[Mutual aid as a complement to professional intervention]

Abstract

This paper aims to illustrate and emphasize the relevance of Frank Riessman's futurist new paradigm for human services which proposes a restructuring that enables those who ordinarily receive help to function as providers of help. Some of the best known mutual-aid programs are briefly presented, followed by a more detailed description of pilot projects which have used the mutual-aid principle with multi-problematic clientele. Most of these pilot projects took place in the province of Québec and aimed at bridging the gap between public services and local communities by linking with informal support systems. Two specific modalities of mutual aid are discussed: pairings between clients and pairings between clients and natural helpers. The integration of mutual-aid strategies within clinical practice is not easy because of the important changes it requires of the professional both at the practical and the organizational level.