Illness Management and Recovery / IMR-A11-1
Building Social Support — Concept brief
Understand the idea behind building social support and consider whether it fits your context.
8 minutes · Handout · Adults; supported use as appropriate
Fictional example: Casey has a relative for transport and a peer for companionship.
Use an ordinary or fictional example, with a clinician when appropriate. Social support can include practical assistance, companionship, and chosen family.
The idea
Social support can include practical assistance, companionship, and chosen family.
An ordinary example
Casey has a relative for transport and a peer for companionship.
What this can look like
Map people and services by the kind of support they can realistically provide.
Check the fit
Where is support reliable, and where is another option needed? You may disagree with the framing, use fiction, or decide that this approach is not useful today.
A useful distinction
A personal recovery goal and a symptom-management strategy serve related but different purposes; the person defines what a meaningful life includes.
Prompts for this resource
- What part of this idea makes sense to me?
- Where is support reliable, and where is another option needed?
Conceptual background
Illness Management and Recovery Evidence-Based Practices KIT — SAMHSA
Background on the approach only. Original exercises and wording are by More Than Therapy with AI assistance; the source does not validate or endorse these materials.