Support for you · Finding other people
Talk to people who understand
Find groups and other people who are also supporting someone through a mental health crisis or ongoing difficulties.
Feeling you're doing this alone can be one of the hardest parts of supporting someone. Connecting with others going through something similar can give you somewhere to talk honestly, share experiences and feel less alone.
Choose a topic below to find UK groups, forums and helplines that welcome friends, family and partners. You do not have to call yourself a carer. These are run by other organisations; Here for Someone does not host its own forum.
Find mental-health support near you with Hub of Hope. Search local and national services for yourself or the person you support. Check each service’s eligibility, opening times and any cost.
Supporting a child or teenager? See our under-18 starting points too.
Find the right space
What are you looking for support around?
Or open any section below. Only one is shown at a time, so the page stays manageable.
General support
Support for friends, family and partners across mental health conditions, including depression and anxiety. These are general support spaces; you do not need to know the diagnosis.
Mental Health Forum: Caring & Mental Health ↗
A discussion board for people supporting someone with mental-health difficulties. Read existing discussions or register to post under a username. This board can be read without an account, so leave out names, places and details that could identify either of you.
Rethink: find a carers group ↗
Search by town or postcode and choose the “Carers” filter. The network covers England, with some groups meeting online. Open a group listing for its contact details, who can attend and how to join; check any cost and whether an online group accepts people outside its area.
Mind: Side by Side ↗
Mind's moderated online community. Open to anyone affected by mental health problems, including people supporting someone else.
SANEline and SANE Community ↗
SANEline offers emotional support to people aged 16 or over affected by mental illness, including family, friends and carers. Its wider SANE Community also welcomes supporters. The community is moderated but is not a dedicated family forum.
Psychosis, paranoia, hearing or seeing things
For when someone believes things that aren't true, seems suspicious or frightened, or hears or sees things others don't.
POPS UK ↗
A private UK Facebook group for parents, family and friends of people with psychosis or schizophrenia.
Hearing Voices Network: online forum ↗
A secure forum from the Hearing Voices Network, with separate spaces for supporters. For anyone close to someone who hears voices, sees visions or experiences paranoia. Posts are visible only to registered members.
Mania & bipolar
For people supporting someone through bipolar highs, lows or the period between episodes.
Bipolar UK eCommunity ↗
An anonymous, moderated forum from Bipolar UK, open to anyone affected, including family and friends, not just people with the diagnosis.
Self-harm & suicidal thoughts
For when you've found out someone's hurting themselves, or talking about not wanting to be here.
Battle Scars: family & friends group ↗
A UK self-harm charity running a weekly virtual support group (on Zoom) just for the family and friends of people who self-harm, plus a moderated private Facebook group. Their definition of self-harm includes eating disorders.
Sift: self-harm resources for friends and family ↗
Free information and downloads about supporting someone who self-harms. These are resources to read in your own time; this link does not take you to a support group.
Bereavement, including after suicide
For support after someone has died, including peer support from people affected by a suicide loss.
Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide: find a group ↗
Peer support for adults bereaved by suicide. Search by town or postcode for local groups, or look at the virtual groups. Contact the group at least three days before you want to attend; volunteers will explain the arrangements and share the meeting details.
Cruse Bereavement Support ↗
Bereavement information and support after any kind of death. The helpline is UK-wide; local services cover England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Cruse Scotland ↗
Bereavement support for adults, children and families across Scotland, including a free helpline and online chat.
Eating disorders
For people supporting someone with anorexia, bulimia, binge eating or related difficulties.
Beat: family and friends support hub ↗
Free courses, live workshops and peer forums for people supporting someone with an eating disorder. Create an account to use the hub. Work through modules in your own time or check the dates and booking details for a workshop.
BPD, EUPD or intense emotional difficulties
Structured learning and support for people close to someone with BPD traits or long-term difficulty regulating emotions.
BPD Alliance: Family Connections ↗
A free, structured programme from a US-based organisation for family members, partners and others close to someone with BPD traits or chronic emotion dysregulation. The supporter must be 18 or over; the person they support must be at least 13. A formal diagnosis is not required. There is an application process and waiting list. Classes are mainly online; UK applicants should confirm eligibility and session times with the provider rather than assume a UK place is available.
