What Is A SADAG Support Group?

A Support Group is a gathering of people with common experiences and concerns who meet together to provide emotional and moral support for one another. They encourage a sense of community, a source of empathetic understanding and a non-judgemental environment.

Members of Support Groups often share their thoughts and feelings and learn from other people’s sharing and other’s life experiences. In a SADAG Support Group environment everyone is seen as an expert of their own life experiences. Rather than a teacher/pupil relationship, where the Support Group Leader is seen as an expert/teacher, and the Support Group Members are seen as pupils, in a Support Group environment everyone, including the Support Group Leader, plays the role of both the expert and the pupil.

So often in life, when people come to us to share and talk about what they are going through, we are so preoccupied with trying to find a solution that we forget to listen. One of the most valuable gifts we can offer someone is giving them space to share their feelings. We should never underestimate the power of discourse with others who are in the same situation. Sharing experiences enables us to give each other mutual support, normalise our experiences and collect practical information and ways of coping. Group members offer each other emotional and practical support and reduce the sense of isolation that can be associated with mental illness and emotional struggles.

A Support Group can help you cope better and feel less alone as you make connections with others facing similar challenges. A Support Group shouldn’t replace your usual medical care, but it can be a valuable resource to help you cope and manage. As human beings we want to connect with people. Depression can sometimes threaten this, when we feel depressed we feel alone and lonely, we feel that others cannot understand us and we withdraw from people when we need them the most. Fear of stigma and being judged often make us fearful of telling even those we love that we are depressed or suffer from mental illness. Joining a Support Group, or deciding to set one up, is a powerful commitment to form relationships with others again.

Why do you think people are scared or ashamed to speak out about their Mental Health and ask for the help that they need?

Different Types Of Support Groups

SADAG has many different types of Support Groups, each serve different communities and different issues. In this manual you will also find methods of speaking to people in your community to identify which Support Group will meet the needs for the people in the community. You can also choose what type of Support Group you would like to run based on your own mental health journey, passion, or interests.

There are is an endless list of different types of Support Groups, these include, but are not limited to

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Trauma
• PTSD
• Substance abuse
• Bipolar Disorder
• Post / Peri Natal Depression
• Support Groups for loved ones and family members who have loved ones with mental illness
• Groups for people who have lost loved ones to suicide, and so on
• Unemployment
• Managing retirement
• HIV/AIDS

The Difference Between Group Therapy And A Support Group

Support Groups and Group Therapy share many common characteristics. They both involve people coming together to share their experiences in a non-judgemental environment. However, the main difference between Group Therapy and a Support Group lies in the fact that Group Therapy is run by a professional who is trained and accredited with the ability to conduct psychotherapy, while a Support Group is for a community with similar problems coming together to share them.

While the majority of SADAG’s Support Group Leaders are patients, or ex-patients themselves who have experienced difficulties with their own mental health or the mental health of a loved one, we do have Support Groups that are run by mental health practitioners. These mental health practitioners do not run their groups in the capacity of mental health practitioners.

It is not necessary for Support Group Leaders to be mental health practitioners, because Support Groups are not therapy, nor are they the first line of mental health treatment/intervention.

Why is a Support Group so important in your community?

What Support Groups Do

Support Groups foster an environment that:

Give you a voice and helps you to take control:

• A Support Group provides a place of stability and security, a place in which you can feel respected, nurtured and cared for, and above all it provides a “listening place”.

Creates a culture of equality:

• A Support Group is the first place you can go where everyone understands and no one judges.

Builds a common identity:

• You will realise by being with others that share your symptoms, that you are not alone; there is an immediate feeling of acceptance and belonging.
• Being with others who are experiencing the same illness or life problem as you and are successfully managing, despite their problems, can be the best encouragement of all.

Is non-judgmental

• There is a code of confidentiality within the group, and each member’s privacy and dignity is respected.

Works against isolation:

• By being around those who have recovered, gives the sufferer hope – “I’ve been where you are, it will get better.”
• It’s a wonderful experience, when you’re in a terrible place, to get a visit from a caring group member who is calling just to see how you’re doing and to say “I’m here if you need me”. It’s equally gratifying to visit someone in distress and be able to help them.
• Joining is voluntary with no commitments or forced discussions.

Allows the sharing of pain:

• Knowing that someone else truly understands by virtue of having “been there”, brings a sense of relief, you are no longer alone with your pain.
• Everyone is given the freedom to draw on the strength of the group as needed and to extend strength to others when possible.

