Anybody have experiences with support groups?

I co-chair a roundtable for families of disabled students. We are working to create groups at each school site within the district.

Rather than coming in with a cookie-cutter approach, we are trying to feel out what each school site needs and respond to that.

Some groups have organically grown into parent support groups.

I’ve found them to be incredibly helpful and supportive spaces.

Also, I’ve been debating joining a local chapter of NAMI Family Support Group. Mostly to learn more about independent living resources.

I went for a while to a support group for people going through a divorce. It had a facilitator and was discussion based. What was more useful to me though was a walking group I found on meetup.com in which I made new single friends and found other activities.

In 1988, with a friend, I started a support group for women who wanted to become Single Mothers By Choice. It was designed to help with information about resources, how to deal with families and disapproving medical and professional folks, and generally supporting each other because it was a rare thing at that time and very few people thought it was a reasonable concept.

I am still friends with some of these women over 30 years later.

Other people who understand make a huge difference in processing difficult and complex life circumstances, I hope this helps you get through stuff.

I am personally not a fan, but I have known people who have done them and have gotten a lot out of them.