getting support

today i thought i'd share with you a handout from a workshop i gave a little while ago on social support:

this is part 1 - part 2 is tomorrow.




social support


there’s the quality of supportive relationships – what type of relationships are they and how satisfied are we with them?

then there’s the quantity – how many people “have our back”?



research has found that social support can
· increase immunity (resistance to disease)
· help our emotional health
· reduce stress and illnesses associated with stress
· recovery from illness



what’s your your current social support like?



quality of social support

how satisfied are you in your relationships with family and friends? in the majority of these relationships do you feel that you are:

• understood
• loved, or at least appreciated
• heard
• informed
• useful
• able to talk about your deepest problems (with at least some of your support people)
• that you have a definite role or place
• able to be yourself

quantity of relationships

how many close and/or dependable relationships do you have? consider relationships with:

• family
• friends
• neighbours
• coworkers
• others
• spend time with someone who doesn’t live with you?
• talk to friends or relatives on the phone?
• go to meetings, social clubs or other groups?

isabella mori
counselling in vancouver