Important information
Supporting and strengthening independent self-help formats is an important cornerstone of our work.
But first of all:
- there are no open SHGs,
- no guided SHGs
- and also no diagnosis-related SHGs at BOP&P
but only closed groups that meet once a week for 2 hours.
I’m interested in a self-help group – what’s next?
In order for interested people to make an informed decision as to whether such a framework could be right for them, participation in a self-help group is always preceded by a personal conversation.
In this context, we talk about what the interested person hopes to gain from the support group, what structure they need to be able to work well in such a group, what issues they bring with them, what else they do in their lives and whether they can commit to weekly attendance.
It is also about the willingness to engage with different realities of life and backgrounds, to be able to contain oneself and to take responsibility for organizing the weekly meetings together with the other participants.
If everything fits, the interested person leaves their contact details to be invited to the next group formation.
How does founding a self-help group work?
So far, most of our SHGs have met in the evenings, but this is due to the living and working conditions of the participants and is not dictated by us.
If there are 8-10 interested people on the list, we will send out invitations to set up the group. This process involves of three consecutive meetings with those interested in participating in the group. If someone is unable to attend the proposed dates, they have the opportunity to be invited to the next group formation.
During the moderated kick-off meetings, the participants can get to know each other, discuss their topics and concerns, set up a structure for the future group meetings – and above all they can find out for themselves whether everything is right for them.
As part of this process of setting up the group, people can also decide that they perhaps prefer to be invited to the next group foundation because it may not be a good fit personally or the person feels that they do not have a counterpart for all their issues.
Which topics can be discussed?
That is why we also support the formation of more homogeneous groups if this is desired and seems helpful. For example, there is an SHG for ex-users/survivors of psychiatry that is made up exclusively of queer and trans* people from Iran and Afghanistan.
Otherwise, the topics are very wide-ranging: it is often about the experience and consequences of psychiatrization itself, the confrontation and processing of the experiences in mad states, relationships are often a topic – both in a private and professional context, hearing voices, self-harm, suicidal feelings and thoughts, fears, experiences of violence, discontinuation and reduction of medication, etc.
The focus is on the here and now, and another important feature is that the SHG is a space for all topics. This requires all participants to take responsibility for their own participation in the group – which can also mean taking time out for certain topics, taking an extra break, etc.
What else is important?
Each SHG has its own time slot in the week and its own key to our space. They are closed groups, which means that no new participants join once the SHG is formed.
The project team members are not present at the meetings but can be approached if, for example, there are conflicts or other reasons for external moderation, such as an input or a workshop on a special topic.
Sometimes participants also feel the need to talk to someone in the project between group meetings – for example, because they were confronted with something at the last meeting that they would like to reflect on separately from the group so that they can then decide whether and what should be brought back into the group.
Contact and information
For more information and to arrange a preliminary meeting, we are currently available on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the ANLAUFSTELLE (contact point) by phone or by e-mail.