Some UK services deliver Family Connections separately, with local eligibility rules. For example, Humber Family Connections accepts self-referrals from supporters over 18 when they or the person they support live in Hull or the East Riding of Yorkshire.
Borderline Support UK: family and carer course ↗
An online course and resource directory for people supporting someone with BPD. This is an information course rather than an ongoing peer-support group.
Alcohol, drugs and mental health
For family and friends affected by someone's alcohol or drug use, including when mental-health difficulties are happening too.
Adfam: find family support ↗
Find services for people affected by someone else’s alcohol or drug use. Adfam provides direct support in selected areas; check the location and eligibility before applying. If your area is not covered, its other support services page lists further organisations.
Autism alongside mental-health difficulties
Autism is not a mental illness. These branches may help families when autism and mental-health difficulties overlap.
National Autistic Society branches ↗
Local volunteer branches offer different combinations of information, activities and support for autistic people and families. Check the individual branch: not every group is mental-health-specific or open to supporters.
OCD & intrusive thoughts
For rituals, checking or distressing thoughts that are also affecting friends or family.
OCD-UK: online support groups ↗
Free Zoom groups for UK residents aged 18 or over. The family and friends forum is for people supporting an adult with OCD; other open groups welcome supporters too. You need a Zoom account and must book each meeting in advance. Places can fill up.
OCD Action: groups for supporters ↗
Free Zoom groups for UK residents, including separate groups for parents caring for an adult and for partners and loved ones. A formal OCD diagnosis is not required. Register with the group team first; registration can take up to 21 days. You can take part without switching on your camera.
Pregnancy and after birth
For parents and partners during pregnancy and recovery after birth. Check each listing for who it supports.
PANDAS: online groups for parents ↗
Zoom groups for parents affected by perinatal mental-health difficulties. There is a general parent group and a separate group for dads and non-birthing parents, including those supporting a partner. Use the booking links for current dates and registration. These groups are for people seeking support, not for research or observation.
APP: support for partners after postpartum psychosis ↗
Action on Postpartum Psychosis offers one-to-one peer support, a partners’ Zoom group and an online forum. Use this page to request peer support or find the next group. You can ask at any point in recovery. This is specifically about postpartum psychosis.
Supporting a child or teenager
If the person you're worried about is under 18, these are aimed at parents and carers of young people.
YoungMinds: Parents & carers ↗
Information and a free helpline for parents and main carers worried about a child or young person's mental health. Check current availability before calling: YoungMinds has announced an email-only service for 6 to 9 October 2026. Other relatives and friends can use its online guidance.
Voice Collective: parent groups ↗
Online peer-support groups for parents of children and young people who hear voices, see visions or have unusual sensory experiences. Run within the Hearing Voices movement.
Find a group near you
If you'd rather sit in a room with people than post online, these help you find something local.
Hub of Hope: find mental-health support near you ↗
Search for local and national mental-health services, including some groups that welcome friends and family. Use the location and support filters, then check eligibility, opening times and any cost with the service. The directory is broader than peer groups.
Carers UK: local support ↗
Helps you find your local carers' centre; many run groups and one-to-one support for anyone looking after someone, whether or not you'd use the word "carer".
Carers Trust: find a local service ↗
Search by town, city or postcode for services in the Carers Trust network. Local offers vary and can include one-to-one support, counselling, groups, benefits help and replacement care.
Carers First: local support ↗
Groups and one-to-one support in selected English areas, with online information available more widely. Check the location list before relying on a local service.
Find a local Mind ↗
Local Minds in England, Wales and the Channel Islands run different services; some offer facilitated groups for carers and family members. Search the local branch and check who each group is for.
Original listings checked: 27 August 2026. Resource destinations and the depression, anxiety, OCD and perinatal options checked: 1 October 2026. Bereavement listings checked: 8 October 2026. YoungMinds eligibility and temporary availability checked: 8 October 2026. Communities can close or change their rules. If you find outdated information, use the contact form on the About page. Listings focus on recognised charities and groups with clear moderation or safety information. A moderation label means the provider says the space is moderated; it does not mean posts are checked by health professionals.
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