Online Support Groups

Want to learn more about DBSA's online, real–time groups? Join us for this interactive chat! Online support groups are "a necessary part of our commitment to bring support to everyone who wants it, no matter where they are or how they need it," says Elizabeth Siegel, DBSA's Chapter Relations Manager who currently oversees the online support groups' operation. "We are the only organization offering this kind of virtual, real–time peer support to people with mental illness." One of the benefits of online support groups (OSGs) is the support it offers to all of those who don't have access to DBSA's local support groups, either because they live too far away or have limited mobility, or because they wish to remain anonymous. One of the challenges that OSG participants face in their text–only world is how to communicate the nonverbal expression that face–to–face groups might take for granted—a simple nod of support or a smile, for example, as someone tells his or her story. Find out how OSG participants and facilitators manage these challenges and reap the benefits of connecting with peers online.