As Trust Issues Too wrote, support groups can lead people to open up and give words to the situations they found themselves in. And it's always a good thing to realize we're not alone in our circumstances.

But I think it often helps to have qualified people facilitating the discussions in the group. That way, when the same things keep coming up, the conversation can be gently re-directed to more helpful, pro-active thinking and behaviour.

An experienced, and hopefully TRAINED facilitator is key to the therapy process of a group. Progress might not happen at all if the same conversations happen over and over.