You have a place here.

This group is for you if you’re an adult, male-identifying survivor of sexual trauma and you’re looking for an anonymous way to access peer support with other male survivors. A therapist might have recommended that you join a group, or maybe you are seeking support on your own. These groups are not intended to replace therapy, but they can be a helpful way to support your healing and recovery.

Choose a day/time that is most convenient for you, and then click on ‘Join group’ when it’s time to join. If it’s your first time joining a group, you’ll be asked to enter a username – choose something that does not reveal your identity (i.e. don’t use your full name). The username you choose the first time will be the same one you’ll use for any future group sessions.

As many as 10 participants will join the group, and each will type into the chat as they are comfortable. Only usernames of participants and what they type will appear – no one is on camera or audio. A facilitator who is a trained counselor/therapist will provide general guidance during the group by posting questions, prompts, or reflections for participants to respond to. A trained moderator will review and approve submitted chats from a participant, which then makes the chat visible to everyone in the group.

The group generally begins with the facilitator asking participants how they are feeling as the group is getting started and if there’s anything related to their recovery that they are currently dealing with and would like to share. What participants post in response to that will often guide the conversation going forward. You are welcome to share your story, or simply respond to questions and reflect on others’ posts. You should share what you are comfortable sharing, being mindful to avoid posting any identifying information about yourself and limiting graphic details about your abuse/assault experience(s) so as not to trigger others. Please actively participate in the group, as this space is meant to be a supportive community.

Yes! You can come to as many groups, on as many different days, as you like. There are no restrictions in terms of which day you attend or how many total groups you can attend. Each group session is capped at 10 total participants, so if you are not able to access a specific group, that is likely why. If that happens, plan to come to the next group that’s offered. You can keep joining the groups as long as you want, and you can also stop attending at any time if you no longer want to.

The groups work best when everyone who intends to join shows up on time, stays the whole time, and actively participates. Please try to be on time for each group you want to join. If you’re running late, it’s okay, but note that after 20 minutes have passed since the scheduled start time, access to the group for latecomers will be denied for the remainder of that session.

While each group session follows the same rules and general format/structure, no two group sessions are alike. There are two facilitators who facilitate different sessions, and each session has its own unique combination of participants who post their own thoughts and responses. You will get something different out of each individual session you join, but all have the same purpose: male survivors supporting each other.

Groups are not held on the following holidays:

• Thanksgiving Day
• Christmas Eve (December 24)
• Christmas Day (December 25)

Groups may be canceled on other holidays at the discretion of the facilitators. Any upcoming holiday closures will be noted on the Online Support Group webpage and will be announced in advance by facilitators during group sessions.