Support Groups?

Has anyone ever been part of an in-person support group for dissociative disorders? I just wondered how they work, what kinds of things they talk about, etc.??
I was talking to someone in my town about potentially starting one at some point, and thought I'd ask the experts1

xo
Miranda

i used to go to one for a couple years. it wasnt very helpful but that is because the two therapists running it didnt have things coordinated
and didnt give the group any focus.

What would have helped?

Sent from my XT1032 using Tapatalk

Support groups are like any other form of treatment...for some people they work and for others they arent a good fit....

in general a support group is where people with the same type of problems get together to talk about their problems and how they can help their self with coping with their problems...

examples of common support groups....

Alcoholics Anonymous
narcotics Anonymous

how they are run, what the perimeters/rules / topics/ goals....and all varies depending upon ones own location and what the focus is of that group.

I have attended a support group for dissociatives for many years..

what happens is we all enter a room, take a few minutes to gather our refreshments that each person has chosen to bring to share with each other...coffee, doughnuts, rolls what ever...say hi all that coming together chit chat. then we just take turns talking about how our week went, any problems we encountered and how we worked through that problem or ask for suggestions that may help...

example last week someone came in with a question of whether they should or shouldnt get ECT for their depression. Just like here at psych central we dont tell each other what to do. those that have had ECT told about their situations. we shared the pros and cons of what we knew of that treatment and how it can affect those with dissociative disorders. those that had resources shared them.

what we dont do is act like each others treatment providers...we dont discuss in detail traumatic events that caused the dissociative events...that requires one on one treatment with a treatment provider. We stick with present day how to deal with our day to day lives, ....

example one session someone had come in and shared they had gotten into a fender bender because they were driving while dissociated. She asked for ideas on how to stay grounded/ what other drivers do to prevent their self from dissociating while behind the wheel.

we leave the therapy work with our treatment providers up to each of our treatment providers and share commonality/friendship/ ..

since very group is different and not everyone is suited for the same things..to find out whats available on your location and how those groups are run / whether it would be good for you to join a group and what they consist of you will need to contact your own treatment providers.

Thanks, it was helpful to get an idea of how it's run, and I like the way yours is set up: present day support/understanding, no advice, not past trauma issues or therapy-support.

There isn't one in my area for dissociative disorders and I've been talking with a counselor about possibly starting one, as a peer-support, with a counselor present just in case. I would love to see dissociative disorders something a little more easy to talk about in public, and with people who understand.

Again, thatnks, that gives me some good ideas!
IJ

I would never make it through a support group. It would be too much for us. It wouldn't be good for us.

There has never been a peer support group for this in an area where I live. I've been in groups for DID and Dissociation but I found them too stressful as People were allowed to go into detail and it seemed as if flashbacks were being encouraged by the t's. I like the way the support group Amanda described is set up, that sounds so much more supportive and constructive. A place where you might be able to get ideas on how to handle real life daily barricades that rise up from the dissociation. Like how to deal with people who know you but you haven't a clue who they are. It would be nice to talk with others with situations like that. If you get it started let me know how you did it, I'd be interested in starting one.

So I have a group starting in September. I'm very excited and nervous at the same time. The mental health agency in my area has a peer support coordinator who is very supportive of me starting this group. She can offer me space, support, resources and networking for anything I need. I have a room to start with and depending on how we feel about the space we can keep it or change it. I am meeting with her again in August and will ask her for support in setting up a resource binder for us to use and build on. I want to include articles, helpful techniques for coping with dissociation as well as a list of reviews on whether agencies, doctors and/or places in town are dissociative-friendly or not. I've been able to get information out through the agency to all employees as well.

We'll start by meeting once a month and see how it goes. I don't want to bombard people with too much right away.

I don't have a question though, especially for anyone in Canada or even the states, where would you suggest I advertise online and in my community for the group? I want the information to get out as far as possible. I have two agencies willing to hand out pamphlets as well as my family doctor's office. Just not sure where else to go...

Thanks and any input would be very much appreciated!!!
IJ

around here where I live and work word of mouth (otherwise known as the grapevine) works really well. just tell your treatment provider you are starting a group and whether or not that treatment provider can pass along your contact and group information. many treatment providers also have community resource boards where anyone can post their mental or physical health groups on. for example my medical doctors office has a bulletin board with support groups, offers for day care, schooling information...gosh I cant name all the diverse resources there are on my medical doctors offices bulletin board.