MAKING IT WORK : How to Get the Most Out of Support Group

It’s more difficult to deal with your problems when you feel you’re the only one experiencing them, notes Marialice Faubel, a Huntington Beach psychotherapist.

Myriad support groups have been formed around the county to help people overcome this sense of isolation and put their problems in perspective, says Faubel, one of 10 therapists in a women’s group that meets weekly.

She offers the following suggestions on how to get the most out of a support group:

* Don’t join one when you’re in the middle of a crisis. You may need some individual counseling before you can benefit from group therapy.

* Find a group in which you feel safe enough to be open. In a truly supportive group, people won’t criticize you or make you feel that your problems are insignificant.

* Don’t let your group leader, or anyone else, try to run your life. A support group should expose you to different ways of working out problems--not dictate how you should solve yours.

* Make sure everyone in your group respects confidentiality.

* Choose a group whose members attend regularly so you can develop intimacy and trust and get consistent support.