Mental Health Support Groups
One of the first things we ask new clients is who else knows about what’s going on. The answer is often nobody, and in 21 years of practice, that has been the most reliable predictor of how hard the road ahead will be. Isolation is not a side effect of mental ill health. It is part of the mechanism.
Support groups are groups of people who get together and share their experience of a common concern. Below are the mental health support services, resources and community groups across Perth we point clients toward most often, along with the group work we run ourselves.
What A Support Group Actually Does
A support group is not therapy and does not try to be. There is no clinician leading it and no treatment plan. What you get instead is mutual support, a room of people with lived experience of the same mental health issues, and the relief of not having to explain yourself from scratch.
That does something a session cannot. A great deal of the damage comes from believing you are the only one, and a non judgmental room deals with that directly. Groups also offer practical skills, coping strategies, accountability and the sense that recovery is possible, because you are sitting with people further along than you.
If You Need Help Right Now
If you or someone you care about is at immediate risk, call 000 or go to your local hospital emergency department. In WA, the Mental Health Emergency Response Line runs around the clock on 1300 555 788 for the metropolitan area.
Lifeline on 13 11 14 is the first point of contact for most people in emotional distress, with 24 hour crisis support and suicide prevention services. Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636 provides free support for anxiety and depression. 13YARN on 13 92 76 is staffed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander crisis supporters. Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 counsels young people aged 5 to 25. Medicare Mental Health connects people to public mental health services, with centres you can walk into and a weekday phone line.
Support Groups Across Perth And WA
HelpingMinds is a not for profit organisation offering free mental health education, services and carer support across Perth and Western Australia. Search “group perth” on their site to find your nearest one.
Grow runs a mutual support program using a twelve step approach to personal development and recovery, with regular meetings across Australia. ConnectGroups is the referral service and directory for self help and community based organisation groups across WA, giving families and individuals access to local services including specialist ones such as an OCD support group. Black Dog Institute runs small groups for people with a particular condition, most commonly depression or bipolar disorder, and a nine week program for depression. Activate Mental Health uses peer led social activities to break the isolation that comes with mental illness.
The Groups We Run Ourselves
Everything above is peer led, run by the community rather than clinicians. What we offer is different. Our group therapy and process groups are facilitated, using the same Integrative Body Mind Psychotherapy we use one to one.
The difference matters. A peer group gives you company. A therapy group works with what happens between people in the room, in real time, with a somatic psychotherapist tracking it. Patterns you cannot see in individual work become visible fast, because you are not describing your relationships, you are having one.
Services For Specific Needs
Some issues need a specialist service rather than a general group. Butterfly Foundation on 1800 33 4673 supports people affected by eating disorders. PANDA on 1300 726 306 works with perinatal anxiety and depression, for both parents.
1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 is the national counselling and referral line for domestic and family violence and sexual violence. MensLine Australia on 1300 78 99 78 offers phone and online counselling for men. For alcohol and other drug use, the WA Alcohol and Drug Support Line can advise on treatment options. headspace centres across Perth are free for young people aged 12 to 25.
Support For Carers And Family Members
Being the family member holding everything together is exhausting, and carers are the group most likely to go without help. HelpingMinds and Carers WA both run carer specific programs, and both understand that supporting someone through mental illness affects your own health.
If you are supporting someone, talk to your own general practitioner early and get advice on how to manage it. Carer burnout is real, and it arrives quietly.
How To Choose A Group
Try more than one before deciding groups are not for you. Fit varies enormously, and the first one you join may be the wrong room.
Ask three things before you go. Is it peer led or facilitated by health professionals. Is it free, and if not, what does it cost. Is it face to face or online, because for people in regional WA or without transport, online is often the only realistic option. A good group is a safe space with clear ground rules, not an unstructured venting session.
What This Looks Like In Practice
These are composite examples drawn from our clinical work, with identifying details changed.
A man in his fifties recovering from a workplace injury had lost his job, his routine and most of his friends. Individual work shifted the depression, but what changed his week was a peer led social group. He called it the first place in two years where nobody wanted anything from him.
A woman who had done four years of talk therapy could describe her patterns precisely and could not change them. In our group work, three sessions in, she noticed her shoulders climbing every time another member spoke about their father. That was not something she could have reached by talking about it. Her body found it first.
A mother of three supporting a son with bipolar disorder came to us exhausted and guilty. We worked on boundaries in session, and she joined a carer group through HelpingMinds. Sitting with other parents who understood did more for the guilt than anything we discussed.
Frequently Asked Questions
The questions clients ask us most often about groups, and our honest answers.
