Support Groups

Our newest support group!

Young Adults: A new support group for anyone aged 18-30 who is struggling with their mental health or who cares about someone who is. This will be a dedicated space for young people to help them navigate the unique challenges that today’s youth face.

AMI-Québec’s support groups provide a warm welcome to everyone. We are here for you!

We have support groups for:

Family and friends only: Family & Friends, BPD for Families, South Shore
Those suffering from mental illness only: Kaleidoscope
Mixed groups for both: Anxiety/OCD, Bipolar, Depression, Hoarding, Young Adults

Looking for a safe and confidential place to vent, learn, and hear from people who understand what you’re going through? Support groups aim to help participants feel less alone and better understood so that they can improve how they cope with the effects of mental health challenges and mental illness on their daily lives. Facilitated by people who have experience, either as a family caregiver or having lived with mental illness, support groups offer an opportunity to develop a healthy perspective on mental illness, explore coping strategies, and learn about support services and resources in the community.

Like all our programs, our support groups are free!

Groups begin promptly at 6:30pm EST. We do not allow people into the groups after 6:45pm. Meetings end at 8pm.

If you have any questions, give us a call at 514-486-1448 during business hours (Monday-Thursday 9am-5pm and Friday 9am-4pm).

Please note that support groups are not set up to address crises. If you are experiencing a great or imminent concern for your well-being, consider contacting your therapist, treatment team, 811, or in case of immediate danger 911. You can find a list of crisis intervention organizations here and listening services here. A support group may not be the proper forum at such a time.

Support groups take place online by video conference

Join us on Google Meet by clicking on the appropriate group below.

Need help with Google Meet? Click HERE

Support Groups on Monday, December 2 at 6:30pm EST

Click on a button below to attend a group

Anxiety/OCD Bipolar Family & Friends

Support Groups on Monday, December 9 at 6:30pm EST

Click on a button below to attend a group

Borderline Personality Disorder for Families Depression Young Adults

Our Young Adults support group is for anyone aged 18-30 who is struggling with their mental health or who cares about someone who is.

Support Group on Monday, December 9, 6:30-8pm

South Shore Family & Friends

Our South Shore group is held in person only at 91 Churchill Blvd, Greenfield Park.

Open to family and friends–you do not need to live on the South Shore. 

Support Groups on Monday, December 16 at 6:30pm EST

Click on a button below to attend a group

Family & Friends Hoarding Kaleidoscope

Kaleidoscope is for anyone living with any mental illness. 

Frequently Asked Questions

For family, friends, and people living with mental illness:

  • Anxiety / OCD
  • Bipolar Disorder
  • Depression
  • Hoarding
  • Young Adults

For family and friends only:

  • Family & Friends
  • Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) for Families
  • South Shore: Family & Friends (this group is held on the South Shore; you do not need to live on the South Shore)

For people living with mental illness only:

  • Kaleidoscope

All mental illnesses are welcome at Family and Friends, Young Adults, and at Kaleidoscope (including schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, anxiety, bipolar disorder, depression, hoarding, OCD, etc) and an official diagnosis is not necessary.

Groups begin promptly at 6:30pm EST. We do not allow people into the groups after 6:45pm. Meetings end at 8pm.

No! Just click on the button for your group (see the list above) shortly before 6:30pm.

Support groups do not have a set agenda or topic. The conversation comes from the people in the group. There will be an introduction with instructions and news. Online groups are similar to an in-person support group; you will be able to talk and listen and there will be a facilitator leading the conversation.

Groups are facilitated by volunteers (trained by AMI, not doctors) who have experience with mental illness in themselves or in a loved one. Because you do not have to register in advance, we never know how many people will be attending; it can be anywhere from a few people to 15 or more. Support groups are confidential. You do not have to give your real name, and you contribute to the conversation as much or as little as you’d like.

If possible, please be in a quiet place to minimize background noise.

Support groups are predominantly conducted in English but discussion can be bilingual. Si vous cherchez de l’aide en français, contactez CAP santé mentale (autrefois connu sous le nom Avant de Craquer) 1-855-272-7837 ou Arborescence (autrefois connu sous le nom AQPAMM) 514-524-7131.

All groups are for adults only (18+). If you are looking for youth resources for yourself or a loved one, click HERE.

Nope! Our online groups are accessible anywhere in the world.

If you are a professional (social worker, counsellor, doctor etc.) who would like to observe one of our support groups, please contact Marc by emailing program@amiquebec.org for approval. Thank you.

We encourage everyone to actively participate in groups. Please join us–you will see that we are welcoming and inclusive. We will ask you to introduce yourself (we need to be sure someone is there and not in need of technical help) but you can use a fake name. That said, you need only talk about what you are comfortable with sharing with the group. Everyone is given the opportunity to speak, as well as the right to be silent. We encourage you to have your camera on, but you may turn off your camera if you wish. 

We do not record our support groups.

We have found a number of benefits to holding our support groups online, like people being able to attend who do not live near our physical location. While some of our programs (like our workshops) are being held both online and in-person, for now all our support groups (except for South Shore) are being held online. Our ultimate goal is a balance between in-person and online events so that we can best accommodate as many people as possible. Click HERE to sign up for monthly email updates for information.

Feedback helps us improve our support groups–it helps us know what we are doing well and what could use a little work!

Please click here to complete our survey, or send feedback to program@amiquebec.org.

Thanks!

PHONE USERS PLEASE NOTE: as a general rule, you can no longer call into our support groups. If you would like to request an exception, please call us: 514-486-1448.

We encourage you to join us by video because we share information and links in the chat that you cannot see by phone. We have also found that participants prefer to see each other face to face.

At the beginning of the pandemic, we held our support groups by phone for a few months. We switched to Google Meet for several reasons: Our feedback indicated that people wanted to see each other and had trouble figuring out who was speaking on the phone, especially in larger groups. Facilitators could no longer “see body language” of participants, making their roles more difficult. Also people with hearing issues had difficulty–there are captions in Google Meet. Google Meet is also free, compared to the telephone technology we used before.

If you or a loved one is in a crisis situation, click here for resources that can help.

If you or if someone you love is thinking or talking about suicide, and you are worried for your/their safety, call 911 or go to your local hospital, and click here for resources that can help.

If you have any questions or concerns, please call AMI at 514-486-1448 or email program@amiquebec.org.

December 2024 – March 2025

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