The following excerpt is from the Willowgreen book Effective Support Groups: How to Plan, Design, Facilitate, and Enjoy Them by James E. Miller.

What exactly is a support group?

     It's a group of people who gather voluntarily on a regular basis to meet certain needs they share in common. The group is usually, but not always, small.
     Support groups come in two types: open and closed.
     Open groups meet on a given day, at a given time, and at a given location. That information is publicized widely. Invited is anyone whose life situation qualifies them for that particular group. A Gamblers Anonymous group welcomes anyone with a compulsive gambling problem and discourages anyone else from attending. Al-Anon groups are for friends and family of alcoholics. People may attend an open support group as many or as few times as they wish. Naturally, such a group will vary in size from meeting to meeting.
     Closed groups are designed for a limited number of people who agree to be present at all scheduled sessions. It's assumed that those who participate in the first meeting will continue to make up the group until it ends. Some closed groups stipulate conditions under which a person may join the group after it has already formed.
     Support groups are founded upon the principle that every group member stands on equal footing. No one person has more power or authority than anyone else. Participants are encouraged to speak about their concerns and feelings as they relate to the focus of the meetings, as well as to respond to other members as they share.
     Two other distinctions help define support groups. Time-limited groups meet for a prescribed number of sessions and then they disband. Open-ended groups meet with no planned ending sessions in mind. As long as there's interest, they'll continue.
     The other distinction regards leadership. Some groups use facilitators, while others do not. Those that do may have either one facilitator or more than one, and these people may be either lay or professional.
     As you can see, there can be a lot of variety to support groups. What works for one group may not work so well for another. But what works for all of them is this: people come together seeking support. What they discover is that they have support to give as well as receive. They also discover a freedom to talk and an understanding acceptance that they may find hardly anywhere else, and perhaps nowhere else.

Should a support group be open or closed?

     Your group should be what’s right for it to be. Each of the two styles has its advantages.
     If your group is open, it’s likely to serve more and a larger variety of people, making for greater diversity at your meetings. Your group will be ready to provide its help when people need it, rather than making them wait until a particular group starts its meetings. You’ll give people control over how often and if they’ll attend.
     If your group is closed, it’s likely the participants will get to know one another better and develop deeper relationships. People will feel freer to reveal more about themselves and their lives. There’s likely to be more time for each person to talk, and more opportunity for feedback from others in the group. That includes feedback about how one is changing as the weeks pass.
     Other factors may influence your decision. The goals and limits of the sponsoring organization may determine the design of the group. The number of people you wish to serve may help you select one style over another. You’ll want to take into account your meeting place. Open groups work best in facilities that are easy to find and flexible enough to accommodate varying numbers of attendees. If your group has a facilitator, it's wise to consider their wishes, skills, and comfort level.
     However you decide to structure your group, you can always re-evaluate your decision. Sometimes closed groups later become the nucleus for an open support group. Or an open group may sponsor spin-off, short-term closed groups. It's up to you and the group.

     This excerpt is from Effective Support Groups: How to Plan, Design, Facilitate, and Enjoy Them by James E. Miller. Information about this and other books for professionals and lay facilitators is available here.

Back To Top