Mental Health America of Franklin County (MHAFC) sponsors three kinds of support groups in Franklin County. When you are having a problem, it always helps to talk with others who understand what you are going through. Support groups provide valuable assistance to people with mental illnesses and their family members, whether they need occasional or ongoing help.

Over 70% of the people attending our support groups had a reduction in their anxiety levels and an increase in their coping skills.

View the Support Groups Brochure.

MHAFC sponsors three types of support groups:

• Families In Touch
• Depression Support Group
• Schizophrenics Anonymous

For information on other support groups in the community, search our online Directory of Mental Health and Recovery Services.

Families In Touch

Families In Touch has been helping families and friends of adults with mental illness since 1978. In a confidential group setting, participants are encouraged to share their experiences and learn about local mental health and recovery resources.

The groups are facilitated by mental health professionals who are experienced in dealing with the specific concerns of family members. Meetings are held at various locations throughout Franklin County.

In addition to coordinating meeting places, MHAFC serves as a resource to families and friends and provides current information about different mental illnesses and treatments that are available in the community. Participants receive a newsletter containing the latest information on mental health legislation, medications, treatment issues and other topics of interest to family members and friends.

Supporting Each Other
Families In Touch participants include friends, parents, spouses, adult children or adult siblings of older teens and adults who have been diagnosed with a mental illness. These illnesses include major depression, bipolar disorder (manic-depression), schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, etc. Sharing a common problem allows friends and families to support each other and offer encouragement to one another during difficult periods.

Helping Ourselves
There are many benefits to becoming involved with Families In Touch. Participants can:

• Speak openly about mental illness with others who have been affected.
• Listen to what steps have worked for others.
• Learn more about mental health services in the community.
• Improve communication skills and become more effective with mental health professionals.
• Become effective advocates for improved mental health care.

Sharing Helps
Whether you have lived for many years with the problems associated with a friend or loved one's mental illness, or are just beginning to learn how to cope, Families In Touch is here to help.

Families in Touch Meeting Times and Locations:

• Westerville (NE) Meetings held at Concord Counseling Service, 774 Park Meadow Rd.; 2nd and 4th Thursdays; 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. For information, call Jennifer Sheets, 614-882-9338, ext. 235.
• Westerville meeting dates: July 23; August 12,26; September 9, 23; October 14, 28; November 11,25
  

• Worthington Meetings, Worthington Meetings, co-sponsored by Dublin Counseling, held at Worthington United Methodist Church, 600 N. High St., Room 300; 2nd and 4th Mondays; 5:30-7:00 pm; for further information, call Elicia Tracy, 614-551-5251.

• West Side Meetings, co-sponsored by Twin Valley Behavioral Healthcare Community Support Network, held at the Hilltop Library, 511 Hague Ave.; The group meets on the 1st Monday of each month, 1:30-3pm. For further information call Ed Desmond, 614-752-0333, Ext. 5700 and/or Joyce Montgomery, 752-0333 x 5703. Next meeting dates: August 2; October 4; November 1; December 6
  

• North Side, co-sponsored by North Central Mental Health Services, for family members and friends of teens/young adults with mental illness, held at North Central Mental Health Services, 1301 North High Street. The group will meet on the second and fourth Tuesday, 6-7:30 pm. For further information call Don Schmidt, 614-299-6600, ext. 2129.
• North Side meeting dates: July 27; August 9,23; September 14,28; October 12,26; November 9,23
  

TWO Depression Support Groups

1. Overbrook Presbyterian Church, 4131 N. High Street; the 1st and 3rd Mondays of each month, from 7 pm to 8:30 pm.

• Group meeting dates: July 19; Aug. 2,16; Sept. 20; October 4, 18. Call Karen Berry at MHAFC at 614-221-1441 for more information.

• Group meeting dates: July 22; August 12,26; September 9, 23; October 14,28. Call Mary Brennen-Hoffman at 614-299-6600 x 2073 for more information.
  

Schizophrenics Anonymous

This confidential, self-help support group is peer-led. A mental health professional attends the meetings and serves as advisor. The groups provide positive, mutual support and fellowship to persons with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or a related disorder. The purpose of the group is to provide ongoing support and help to those affected by this disorder.

Schizophrenics Anonymous (SA), a program begun in the fall of 1991, is co-sponsored by Mental Health America of Franklin County, North Community Counseling Centers Worthington Site, Columbus Area, Inc. at Pathways, Southeast, Inc., and Concord Counseling.

Each group averages approximately 6 to 10 members at each weekly meeting. Only persons with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizo-affective disorder are invited to participate in these groups.

SA Meeting Times and Locations:

• North
  Meets every Monday, 5:30-7:00 pm, at the Worthington Methodist Church, 600 N. High St., Room 317. For information call Karen Berry at 221-1441.
  

• East
  Meets every Wednesday, 2:30-3:30 pm, at Pathway Clubhouse, 1203 E. Broad St. For information call Mike Stalego, 614-251-7820.

• Central
  Meets every Monday, 2:30-3:30 pm, at Southeast, Inc., 16 W. Long St., Second Floor. For information call Gloria Tatum, 614-225-0990, ext. 1116. (Meetings begin at this location on June 14, 2010)
  

• Northeast
  Meets every Wednesday, 5:00-6:00 pm, at Concord Counseling, 774 Park Meadow Road. For further information, call Sarah Filanowski, 614-882-9338, ext. 233.

Call Mental Health America of Franklin County at 614-221-1441 for more information on these groups.

PLEASE NOTE: Meeting schedules are subject to change. Please call individual groups to confirm.