Depression and Bipolar Disorder Support Group

The Dementors of depression bring sadness and despair, empty you of joy and happiness, and make you relive your worst memories. While chocolate helps; you need a stronger spell to truly ward off these demons. There are no magic wands and spells in the real world; therapy gives you the tools and lasting skills to face and overcome depression. Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) equips you with the know-how to change your behaviour and negativistic thinking patterns.

Sometimes, it can get lonely by yourself. At those times it helps to know there are others like you who struggle with their thoughts and anxieties. Learning and sharing experiences together in an environment of empathy and support can be a rich and rewarding experience. The Pathfinder Clinic Support Group will help you to learn about depression and other conditions, like anxiety and hypomania; make changes in your routine; respond to self-defeating thoughts; and build skills to maintain important relationships.

Sign up for our sessions if you have been told by a psychiatrist or counsellor that you may have depression, bipolar mood disorder, or anxiety. Sessions will be held fortnightly, beginning 3rd of March (Saturday). Please call 020-66069676 to register.

[Group therapy is not a substitute for individual therapy or medication.]

Dates

Days Saturday 03, 17, 31 Mar 2018 (4:30PM to 5:30PM)

Venue

Pathfinder Clinic

S-5 (2nd flr) Destination Centre

Magarpatta City

Pune - 411028

Fee

Rs 200 per person per session

(includes after-session activity)

Contact

Ms Piyali Misquitta 020-66069676

What happens at a support group meeting?

At support group meetings, people share experiences, personal feelings, information, and strategies for living successfully with mood disorders. The key elements of Pathfinder Clinic's support group

Focus on Self-Help

The self-help process is based on certain assumptions:

• • Each person has the ability to make appropriate use of available resources to meet her or his own needs. Some people may utilize this ability more fully than others, but it is present in everyone.

  • All of us together know more than any one of us. Everyone has value and has something to add to a group process.

  • Each person is the ultimate authority on what s/he needs and on what will work for her or him.

Psychologist-Led

Discussion at support group meetings is facilitated by a psychologist, and this is important to the group’s smooth functioning. The facilitator guides discussion, provides focus to the group, and helps ensure that the group’s guidelines are followed.

Safe and Accepting

Participants make the support group a safe place by fostering a supportive, trustworthy, respectful, non-judgmental, and nurturing atmosphere. All those attending share experiences that can help others live successfully with depression or bipolar disorder. People use information they’ve gained from others at the meeting and the mental health professionals they work with to make their own judgments about correct strategies for themselves.

Confidential

Open and honest communication is important to a positive group experience. Support groups operate on the following premise: "What we say here stays here.” No one may publicly reveal information about the people attending the group or what is said during a meeting. Exceptions to this policy are made only when the safety of an individual is in danger. Participants are not required to be under therapy at Pathfinder Clinic. Pathfinder Clinic will never make public or sell/rent group membership or participant lists.

Meet Regularly

Meetings will be on every alternate Saturday, starting 03-Mar-18.

What Support Groups Are NOT

• 1. NOT Therapy or Treatment Group discussion is not a substitute for professional therapy or treatment.

  2. NOT a Place to Diagnose or a Substitute for Professional Care Most people attending a support group meeting use the group as a supplement to their professional care, whether that care includes medication, therapy, or other treatment methods. Group participants do not seek to diagnose, and support groups do not endorse or recommend the use of any specific treatment or medication.

  3. NOT a 12-Step Group The 12-step formula, although valuable, is not the basis for DBSA support groups. DBSA believes that each person’s path to wellness is uniquely his or her own. There is no one way.

  4. NOT a Venting Venue While acknowledging the difficulty of life with a mood disorder, support group meetings are focused on mutual aid and strategies for living the fullest lives possible. Participants continuously seek to provide hope, reassurance, and encouragement.

  5. NOT an Expert Giving a Lecture Groups may periodically invite a professional or other expert to speak, but a support group’s main focus should be on peers helping one another. No one participant is regarded as knowing more than another or as the person with all the answers.

Who can participate in a support group?

The primary participants in Pathfinder Clinic support group meetings are persons diagnosed with a mood disorder.

The Value of Pathfinder Clinic Support Groups

Pathfinder Clinic support groups provide the kind of sharing and caring that is crucial for a lifetime of wellness.

• • give you the opportunity to reach out to others and benefit from the experience of those who have been there.

  • motivate you to follow your treatment plan.

  • help you understand that a mood disorder does not define who you are.

  • help you rediscover strengths and humor you may have thought you had lost.

  • provide a forum for mutual acceptance, understanding, and self-discovery.

Remember, support groups are not a substitute for professional care. For advice about specific treatment or medication, individuals should consult their mental health professionals.