How to End Your Support Group

(This page is referenced from Start a Virtual Support Group to Help With Stresses of COVID-19.)

Support groups can last from several months to several years.
Still, it’s wise to have members re-commit to each other shortly after every six meetings, including for each to sign a new coaching agreement.

The group experience can be an intense and intimate experience
for members. So when the last meeting arrives, it’s critical that members have a sense of closure about the experience and a period of time to focus on deciding how to go forward. Going forward might include members’ again committing to helping each other.

Completing a support group experience is a tribute to the members. There should be some type of celebration among them. Members should select their own form of celebration. Each group could decide to do one or a combination of the following activities.

Dedicate time in the final meeting to decide if they want to continue meeting as a group. If they want to continue meeting, they should:

1. Decide a specific number of meetings that they will have in the next round (rather than leaving it open-ended).
2. Have each person again sign a coaching agreement to share with each other.

Also, in that final meeting, have each member take time to share about:

1. What the program meant to them overall.
2. What they learned and how they can apply that learning in life and work.
3. Their appreciation for how the other group members have helped that member.

(Photo courtesy of RUN 4 FFWPU on Pexels.com)