Support groups

In a support group, members provide each other with various types of nonprofessional, nonmaterial help for a particular shared burdensome characteristic. The help may take the form of providing relevant information, relating personal experiences, listening to others' experiences, providing sympathetic understanding and establishing social networks. A support group may also provide ancillary support, such as serving as a public relations voice or engaging in advocacy.

Maintaining contact
Support groups maintain interpersonal contact among their members in a variety of ways. Most groups have traditionally met in person in group sizes that allowed conversational interaction. Support groups also maintain contact through printed newsletters, telephone chains, internet forums, and mailing lists. Some support groups are exclusively online.

Membership in some support groups is formally controlled, with admission requirements and membership fees. Other groups are "open" and allow anyone to drop in at an advertised meeting, for example, or to participate in an online forum.

Self-help or Professionally run
A self-help support group is fully organized and managed by its members, usually volunteers. Alcoholics Anonymous and other twelve-step programs, typically facilitated by members, are one major type of self-help groups, that are also sometimes referred to as fellowships, peer support groups, mutual help groups, or mutual aid self-help groups.

Professionally run support groups are facilitated by a professional, such as a social worker, a psychologist, or a clergyperson. The facilitator controls discussions and provides other managerial service. Such professionally run groups are more often found in institutional settings, including hospitals, drug-treatment centers and correctional facilities.

On-line support groups
Since at least 1982, the Internet has provided a new venue for support groups. Diverse remote networking formats have allowed the development of both synchronous groups, where individuals can exchange messages in real time, and asynchronous groups, where members who are not connected to a network at the same time can read and exchange messages. E-mail, Usenet and Internet bulletin boards have become popular methods of communication for self-help groups and among facilitated support groups.

Support groups have long offered companionship and information for people coping with diseases or disabilities, but on-line situationally oriented groups have expanded to offer support for people facing various life circumstances, especially those involving personal and cultural relationships. In 2006, Yahoo listed more than 30,000 support groups focusing on a wide range of health-related topics within its hosted domains, though research suggests only several thousand of those groups may currently be active. The wide range of support groups now active on the Internet can make offer individuals support for an equally wide range of life circumstances. However, a researcher from the University College London says the lack of qualitiative directories, and the fact that many support groups are not listed by search engines can make finding an appropriate group difficult. 

Other categories
In the case of a disease, an identity or a pre-disposition, for example, a support group will provide information, act as a clearing-house for experiences, and serve as a public relations voice for sufferers, other members, and their families. Compare Mensa International and gay pride, for example.

In the case of alleged ex-cult members or personal addictions, on the other hand, a support group may veer more towards helping those involved to overcome or move "beyond" their condition/experience.

History
Formal support groups may appear as a modern phenomenon, but they supplement traditional fraternal organizations such as Freemasonry in some respects, and may build on certain supportive functions (formerly) carried out in (extended) families.

Support groups in the media
The novel and movie Fight Club present a wry analysis of support groups and their function.