Self Help, User Views, Sites for parents, children and teenagers.

Self Help

A History of the Self Help Movement The Independent Living Movement represents a direct challenge to current notions of rehabilitation. It is a unique challenge, spearheaded not by new technical advances but by a new social awareness, and not from within by medical personnel but from without by lay groups. In another sense, however, it is but the latest evolution of an old theme in American life-the notion of self-help. This paper traces the history of self-help, to illuminate the problems and prospects of the Independent Living Movement.

Self Help Resource Centre The Mission of the Self-Help Resource Centre of Greater Toronto is to promote self-help/mutual aid. The goals of the organisation are to increase awareness about self-help/mutual aid in the community and among helping professionals, and to facilitate the growth and development of self-help groups, networks and resources. Resources, links, projects, and groups.

SelfHelp Magazine links to useful articles

Psychology Self-Help Resources on the Internet These pages http://www.psywww.com/resource/selfhelp.htm contain links to sites providing free information and help about specific disorders related to psychology.

Open Directory: Self Help more self-help resources.

Self-Help and Support Groups Self-help support groups bring together people with common experiences.  Participants share experiences, provide understanding and support and help each other find new ways to cope with problems. There are support groups for almost any concern including alcoholism, overeating, the loss of a child, co-dependency, grandparenting, various mental illnesses, cancer, parenting, and many, many others.

Psychological Self Help This book reviews all aspects of self-improvement. It provides you with a system for analysing any problem into its manageable parts and for planning self-change. It invites you to first carefully consider what you value and want to accomplish in life. It summarises science's best explanations of most human problems. It lists the most promising ways of treating a wide range of unwanted behaviours and emotions. It describes in detail how to use about 100 self-help methods. In short, this book gives you a sound, research-based fund of knowledge about behaviour; add to this your own coping experiences and you accumulate a storehouse of general knowledge that will help you understand yourself and gain more control over your life. That is offered; absorbing and applying the knowledge is your job.

Self-Help and Psychology Web Links

Magic Stream Magic Stream's Mental Health Web Dex contains extensive references on mental health, psychology, psychiatry and self-help issues such as: addictions, eating disorders, recovery, child abuse, fitness, nutrition, depression, mental illness, therapy, relationships, family, and much more.

Brochures and articles contains links to sites which have large lists of articles, usually just a page or two in length, dealing with psychological disorders or causes of distress related to psychology.

Sites for Teenagers

RU-OK - Self Help for Teenagers RU-OK is about you helping yourself - coping with common, and sometimes serious problems, as well as using your strengths. This site is for all teenagers and was developed by various professionals including educational psychologists, psychologists, psychiatrists and GPs.

Teen Advice Online The Mission of Teen Advice Online (TAO) is to provide support for teenage problems through a network of peers from around the globe. It operates as a close knit community via the internet, TAO recognises the necessity of working together, assisting teenagers to cope with the challenges of life.

Student Self-Help Materials Counselling service guide to self-help materials.

Mindzone  The site is divided into three separate sections: Cope, Care, and Deal. Within each section, users can take quizzes about mental health and learn about how to explore the feelings associated with depressions, suicide, and a number of other conditions. In the MindZone Machine area, users can learn about different anxiety orders and get answers to frequently asked questions. Finally, the site is rounded out by an Ask the Expert area, where visitors can find thoughtful responses to such queries as: "Do people with schizophrenia have multiple personalities?".

Sites for Parents

Parents’ Choice Foundation Established in 1978, Parents' Choice Foundation is the nation's oldest not-for-profit evaluator of children's books, videos, toys, audios, computer software, television, and magazines. The Foundation's mission is to provide parents with information to participate wisely in their children's learning.

Parenting Styles Impact of Parenting Styles on Children. Recognising and changing a dysfunctional parenting style to a more democratic one, often requires the support and insight of an experienced psychotherapist, since the parent's basic style of life may have to be changed as well. This site provides an interesting Adlerian perspective.

Help for Borderline Personality NUTS is composed of parents whose children (adult or minor) have Borderline Personality Disorder, with or without an official diagnosis. We provide encouragement, friendship, compassion, perspective, and advice for one another through online support groups.

Parenting Teenagers A-Z Links.

Sites for Families

Borderline Personality Disorder Central BPD Central is a list of resources for people who care about someone with borderline personality disorder (BPD).

"Let me not mince words. Almost all educators feel that testing is a necessary part of education. I wholly disagree. I do not think that testing is necessary, or useful, or even excusable. At best, testing does more harm than good; at worst, it hinders, distorts, and corrupts the learning process. Testers say that testing techniques are being continually improved and can eventually be perfected. Maybe so - but no imaginable improvement in testing would overcome my objections to it. Our chief concern should be not to improve testing, but to find ways to eliminate it". John Holt. The Underachieving School.

User Views

Partnerships For Children and Families Project Created in 2000, the Partnerships for Children and Families Project is a multi year research project directed at understanding the lives and experiences of families and children who are served by Children's Aid Societies and children's mental health services in Southern Ontario, Canada. Our aim is to foster improvements in existing child welfare and children's mental health policies, delivery systems, administration and programming/interventions. The project brings together community members, professionals and academic partners and provides a unique opportunity to initiate collaborative programs that will bring benefits to children and families and a new understanding of critical issues to the broader community.