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Resources for Support Group Facilitators

Welcome and thank you for helping peers improve their lives. Below you will find news and resources for Support Group Facilitators.

July is Minority Mental Health Month

News

DBSA support groups were named “Best Specialized Support Groups” by Healthline and “Best Overall” by PsychCentral.  

The DBSA DEI Toolkit made possible through the support of the Alkermes Inspiration Grant 

DBSA’s DEI Toolkit consists of the following:

March 21, 2022 Presentation Slides

DBSA’s DEI Toolkit

Training Information

Whether you are a new DBSA facilitator or an experienced one, raise your facilitation skills up to the next level by attending DBSA’s free, interactive  Virtual Facilitator Training.  Taught by experienced support group facilitators, this 8-hour introductory training class includes 2 – 3 separate sessions featuring lecture, question and answer segments and mock facilitator practice. Please note that the training is for DBSA support group participants only.

Participants must attend all sessions of a particular class  to receive a certificate of participation. Please note that these training sessions are intended for peers who are working with a DBSA chapter or DBSA support group.

Basic Support Group Facilitator Training

To register, email jburgos@dbsalliance – include your full name, chapter name and email.
  1. July Basic SGFT 07/08 & 07/15 12:30pm – 4:30pm Eastern AT CAPACITY waiting list only

2.   September Basic SGFT 09/16 & 09/17 2pm – 6pm Eastern available

Facilitator Think Tanks

1. June Facilitator Think Tank Thursday, June 8th at 7pm Eastern
To register, email jburgos@dbsalliance – include your full name, chapter name and email.

Next Level Thinking Sessions
1 Shake It Up! Supercharging Your Group’s Discussion with Creativity, Joy, Play & Gratitude
Wednesday, June 14th at 7pm Eastern
To register, please email jburgos@dbsalliance.org, include your full name, chapter name and email.

 

 

 

 

Resources

Training Resources

We suggest that DBSA Support Group facilitators be familiar with and follow the DBSA Support Group model as outlined in the DBSA Support Group Facilitation Guide.

Meeting Resources

Welcoming New Participants

A welcome kit can be an important tool for your support group. It provides information about your group to new peers and also carefully explains what a peer can expect from a support group meeting. Starting a relationship with a strong welcome can increase support group participation and retention. The following are templates and samples that you may wish to include in your support group’s welcome kit:

Preparing for Challenges

Community Outreach

DBSA support groups may choose to perform community outreach by offering educational programming, focusing on specific communities within the local community. The following are resources support groups may use to help in outreach and member recruitment activities: