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Support groups

Rooms full of people who get it. Twelve-step, secular, peer-run, for partners and family, online and in person. You can sit at the back and say nothing the first time.

Do support groups actually work? What the research says

Source notes: `research_notes/.../support_groups.md` (Q2), checked 2026-10-10.

English

In short. The strongest evidence is for Alcoholics Anonymous and Twelve-Step Facilitation in alcohol use disorder. Peer support for mental illness shows small but consistent benefits, mainly for personal recovery, hope and self-efficacy, from trials of modest quality. CBT-based anger-management programs show moderate-to-large effects, and group and individual formats perform about the same.

  • Alcohol (AA / Twelve-Step Facilitation). A 2020 Cochrane review (Kelly, Abry, Ferri, Humphreys; 27 studies, 10,565 participants) found manualized AA/TSF did as well as other treatments such as CBT and MET on most alcohol outcomes, did better on continuous abstinence and remission, and reduced health-care costs. It appears to work by increasing AA participation. The earlier 2006 review had only 8 studies. Kelly et al. 2020; Wiley release
  • Peer support in mental illness. A meta-analysis of 30 RCTs (4,152 people) found small significant effects on clinical recovery (g = 0.19) and personal recovery (g = 0.15), none on functional recovery; effects were modest but consistent across disorders. PMC10476060
  • Severe mental illness. A 2024 review of 16 RCTs (4,008 people) found a significant effect on self-efficacy (d = 0.20), but clinical improvement was unlikely. PMC11203176
  • One-to-one peer support in mental health services has been reviewed across 23 studies (19 trials, 3,329 participants). White et al., PMC7657356. See also Psychiatric Services 2022.
  • Families. NAMI Family-to-Family is a designated evidence-based program shown to improve coping and problem-solving in family members. NAMI HelpLine FAQ
  • Anger. DiGiuseppe and Tafrate's meta-analysis of 57 adult studies found an overall effect size of about 0.71; another meta-analysis of anger-management programs (106 studies, 671 effect sizes) found an average of 0.724. Group and individual formats were generally equivalent. CrimeSolutions; SWOV
  • Peer support workers. SAMHSA describes them as part of recovery support. SAMHSA (page loaded; content not read)

How to present it. Peer groups complement clinical care for serious conditions; they don't replace it. For alcohol recovery they are a strong, free first-line option. Family programs (Family-to-Family, Family Connections, CRAFT-based groups) are free and aimed directly at partners and spouses.

Gaps. No review was retrieved on group DBT, CRAFT, SMART Recovery, autistic peer support or ADHD support groups. The evidence base for the last two appears thin.

GlobalSecular / science-basedEN

SMART Recovery

Any addictive behaviour; CBT/motivational mutual help with trained facilitators; online and in-person.

Free meetings

Find a meeting →

USPeer-ledEN

Refuge Recovery

Any addiction; Buddhist-inspired program, separate from Recovery Dharma.

Free

GlobalFor partners & familyEN,FR,ES

Al-Anon Family Groups

Spouses, partners, family and friends of drinkers; Alateen for teens; in-person, online, phone. Canadian office in Ottawa: 613-723-8484, 1-888-4AL-ANON. For Québec, search the finder for French meetings.

Free

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UKFor partners & familyEN

Al-Anon UK

Al-Anon in the UK.

Free

GlobalFor partners & familyEN

Nar-Anon Family Groups

Families and partners of people who use drugs (12-step).

Free

GlobalFor partners & familyEN

SMART Recovery Family & Friends

People with a loved one who has an addiction; coping and communication skills; trained facilitators, many with lived family experience. Filter the finder by "Family & Friends".

Free meetings; worksheets free, handbook sold separately

Find a meeting →

USFor partners & familyEN

CMC: Foundation for Change

Parents and partners of people who use substances; free CRAFT / Invitation to Change family groups and resources.

Free

GlobalOnlineEN

DBSA Online Support Groups

Peer-led online groups incl. young adults, LGBTQ+, veterans, cultural communities and family/caregiver/friends groups. Free ShareWell account, then intake form; groups moving from HeyPeers to ShareWell.

Free (no paid ShareWell subscription needed)

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USPeer-ledEN

NAMI Connection Recovery Support Group

Any adult who has experienced symptoms of a mental health condition; structured 90-minute groups led by trained facilitators in recovery; through local NAMI affiliates, some virtual.

Free

US,CAPeer-ledEN

Recovery International

Anxiety, depression, anger, fears and more; peer-led self-help using the Abraham Low cognitive-behavioral method; in-person, phone, online.

Free (donations)

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Global12-stepEN,ES,FR,DE,JA,SV,IT

Emotions Anonymous

Anyone with emotional difficulties (anxiety, depression, anger, etc.); 12-step program founded 1971; in-person, phone/video and email groups.

Free (donations fund about 40% of the budget)

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AUPeer-ledEN

GROW (Australia)

Any mental health difficulty; peer-run mutual-help groups with a 12-step-like program.

Free

GlobalDirectoryEN

Intervoice

International hearing voices network; links to national networks.

Free

CADirectoryEN,FR

CADDAC

Canadian ADHD charity; education and resources.

Free/low-cost

UKPeer-ledEN

ADHD UK

UK charity; community and peer support.

Free

USOnlineEN

AANE – Group services

Autistic adults, partners and ex-partners, families; free monthly Community Connection intro sessions and Open drop-in groups; moderated Google Groups for parents and partners.

Free + paid groups with financial aid

Find a meeting →

QCPeer-ledFR,EN

Autisme Montréal

Regional association with programs including adults.

Low-cost

AUPeer-ledEN

Reframing Autism

Autistic adults and families; autistic-led community programs.

Free/low-cost

UKPeer-ledEN

OCD Action

UK charity running OCD support groups.

Free

USFor partners & familyEN

Family Connections (BPD Alliance)

Families and loved ones of someone with BPD traits or chronic emotion dysregulation; DBT-informed education, skills and peer support via Zoom (limited in-person). Each household member applies separately; waitlist. Formats: 12 weeks × 2 h, or async + 8 weeks × 2 h, or async + two 6-h days.

Free

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CAFor partners & familyEN,FR

Sashbear Foundation

Families in Canada; delivers Family Connections for emotion dysregulation.

Free

GlobalDirectoryEN

Behavioral Tech

People seeking DBT skills groups; lists DBT-trained clinicians and programs.

Information free; therapy fees vary

GlobalOnlineEN

DBT Self Help

Self-learners; free peer-written DBT skills information (not a substitute for a skills group).

Free

USDirectoryEN

Open Path Psychotherapy Collective

Non-profit network of reduced-fee therapists (US, some Canada).

One-time membership fee; reduced-fee sessions (current rates not re-checked)

QCFor partners & familyFR

Caps santé mentale (formerly FFAPAMM)

Québec federation of family-support groups for relatives of people with mental illness (name change inferred from redirect; verify).

USFor partners & familyEN

NAMI Family-to-Family

Family, significant others and friends; 8-session education program taught by trained family members; designated evidence-based.

Free

FRFor partners & familyFR

UNAFAM

French national union of families and friends of people with psychiatric conditions; groupes de parole.

FRDirectoryFR

Psycom (France)

Public French mental-health information, including orientation to peer mutual-aid groups (GEM).

Free

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