[LostOnTheTrail]

Hi, all.

I hope you are doing well. I've been working with my current therapist for four years, processing online emotional abuse after a catfishing situation.

Possible trigger:

I have extensive experience of loss due to terminal illness, but in June a dear friend and support person ended his life.

I'm wondering whether to look into bereavement support groups in addition to processing this in therapy. Can there be such a thing as too much support?

I'm interested to read about others' experiences of supplementing individual therapy with situation-specific support groups.

Thanks,

Lost

[ScarletPimpernel]

When I was seeing T, she suggested that I find a DBT group. I tried 3 different groups while with her. The first and third group was really helpful. The second group, which was a process group and not a skills group, was lead by an incompetent therapist who let another client verbally attack me.

Both T and L have also been really supportive of me on these forums. They're all for any healthy way to get extra support.

Definitely try out a group. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. You could always discuss with your T.

[SlumberKitty]

Hi Lost,


I've been to some NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) support groups. They were kind of general--not specific to my diagnosis but I found them moderately helpful. It would have been more helpful if more people would have had my same condition or something but it was super helpful after I had been IP to hear of this group. Then Covid happened and I haven't been back. I guess they went virtual but I don't know. I was so new to the group that I wasn't really in the know about how the virtual group was run or when to log on and stuff like that. Otherwise, had Covid not happened I probably would have continued going to the support group in person for a while.


HUGS

Kit

[LonesomeTonight]

Originally Posted by ScarletPimpernel

When I was seeing T, she suggested that I find a DBT group. I tried 3 different groups while with her. The first and third group was really helpful. The second group, which was a process group and not a skills group, was lead by an incompetent therapist who let another client verbally attack me.

Both T and L have also been really supportive of me on these forums. They're all for any healthy way to get extra support.

Definitely try out a group. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. You could always discuss with your T.

Your comment about these forums made me think of something my T said. I've talked to him about these forums fairly often. And I made a comment once about how I'd never been in a support group. He kind of laughed. I asked what he was reacting to. He said he thinks of these forums as a big support group, so he thinks I'm already in one. I hadn't thought of it that way, but it makes sense.

I think peer groups can help in ways that therapy can't. I don't think it's a case of potentially having "too much support" unless it was, say, causing you to be unable to think about anything but the grief (or other struggles). Or possibly if you were getting conflicting suggestions on how to handle it. But I think it's definitely worth a try.

Edited to add: I'm also in what I guess would be considered support groups on Facebook--one for reducing/stopping drinking, a few for parents of kids on the autism spectrum, and a couple for perimenopause. I find those helpful as well, though they aren't in person (I did make an in-person/local friend from one of the groups though).

What do support groups offer? I am not sure what they are or what people do when they attend.

[LostOnTheTrail]

Hey, CM.

I'm not the best person to answer that question, as I've never really used a traditional support group before. I think of it as a space to connect with people who are going through something similar and offer solidarity and understanding.

The grief group I am considering meets online once a month. I typically consider myself reserved, but when I connected with some of these people on a related Zoom call, I felt quite comfortable. Not comfortable enough to mention my most recent loss, mind you...

[BeyondtheRainbow]

I did a 13 week grief support/recovery group after losing a family member in December. It helped a lot in combination with therapy. The one I did is called Griefshare. It's offered all over the place but it is a Christian based group. They say it is for anyone but I think someone uncomfortable with Biblical references might not be comfortable in the group. I'm very glad I did it and I may repeat it at the one year anniversary if that's hard. Hospice here offers it as well as churches.

[*Beth*]

No, there is no such thing as too much support. In the past I was in individual therapy, attending a private group, and facilitating a NAMI peer group. It was wonderful, and really kept me on a mentally healthy track.