Provides information and referrals:

• When people discuss their “illness”, a great deal of information and education is gained.
• Helps to share coping tips and methods that haven’t only come from books.

How does joining a Support Group help someone who has a Mental Illness?

Who Attends SADAG Support Groups?

Mental health does not discriminate against race, gender, socio-economic standing, age, or religion, it is something that almost all of us are affected by, be it personally or through a family member or loved one. As such, there are an incredibly diverse group of people who can attend SADAG Support Groups.

Due to the vulnerability and susceptibility of the youth, as well as legal requirements, we advise that only people eighteen and older attend and run Support Groups. Responsible practice, and an emphasis on doing good, not harm, means that we recommend that the youth seek other mental health resources where there are a dedicated team that can ensure the safety and well-being of the individual and group.

There are many different types of Support Groups, and these groups offerings extend beyond offerings focused on the patient, or mental illness sufferer. There are groups dedicated to loved ones and family members of people with mental illness, as well as groups dedicated to the unemployment, those suffering with trauma and PTSD, as well as caregivers to name a few.

How does your Support Group help your members

Who Should Join A Support Group

It is really important to remember that a Support Group is never the first line of intervention when treating a mental illness. In the majority of cases Support Groups are run by patients and ex-patients themselves, they are not mental health practitioners and are not able to provide medical advice. Remember, a Support Group is not the same as group therapy.

If you have consulted with a mental health practitioner, have received a diagnosis and are managing your mental illness a Support Group can be an incredible support in maintaining your mental health. We recommend that you have been managing your mental health well, and if on medication for your mental health, that you have been on the same medication for a minimum of 6 months prior to joining a Support group.

This being said, not everyone needs a diagnosis to attend a Support Group. There are a few Support Group exceptions, for example if one wanted to join a Group for family members and loved ones of those with a family member who has a mental illness, they wouldn’t need a diagnosis. Similarly, if you wanted to join a Support Group for survivors of loved ones who died by suicide, you may not need medical assistance first. But, as a general rule of thumb, one should first see a Mental Health Practitioner and have received a diagnosis prior to joining a Support Group.

If you are currently in therapy, we advise speaking to your therapist or counsellor about wanting to join a Support Group prior to doing so. While Support Groups create a safe space of mutual sharing, support and understanding, for those needing professional assistance, Support Groups can become a triggering environment, and can potentially have the opposite effect if the member joins the group prior to managing their mental illness.

If you are unsure whether a Support Group is for you, please call one of our toll-free lines and a counsellor will assist.7

What would you say to someone who was interested in joining a Support Group?

Who Should Start A Support Group

Most people who start Support Groups have very little experience with managing groups, and have limited knowledge on mental health. It is important to be aware of this when you start a Support Group. It is always easier to run a Support Group if help is available from others in your community that are familiar with mental illness. You do not need to be a medical expert or a person living with a mental illness, but it is important to make sure there are people around who can help when you face difficult questions or situations.

Why are you starting a Support Group?

If you are developing a plan of action for starting a Support Group, it is important that you consider your reasons first.

Ask yourself these questions:

• Is it to help yourself and your needs?
• Is it to help support others in your community?
• Is it to help both yourself and others?

There is nothing wrong with starting a Support Group for your own needs, but you must be sure to have an interest in the needs of others as well. One purpose of a Support Group is to join in the journey of other members in your group as they navigate making important life choices, which will be difficult if you do not serve the needs of the entire group, rather than just your own.

Support Group Leaders are:

• Giving and caring members of the community who want to make a difference
• They dedicate time and effort to make a space where people feel safe, heard, supported and understood
• In many cases they are patients/ex-patients themselves

Support Group Leaders are not:

• Trained mental health practitioners
• They are not counsellors
• They are not equipped to deal with mentally unwell, manic or suicidal group members

If you are interested in starting a Support Group please watch the below video, and then email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for the next steps or phone 011 234 4837

Support Group Leader Training: An Introduction To Support Groups 

Why did you start a Support Group?

What tips would you give to someone who wants to start a Support Group?

How Sadag Support’s Its Support Group Leaders

How important is Caregiver Burnout?

Support Groups During Lockdown

As a Support Group Leader what would you say to someone who is feeling lonely, misunderstood or hopeless?