more about mutual aid. In addition to these, there are numerous research studies on mutual aid groups. You can check the resources below for references to these studies and articles and further reading.

Fact Sheets

Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. (2008). An Introduction to Mutual Support Groups for Alcohol and Drug Abuse. Substance Abuse in Brief Fact Sheet, Volume 5, Issue 1. Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Tips for Service Providers, developed by Ernest and Linda Kurtz for the Guide to Mutual Aid (2010)

Books

Humphreys, K. (2004). Circles of recovery: Self-help organizations for addictions. London: Cambridge University Press.

Kurtz, L. F. (1997). Self-help and support groups: A handbook for practitioners. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

White, W., Kurtz, E. (2006) Linking addiction treatment & communities of recovery: A primer for addiction counselors and recovery coaches. Northeast Addiction Technology Transfer Center.