TY  - JOUR
AB  - Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to explore the theme of dependence on mutual aid identified in a previous paper. It is a theme which to date, has had very little empirical attention, especially in a UK context. Design/methodology/approach– A phenomenological approach was adopted. Interviews with service users, mentors and professional staff involved with the Learning to Live Again project were undertaken over a ten-month period of data collection. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Findings– It was found that service users with very little access to recovery capital or social support are at risk of developing a dependency on mutual aid. Dependence seemed to manifest itself in two different forms – those that over engaged with the project and those that under engaged with the project. Consequently, there were a cohort of service users identified that seemed to strike a balance with the project and their life outside the project that was “just right”. They were referred to as the “Goldilocks group”. Originality/value– This paper explored a theme which has had very little attention paid to it. The theme of dependence on mutual aid will raise the awareness of such a threat, thus helping to identify those in treatment most at risk of developing dependency on mutual aid, thus detrimentally impacting on mental wellbeing.
VL  - 15
IS  - 1
SN  - 1745-9265
DO  - 10.1108/DAT-01-2015-0001
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1108/DAT-01-2015-0001
AU  - Parkman Thomas James
AU  - Lloyd Charlie
PY  - 2015
Y1  - 2015/01/01
TI  - Mutual dependence and the “Goldilocks group”: exploring service user dependency on mutual aid recovery groups
T2  - Drugs and Alcohol Today
PB  - Emerald Group Publishing Limited
SP  - 49
EP  - 58
Y2  - 2024/04/20
ER  -