What Happens at a Support Group? - By Eva Savov (former Support Group Facilitator) A support group meeting is a safe forum for discussion to assist people on their path of recovery. As a facilitator of support group meetings I have seen many people come and go. Many have benefited immensely by attending support group meetings and others have mis-perceptions about support group meetings. A support group meeting is designed for people who suffer from an anxiety disorder and for the carers. They are discussion groups, by no means just a social gathering or a therapeutic group. Many people who suffer from an anxiety disorder feel that they are alone and no one understands their dread and fear. At a support group meeting they realise they are not alone and many share a common goal, to learn strategies on how to overcome this dread and fear. Within a support group we do not prescribe or diagnose, we suggest. Its a forum where people can get information about anxiety disorders, different therapies, workshops, professionals who specialise in anxiety disorders, but most of all a safe and confidential discussion group where people can share their stories and experiences. Support group meetings are also designed for the carers, to give them a better understanding of what their loved one is going through. The facilitators are not professionals; most of them are either psychology students or people who have recovered from an anxiety disorder. I fall into the latter category. Being a facilitator is one of the most rewarding things in my life. It gives me an opportunity to share my experience and to encourage others that they can overcome this dread and fear. After all I did. However it saddens me when I see people becoming stagnant and starting to view the support group meetings as their salvation, social gathering, therapy session or a place where they become opinionated about how a support group should be. Within a support group meeting you will discover that everyone is at a different level of their recovery. Also many have inspiring stories to tell about their journey and their trials and tribulations and this is what a support group is about: for people to encourage and support each other and for the facilitators to guide the discussions and provide information. As I said earlier, more people have benefited from a support group meeting because they utilised what a support group has to offer. It makes me proud to be a facilitator when I see many of them return just to share how well they are managing their anxiety, how insightful the book we suggested was or how helpful the professional we recommended was. Each of you will have a different story to tell and most of you will want some reassurance and this is why we are here, to hear your story and to encourage you.
Posted on: Sun, 13 Jul 2014 07:00:00 +0000
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