Support groups bring people together and provide a safe forum for exchanging perspectives, sharing concerns, and gaining confidence to face the future. Support groups are typically led by a trained health care professional. “Peer support” is a term we use to refer to advice and help received from fellow patients or people without medical training. 

Benefits of support groups

The common experience among members of a support group often means they have similar feelings, worries, everyday problems, treatment decisions or treatment side effects. Participating in a group provides you with an opportunity to be with people who are likely to have a common purpose and likely to understand one another.

Benefits of participating in a support group may include:

• Feeling less lonely, isolated or judged
• Reducing distress, depression, anxiety or fatigue
• Talking openly and honestly about your feelings
• Improving skills to cope with challenges
• Staying motivated to manage chronic conditions or stick to treatment plans
• Gaining a sense of empowerment, control or hope
• Improving understanding of a disease and your own experience with it
• Learning about health, economic or social resources