Is a Support Group For Me?

/

By Li Brookens, LCSW, CGP

There are a lot of reasons why a support group could be helpful for you. The biggest reason in the COVID pandemic is our family systems may be flooded with navigating COVID in small spaces. Sometimes our loved ones get overwhelmed helping us process our feelings about COVID and stressors in our life on top of their own process. It’s a good idea, when this happens, to expand your circle of support, and a support group is a great way to do that in the immediate. 

  • What are the support group meetings like? 

    • Support groups are drop-in, they are filled with people you likely do not know and that can sometimes help people be more honest with one another. With a trained facilitator leading a group, members can lean into their truths and relate to one another in trust that the facilitator will help the conversation continue in a supportive and progressive manner. 

    • Group members can expect to have an opportunity to share what is going on for them, and relate to and give feedback to other group members. 

    • Nervousness is normal when being part of a group. Nerves indicate that you are feeling a lot and it’s best to observe that energy and if possible to speak about it. When people lean into the nerves and speak to those feelings, other members will respond and relate, and the nerves then often melt away. It’s an amazing process that you can only experience by joining a group!

  • What if I feel uncomfortable speaking in front of groups? 

    • Many people who join groups have uncomfortable feeling/s talking in groups, especially at first. Any member of the group is welcome to simply sit and observe the group and not share. There have been occasions when I ask a group member if they would like help getting their voice in the group and they say “No,” and in most cases I will follow the group members’ sense of what is best in those moments. Other times, the person says, “Yes,” indicating that they are wanting help to talk, but may be stuck in some way. For people who want to work on talking in the group, a good way to help people get unstuck is to first talk about what makes it hard to talk. 

    • Again, watching someone’s nerves melt away when they realize others are in the same boat as them is a very powerful process to witness and experience first hand. 

  • What’s the difference between support groups and therapy groups?

    • In a support group, people tend to drop-in, there are group agreements that are reviewed each week, and there is more structure to member sharing. More facilitator involvement helps to keep the structure of the group functioning well and to provide support to participants. Typically there is also a shared reason people are attending the group, for example, a support group for people who identify as transgender or a support group for people navigating COVID as a healthcare provider. 

    • In a therapy group, people typically commit to a time period or an ongoing process with other members. The facilitator encourages people to talk to each other, and to use their here-and-now experience. Group members work to connect to each other by putting words to their thoughts, feelings, and body sensations in an effort to understand themselves better. The facilitator takes less of an active role to allow for the group process to unfold some, but they are also there to interrupt anything that does not facilitate a healthy progressive process. For people interested in group therapy, this space has the potential to be highly transformative, especially when coinciding with individual therapy. 

The free support group for COVID essential service workers meets weekly on Saturdays from 10--11:15am. 

The free support group for COVID healthcare workers meets weekly on Sundays from 8--9:15pm. 


Click here to sign up today!

/ / 1 Comment
, ,

Umbrella Collective

Mission Statement:

We are a group of depth-oriented mental health therapists who strive to embody values of liberation, welcome and honor all parts of our humanity, deeply appreciate intersectionality and empower all people to tell their story and experience acceptance, belonging and more meaningful relationships with self and others.

Who We Are:

The Umbrella Collective was developed to be a group practice where clients can see themselves reflected in their therapists from an inclusive standpoint. We consist of a network of talk therapists who specialize in working with an intersectional lens, centering the margins in the therapeutic work. We offer many different psychotherapy modalities, including psychodynamic, somatic, EMDR, CBT, Hypnotherapy, and Substance Abuse treatment. We provide consultation to individuals, families, and groups. Umbrella Collective mental health professionals are passionate about social justice, dedicated to ongoing training and education in best practices for BIPOC, LGBTQ people, and people who experience life on the margins. We are skilled at working with you and your intersecting identities.

Nondiscrimination Policy:

The Umbrella Collective Inc and its mental health professionals offer services to all people regardless of their race, ethnicity, color, language, national origin, immigration status, sex, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, socio-economic background and status, military status, marital and familial status, age, religion, body shape, size, and ability.