Volunteer Support Group Facilitator

We value our volunteers, and we want them to know it. Facilitation requires emotional energy and excellent skills in navigating sensitive subjects among diverse people; we want to empower you to bring both of those to the table. For our facilitators, we offer:

• Comprehensive training on how to successfully facilitate a peer support group, including reference materials and guides for key skills
• External scheduling, participant registration, and marketing for the group
• External participant retention efforts to enhance engagement and provide facilitators with feedback
• On-demand support from the Support Groups Manager regarding any challenges with your group and/or feedback on scenarios, skills, or help in finding resources
• Quarterly social and educational opportunities to build facilitators’ skills and provide space for peer networking and support
• Regular volunteer appreciation events

Most often, our facilitators tell us that they volunteer because they saw a need, experienced it themselves, and wanted to help others or give back. We hope to make the experience fulfilling, accessible, and sustainable for anyone interested.

At MHAOhio, our groups are peer-led, meaning that our facilitators understand firsthand what participants are going through. We will train all facilitators on how to create and maintain a safe, supportive space for participants; how to structure and build discussion; and what to do if there’s a participant in crisis, or a disruptive participant. In addition, here is what we’ve noticed makes for a great facilitator:

Required

• Currently lives or works in the Central Ohio area (Franklin County or Fairfield County)
• Lived experience with mental illness, and/or professional training around mental health
  • Do you have a family member or loved one with mental illness or substance use disorder? If yes, you may be eligible to facilitate a Families In Touch group, regardless of your personal history with mental illness.
  • All adults with lived experience are invited to apply to become a facilitator, regardless of occupational status. However, students without lived experience who wish to facilitate for the purpose of fulfilling an educational requirement are not eligible due to ethical concerns and supervision requirements.
• Able to dedicate 1-3 hours weekly to their group, depending on the frequency of the group
• Able to commit to a minimum of one year as a facilitator
• Willing to work with a co-facilitator
• Comfortable with technology including Zoom, navigating websites, and light troubleshooting
• Ability to provide two to three references

Desired

• Comfortable speaking openly about mental health and their experiences with mental illness
• Accepting and supportive of a variety of opinions, experiences, and identities
• Able to tolerate a wide spectrum of emotions and recovery phases
• Flexible and open to change
• Willing to redirect others for the purposes of keeping a safe space and/or including everyone
• Able to model and encourage validation and encouragement

We are currently looking for facilitators related to the following topics:

Franklin County

• Online: OCD (Purple): 1 Opening
• Online: Anxiety Support Group: 1 Opening
• In Person: Anxiety Support Group: 1 Opening

Fairfield County

• In Person: Depression: 1 Opening

Interested in starting a new group? We know that mental illness affects everyone, and there is no limit to how many people can benefit from a support group. If you have an idea for a group, please fill out the application below and we will be in touch to discuss the viability of the group. The decision of whether or not to bring on a new group is largely dependent on level of need, alignment with MHAOhio’s mission and strategic focus, internal capacity to support an additional group, and the proposed goals of the group.