On-line support groups?

[lilolilmanchester]

A colleague's DH suffers from depression, anxiety, panic attacks and agoraphobia. They are separated, colleague also has health problems, and her recovery is being impacted by his reliance on her for support and constant phone calls when he is having a bad time. I suggested that she enquired about support groups for him, but he isn't able to leave the house on his own. I said I'd ask on MN if anyone knows of any online support groups which she could suggest to him. She'd be very grateful. Thanks.

[morningpaper]

Most 'reputable' organisations don't seem to run online support groups because people with MH problems really need one-to-one RL support and actually you need to be able to sort the wheat from the chaff when it comes to online advice and chat. (as you may have noticed )

Online support for depression can be very hit and miss and a lot can actually be quite damaging. Cliques are a massive problem for a start.

I would suggest instead contacting your local branch of Mind and asking for their advice on local services and the best ways to get support for him. Good luck.

[lilolilmanchester]

Thanks to both of you. I will pass your feedback on to my colleague, good point about the online support groups, not being familiar with MH problems I hadn't really thought about that. So a daft suggestion of mine with hindsight. I think MIND would be the best route for advice for them both. Thanks again.

[greeneyedgirl]

www.nomorepanic.co.uk