Support Groups

Our groups are geared toward finding and enhancing community among people with shared experiences. We believe that there is power and acceptance in drawing people together who get it.

Some groups are closed to allow for the greatest space for safety, healing, and community. Others are open to provide for greater flexibility and rolling participation. Please see the information about the group you are interested in to determine whether the group is closed or open. All groups require an intake and it is generally recommended – sometimes required – that participants are engaged with an individual therapist concurrently with group attendance.

Survivors of Suicide Attempt (SOSA) groups are groups of 4-8 individuals who all share the lived experience of surviving a suicide attempt. The group is co-facilitated by a licensed clinician and someone with lived experience, often someone who has gone through the group themselves. SOSA groups offer a safe, non-judgmental place for people to talk about what led them to attempt suicide and the impact it had on their lives. Participants learn how to create safety for themselves and how to cope with suicidal thoughts.

The Semicolon Group PLLC utilizes the curriculum created by Didi Hirsch in 2011, which has been added to a national registry of best practices for those with lived experience. We are the only providers of SOSA groups in the state of Texas.

SOSA groups are currently open to ages 18+. For younger survivors of suicide attempts, please see our Individual Therapy page. 

SOSA groups are closed groups that meet once a week for 90-minutes for 8 consecutive weeks.

Grief After Suicide groups are groups of 6-8 individuals who all share the experience of losing a loved one to suicide. The group is co-facilitated by a licensed clinician and someone who has experienced the loss of a loved one to suicide, often someone who has gone through the group themselves. Groups include people who have survived the loss of a spouse or partner, a parent, a child, a friend, or a loved one from any relationship. Grief After Suicide groups offer a place for healing in the unique and complicated grief of losses by suicide, in a space where participants can talk about it free of judgment and without stigma. Participants overcome trauma and feelings of guilt and develop tools to help them cope more effectively with their loss.

We offer two types of Grief After Suicide groups: one for teens (13-17) and one for young adults (18-35 ish). We offer the only groups for these younger age groups in the Houston area, who often feel like outsiders in the traditional survivor of suicide loss groups.

Our groups help answer questions and provide healing in a space that feels more relevant to these younger populations — with their peers.

Grief After Suicide groups for teens and for young adults (two separate groups, split by age) are closed groups that meet once a week for 90-minutes for 8 consecutive weeks. 

If you have lost a loved one to suicide and you are outside of this age group, please see our Individual Therapy page and/or connect with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s support group listings, where you can search for support groups near you.

Note: We also have Grief After Suicide support groups for professionals. Learn more at: treatingsuicide.com/therapy-and-support

This group is for family members who are concerned about a loved one who has expressed recent or chronic thoughts of suicide, survived a suicide attempt, or been hospitalized for suicidal ideation or a suicide attempt. Groups are open to parents, siblings, grandparents, cousins, extended family members, and family friends that are more like family. Participants do not have to biologically related to their loved one to participate in the group as long as their bond with their person is like that of family.

Participants learn how to recognize when the risk for suicide is elevated, learn conversation starters for communicating with their loved one about their despair, and coping skills to process their own feelings of overwhelm and responsibility. Your family member is lucky to have you supporting them, and we are honored to support you.

Supporting Loved Ones groups are open groups and are offered twice/month. Participants can join for one session or for any duration.

This group is for friends who are concerned about a loved one who has expressed recent or chronic thoughts of suicide, survived a suicide attempt, or has been hospitalized for suicidal ideation. Groups are open to friends, co-workers, colleagues, and classmates.

Our society doesn’t offer a space for folks who want to support their friends through their thoughts of suicide, and society could not have gotten it more wrong. We’d argue that friendships are the most important relationship in a suicidal person’s life – even more so than family – and we’re here to help you gain a deeper understanding of what your friend may be going through so you can love them better, support them deeper, and develop a richer relationship than you already have (which has to be pretty fulfilling already if you’re finding yourself here!). Your friend is lucky to have you supporting them, and we are honored to support you.

Participants learn how to recognize when the risk for suicide is elevated, learn conversation starters for communicating with their loved one about their despair, and coping skills to process their own feelings of overwhelm.

Supporting Loved Ones groups are open groups and are offered twice/month. Participants can join for one session or for any duration.