Abstract
This chapter addresses the recent trend for mutual-help organizations to form collaborative partnerships with professionally run organizations. The focus of the discussion is a multi-method case study of a partnership between Schizophrenics Anonymous (SA) and the Mental Health Association of Michigan (MHAM) over a 14-year period. This study explores how the evolution of a formal partnership between SA and MHAM influenced the organizational expansion and development of SA. The partnership resulted in increased access to SA groups throughout Michigan. It also resulted in changes in how new SA groups were started, with more new groups in traditional mental health service settings and more groups led by professionals. New groups established with professional leaders had significantly lower survival rates than new groups established with consumer leaders. Qualitative analyses of interviews with SA’s consumer leaders suggested that, while SA became a more stable organization, there was an accompanying loss of consumer leadership opportunities, ownership, and control over organizational functions. These results are discussed with regard to the lessons learned for managing mutual-help/professional partnerships. We draw on organizational theories and risk management principles to discuss strategies by which mutual-help organizations can benefit from partnerships with other types of organizations, while minimizing unintended changes to their basic beliefs, processes, and structures.
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Notes
- 1.
At this stage of SA’s organizational development the term “Central SA” leader was used to refer to a self-identified group of SA leaders who formed the leadership core of SA. This was the group who saw themselves as responsible for SA’s programmatic and organizational development. The term “Central SA” took on a different meaning later in SA’s development, referring to SA’s national leadership group.
- 2.
Professionals were used at times to start groups, with the goal of developing consumer leadership over time. For some this was part of paid employment at their service agency/institution; others volunteered their time. All consumer leaders were volunteers.
- 3.
With her permission, Joanne Verbanic is the only person identified by her real name. All other persons are identified with pseudonyms.
- 4.
While the primary focus of SA’s expansion was in Michigan, between years 6 and 14, SA and MHAM also responded to requests from outside Michigan. In the latter years of this study, an increasing amount of MHAM staff time was devoted to group development outside of Michigan.
- 5.
For the groups that had not closed by the end of year 14, the group survival time was the amount of time between the start date and the end of year 14.
- 6.
In year 8, MHAM started to keep copies of all correspondence they sent out concerning SA.
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Acknowledgement
The authors wish to express our appreciation to Joanne Verbanic, Eric Hufnagel, the Mental Health Association in Michigan, The National Schizophrenia Foundation, and the leaders and members of SA who contributed to this study. We would also like to thank Fiona Gallacher who assisted in data collection and Doug Luke for assistance with data analysis. This research was supported in part by a grant from the Ethel and James Flinn Family Foundation.
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Salem, D.A., Reischl, T.M., Randall, K.W. (2010). Helping Mutual Help: Managing the Risks of Professional Partnerships. In: Brown, L., Wituk, S. (eds) Mental Health Self-Help. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6253-9_14
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