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Let's Face It's
philosophy on Self-Help leading
towards rehabilitation.
Let's Face It
is run only by
people who suffer from a facial difference, their carers and
allied health professionals.
Some 30 years ago,
Hurvitz (1970,1974) claimed that self-help groups ere more
effective and efficient than any other form of helping. "It
is likely that more people have been and are being helped by
self-help groups than have been and are being helped by all
types of professionally trained psychotherapists combined
with far less theorising and analysing and for much less
money" (Hurvitz 1970).
Let's Face It
has been in
existence since January 1984. The founder of the
Network, Christine Piff, (1985) wrote a book telling of her
experience of facial cancer which was published in 1985.
Subsequently, the Network reached out to countries
world-wide and
Let's Face It
has become an
International Network linking together patients and
professionals for self-help, information and mutual support.
Bibliography:
Hurvitz, N (1974) Similarities and differences between
conventional psychotherapy and peer self-help groups.
The sociology of psychotherapy. New York: Aronson Piff,
C. (1985) Living with facial cancer. Let's Face It.
London: Gollancz |
A
focus on the group and the individual with the aim of
getting back into the community
Being helped by
helping others
A non-competitive,
co-operative orientation
Encouraging an
ability to use one's own power to take control over one's
own life
A strong optimism in
the ability to accept a 'changed' face
A belief that small
steps are important. Do what you can do, one day at a
time, you cannot solve everything approach
An emphasis on
experience - people who have the problem know a lot more
from experiencing it
Simplicity and
informality - everyone being heard and listened to
The centrality of
helping - knowing how to receive help, give help and help
yourself
Now, more and more
professionals are taking self-help groups seriously.
Given the inexhaustibility of human need, there is a place
for professionals, for the self-help movement and a
partnership between the two
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