Guidelines for Participating in a Virtual Support Group

1. Privacy and confidentiality

We cannot guarantee confidentiality, but we ask everyone to respect each other's privacy by agreeing not to disclose what other people shared in the meeting to anyone who did not attend the session.

We ask everyone to participate in this meeting from a quiet, private location where others do not overhear or interrupt the meeting.

This meeting uses a remote connection over the internet among participants, and in rare cases, security protocols could fail and the content of this meeting could be accessed by unauthorized persons.

Limits to confidentiality exist for the facilitators, and they are mandated to disclose information under the following circumstances; a) imminent risk of harm to self or others, b) reported or suspected abuse or neglect of a child, elderly or disabled individual, c) court order, and d) a communicative disease that constitutes a significant public health risk.

2. Culture of respect

We ask everyone to be respectful of each other by taking turns talking and being open to different opinions.

3. Nature of the meeting

This group is not a counseling or therapy group for treating mental illness. As a support group, it provides a space for participants to support each other as peers by sharing personal experiences and ideas. When clinical needs arise, participants might be referred to the Cook Counseling or other resources for further discussion.

The Wake Up session is not a therapy group and does not constitute or substitute for mental health treatment. In the event of an emergency or if you or someone you know is in an imminent danger to themselves or someone else call the Cook Counseling Center at 540-231-6557 during business hours and after hours to reach the on-call counselor. Please initial below to indicate that you have read the guidelines for participating in sessions and that you understand the above statement.