Mayo Clinic Health Manager

Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.

Get Started

Free

E-Newsletter

Subscribe to receive the latest updates on health topics. About our newsletters

  • Housecall
  • Alzheimer's caregiving
  • Living with cancer

Support groups: Share experiences about depression, mental health conditions

Support groups for depression or other mental conditions offer coping help and shared experiences.

By Mayo Clinic staff

If you have depression or another mental health condition, it could be worth investigating support groups. Support groups can help you feel less alone, find new coping skills and motivate you to stick to a treatment plan. Evaluating support groups and finding the right one can be challenging, but ultimately rewarding. Here's a look at how support groups may help you and how to evaluate support groups to see whether they suit your needs.

Understanding mental health support groups

Support groups are groups of people who share a common condition or interest. A number of support groups are run by nonprofit organizations, mental health clinics or other established organizations. Others are started by a layperson who has a mental health disorder or a family member with one.

Support groups have a variety of formats, including in person, on the Internet or by telephone. Most mental health support groups focus on a specific condition, such as depression, substance abuse or eating disorders. Support groups are not the same as group counseling (psychotherapy), which involves group counseling with a psychologist or other mental health provider. Members of a mental health support group share their personal journey with depression or other mental health conditions and share comfort, support and advice based on their own experiences.

Benefits of mental health support groups

Healthy support groups offer a variety of benefits, from the emotional to the practical. The benefits of support groups include:

  • Making connections. Meeting others with depression or another mental health condition may make you feel less alone or isolated. A safe and welcoming environment, filled with compassion and understanding, can also reduce any stigma you may feel over having depression or another mental disorder.
  • Improving your coping skills. Support groups offer the chance to draw on collective experiences. Others who have "been there" may have tips or advice about coping with your condition that hasn't occurred to you. Brainstorming with others may inspire even more ideas. For instance, swapping information about antidepressants can help you see how others handle side effects.
  • Getting motivated. Support groups can encourage you to seek professional treatment if you haven't already. They may also encourage you to take a more active role in your treatment or stick to your treatment plan. And they may help you tap into community resources, such as housing or transportation assistance.
  • Finding hope. Sharing experiences and making connections can make you feel better about life in general. Seeing others make strides against depression or another mental illness may give you hope about your own future.

You may be nervous about sharing personal issues with people you don't know. So at first, you may benefit from a support group simply by listening. Over time, though, contributing your own ideas and experiences can help you get more out of a support group.

Sizing up mental health support groups

Support groups come in many forms, ranging from meetings held in a member's home to nonprofit organizations with a paid staff and a range of programs. You may need to search around to find a support group that meets your needs. Some self-help groups are tailored to a particular group of people. Some groups are for those with a mental health condition, while others might be for loved ones of someone with a mental health condition or issue. Some focus on particular challenges linked to a mental health condition, such as suicidal thinking or coping with the death of a spouse. Others offer support to minorities.

Questions to ask when considering a support group:

  • Is it geared toward a specific condition?
  • Is the location convenient for regular attendance?
  • What is the meeting schedule?
  • Is there a facilitator or moderator?
  • Is there a mental health expert involved with the group?
  • Is it confidential?
  • Does it have established ground rules?
  • What is a typical meeting like?
  • Is it free, and if not what are the fees?

Plan to attend a few support group meetings to see how you fit in. If the support group makes you uncomfortable or you don't find it useful, try another one. Remember that even a support group you like can change as participants come and go. Periodically evaluate the support group to make sure it continues to meet your needs.

Next page
(1 of 2)
References
  1. Mental health: A report of the Surgeon General. Department of Health and Human Services. http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/mentalhealth/chapter5/sec7.html. Accessed July 13, 2009.
  2. DBSA support groups: An important step on the road to wellness. Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance. http://www.dbsalliance.org/pdfs/dbsasupgr04.pdf. Accessed July 13, 2009.
  3. Eysenbach G, et al. Health related virtual communities and electronic support groups: Systematic review of the effects of online peer to peer interactions. British Medical Journal. 2004;328:1166.

MH00044

Aug. 14, 2009

© 1998-2009 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER). All rights reserved. A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. "Mayo," "Mayo Clinic," "MayoClinic.com," "EmbodyHealth," "Reliable tools for healthier lives," "Enhance your life," and the triple-shield Mayo Clinic logo are trademarks of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.

Print Share Reprints

Text Size: smaller largerlarger