At Delray Community Wellness Center the goal for our support groups is to provide a welcoming, nurturing environment that connects or brings people together facing similar challenges or life changes. Members share experiences, provide advice – empowering one another in recognizing that others have experienced similar situations, and that “they too” are not alone.
Delray Community Wellness Center Counseling and Support Groups
"Be strong, be fearless, be beautiful. And believe that anything is possible when you have the right people there to support you." – Misty Copeland
Overeaters Anonymous
In the United States, 20 million women and 10 million men suffer from a clinically significant eating disorder at some time in their life – four out of ten individuals have either personally experienced an eating disorder or know someone who has.
Overeaters Anonymous (OA) is a twelve step program for people with problems related to food including, but not limited to compulsive overeaters, those with binge eating disorder, bulimia, and anorexia. Anyone with a problematic relationship with food is welcomed.
Meetings are offered at DCWC for compulsive eaters. The group comes together to share their personal experience, the strength, and hope that OA has given them. This face to face meeting is a great resource for overeaters, where many of the members have found strong recovery through this group.
SIS-Seniors in Sobriety AA Meeting
In a study of suicides in persons over 65 years of age, alcohol abuse was identified in 35% of men and in 18% of women.
This is 18 times greater than seen in a random population control group.
Alcohol problems among older people are often mistaken for other conditions associated with the aging process. Alcohol abuse and alcoholism may go undiagnosed and untreated, or be inappropriately treated. All around us are many seniors that alcohol has robbed of hope, dignity, and the ability to cope.
Chronic alcohol dependence increases the risk for depression, anxiety disorders, heart disease, liver disease, and cancer. Alcohol reacts negatively with more than 150 medications, and in seniors is a progressive and deadly disease.
Delray Community Wellness Center wants to carry the message of recovery to seniors everywhere.
Diabetes Support Group
"Believe you can and you’re halfway there."
– Theodore Roosevelt
Living well with diabetes takes emotional strength. Why? Because this is a tough disease. Diabetes is more than just a simple matter of eating right and taking your medications.
Staying strong emotionally is the key to keeping stress under control, and your blood glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels where they belong. Unfortunately, people with diabetes as well as doctors, often neglect these “real life” aspects of the disease.
How can you manage diabetes while also giving proper attention to your own thoughts and feelings? What follows are the most important things you need to know about the emotional aspects of diabetes, including:
- the personal side
- the social side
- the behavioral side
The goal of the Diabetes Support Group is to provide participants with a wealth of information, knowledge and support which address the unique needs of individuals having diabetes.
Chronic Pain Support Group
"Nearly 50 million American adults have significant chronic pain or severe pain, according to a study prepared by the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)."
The American Chronic Pain Association (ACPA) Support Group welcomes anyone who is living with an ongoing pain problem. The goal is to provide support, validation, and education in basic pain management and life skills. ACPA groups do not focus on symptoms or provide treatment of any kind. Rather, they serve as a vehicle for people to share what they have learned and to encourage others to create more satisfying lives. Delray Community Wellness Center is the only ACPA Chapter in South East Florida.
Senior Support Group
Support groups empower seniors by offering socialization, providing information, enhancing emotional health, and giving new prospective!
During difficult times, the Senior Support Group can offer companionship, understanding, and learning opportunities. Joining a support group, can make a tremendous difference in how well older adults cope. Participants may share disease management strategies or practice relaxation techniques. Most seniors in support groups benefit from interacting with others in their situation and participation often strengthens compliance with physicians’ recommendations.
Seniors Empowering Seniors
Two of DCWC’s members — Bella & DeDee — met while participating in the Diabetes Self-Management Program. Bella was struggling with depression after the death of her mother and boyfriend. DeDee suggested she adopt a kitten and together they visited Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control, where Bella adopted her new feline friend “Alex “, who now has a “forever” home!!
Grief Support Group
“Everyone who lives long enough to love deeply will experience great losses. Don't let fear of loss, or the losses themselves, take away your ability to enjoy the wonderful life that is yours.” - Barbara “Cutie” Cooper, Author
The Grief Support Group meets weekly to provide support to adults who are grieving the death of a loved one. This is an eight-week support group. Participants are welcome to attend for as long as they need support.
This group is designed to help individuals to share their grief and have contact with others who have had similar losses. Within the group, participants can find help and healing for the hurt of losing a loved one. Members discover that they no longer have to be isolated, or go through the grieving process alone.
In addition to providing support, the group leader presents and discusses concepts specific to the grieving process.
Parkinson’s Disease Support Group
“We may each have our own individual Parkinson’s, but we all share one thing in common. Hope.” - Michael J. Fox
Many people find that participating in a support group is very effective in helping and empowering them in coping with the day-to-day realities of having Parkinson’s disease. The DCWC Parkinson Support Group offers participants a friendly atmosphere to come for mutual support, conversation, and discussions about ways to manage the disease.
Exercise is also an integral component of the group experience. Exercise classes are taught by a certified physical therapist, with the group discussions being led by a licensed social worker and psychotherapist.
Caregivers Support Group
“Care is the state in which something does matter; it is the source of human tenderness.” - Rollo May, Psychologist
We frequently hear caregivers say that they are looking for support from people who “really understand because they’ve been there, too.” The Delray Community Wellness Center Caregivers’ Support Group offers just that – a mutual support system, in a safe and friendly environment, that gives caregivers, family, and friends of persons with debilitating illnesses the opportunity to meet, share information, experiences, discuss challenges, and provide encouragement.
Ms. Deborah Barfield, RNC, BHS, CMC, RGNFG of Seniorbridge, a leading care management and home care organization, facilitates the group discussion, sharing her experience as a certified gerontological nurse, and professional guardian. Ms. Barfield is also a member of the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers.
The Caregivers Support Group is hosted by Delray Community Wellness Center, in collaboration with Brain Matters Research, and SeniorBridge.
