Treatment Groups VS. Support Groups
Hope’s Garden is not a treatment facility and thus is non-clinical in nature. The following describes our view on what differentiates support groups from treatment groups.
Treatment Groups are clinical in nature to the extent that:
- The facilitator holds more responsibility for the welfare of individual group members and the nature and outcome of the group.
- Participants can expect help in gaining insight into the causes of their own problems and patterns of communication between group members.
- The focus is more on meeting individual needs and detailed personal exploration within the context of the group.
- Confidentiality is sacred and information obtained about group members stays within the group.
Support Groups are non-clinical in nature to the extent that:
- The individual participant is responsible for welfare of self. If the group is overwhelming, it is the individual’s responsibility to seek outside treatment.
- Participants can expect information, coping strategies and peer support.
- The focus is more on meeting the general needs of the group around a theme.
- Confidentiality is sacred and information obtained about group members stays within the group.
- Support groups at Hope’s Garden are offered as an adjunct to treatment. They complement or supplement existing outpatient and hospital-based programs to the extend that they can encourage treatment where needed and serve as a place where gains made in treatment can be consolidated and maintained through providing peer support and information.