People  don’t like to feel that they are alone with their problems. This is why our culture is so attracted to reality TV and prime time shows like “Intervention.”  We all know others have the same problems we do, we just don’ t know exactly who they are.

Of course, we need to respect confidentiality and maintain our client’s privacy with the utmost of care and respect, but still, people want to feel a part of something bigger than just their problems and the isolation of suffering alone.

How can we build communities into the work that we do? What avenues can we explore that give our clients a safe place to express their private thoughts and needs, but also allows them to see others in similar situations?  What does that look like? How do we allow people to choose how much personal information they want to share with others?

MentalHealth.net has an online community that gives people with mental illness to connect and share experiences.  It looks like a busy place!

Sharing the support of a commuity can be healing.  We know this.  How can we integrate community into our practices?