Support groups consist of people with similar circumstances or problems who come together to share their experiences and provide each other with emotional and moral support in addition to practical advice and information.

Usually, support groups focus on specific conditions that may include:

• Emotional disorders or mental illnesses, such as:
• Major depression
• Anxiety disorders
• Eating disorders
• Drug abuse, alcohol abuse and addiction
  
  
• The loss of a loved one (grief)
  
  
• Chronic illnesses (e.g., cancer, diabetes, HIV/AIDS)
  
  
• Traumatic events
  

Support groups may be formed by patients with a chronic disease or mental illness or those who are interested in a condition, including family members and peers. Support groups may also be formed by professional facilitators, nonprofit organizations, mental health facilities, religious entities, community centers or other groups of people with similar interests, beliefs or concerns.  

Support groups typically meet in a variety of locations including members’ homes, community centers, clinics or places of worship. Support groups can also meet via the Internet, with support and information shared online in various newsgroups, electronic mailing lists or chat rooms.

Support groups usually meet on an ongoing and regular basis. To ensure the privacy of their members, support groups generally require that the content of the sessions and the identity of individual members be kept confidential.

The format of a support group may vary widely. The members of a support group often decide how they want the meetings to be held. Flexibility and adapting to the needs and desires of individuals within the group are often features.

Although they share some similarities, it should be noted that support groups are not the same as group therapy. The latter is a form of psychotherapy led by a mental health professional who selects members of a group who may or may not have a condition in common. Support groups, on the other hand, can be led by a professional counselor (e.g., psychologist) or by members of the group itself and they usually share a common theme, such as recently divorced people.