Support groups can be really helpful for those looking to feel seen and heard by others. But with so many different support group options becoming available, I did a breakdown of what I think makes a good support group for someone. For context, I'm the founder of a public benefit corp Shimmer Care that focuses on online support groups. We've done a ton of research into this area so I thought I'd share some things that might be helpful for those looking into getting more support. I'll go through different factors 1 by 1 and explain some pros/cons we've learned over time.

**Cohort based vs drop-in**. Cohort-based groups means over time you get to know one another better and develop a relationship. This can make interactions feel more genuine. It can feel easier to open up to these people, and there's continuinty in how deep you get to know each member. However, members may become dependent on one another over time. Also, it can be a lot of pressure to show up regularly to something. Drop-ins are more chill, and you also get the opportunity to meet more people. If you have a specific problem you want to talk about just for one specific time, this can work well for that too.

**Online vs in-person**. Online groups offer the convenience of joining anywhere. They also offer a degree of anonymity (people don't know where you live) and separation from other parts of life (support group time is limited to when you're on the computer). In-person can feel more genuine for some people (everyone has spent the energy to come to the same place and space) and you can make friends in your area. It can be a lot of pressure and inertia to come, however.

**Free vs paid**. There's an interesting dichotomy that exists between free and paid support groups. Free groups, are free &amp; often funded by grants of some sort. This means their ability to run groups is tied to whether they can convince people to give them money for their work, separating them from the members they serve. This can mean high variance in the quality of groups, as some nonprofits try to serve as many groups as possible to convince stakeholders of their presence. Paid groups cost money and this can be burdensome for users w mental health issues that are already struggling to make ends meet. They make money by providing the best value they can to members, often in terms of satisfaction when it comes to mental health companies (though arguments can also be made that there is incentive to make users "addicted" to their products). As a member, you are likely to be involved in the feedback and improvement process of the groups as the company tries to improve the experience—the facilitators are also more likely to be paid and have standardized training protocols.

**Therapist vs peer run**. Some groups may have therapists facilitating, in which case the groups are often more skills-based and top-down (teacher-student) vibes. Groups run by peers are often more free-flowing and focused on connection, support, and empathy.

For us, we've designed our Shimmer Groups to be online, paid, cohort-based while acknowledging our shortcomings (definitely no perfect way to run support groups).

What types of group do you guys prefer? Any thoughts or additional things I may have missed?