Navigators, social workers, care managers, and discharge planners are often the people who connect someone to a group. The Group Guide is a free national directory of therapy, support, and community groups, and it has a few tools built for that work: filtered search, a referral note, wallet-sized refer cards, printable flyers, and client handouts. Here is how to find a good fit quickly and help the referral stick.
How do I find a group for a client?
- Search by topic and place. On Find a Group, type a topic with a state or ZIP code. Search understands short forms like DBT, NAMI, and AA.
- Narrow with filters. Online or in person, cost, audience, age range, clinician-led or peer-led, and whether the group is accepting new members.
- Check fit on the listing. Each listing says who the group is for, what the first time is like, what it costs, and when it meets.
- Look for current details. Listings show when the group last confirmed its information. For older listings, call ahead before you hand the information to a client.
How do I make the referral?
- Referral note. Every listing has a “Referring someone?” link that opens a one-page referral note with the group’s details filled in. You type the rest and print or save it. Nothing typed is sent to the site or stored, and it won’t print until the consent box is checked.
- Refer cards. Refer cards are wallet-sized, with a QR code that opens a search already filtered to a topic and format. Discreet mode keeps the topic off the printed card.
- Flyers. Any listing can be printed as a one-page flyer with a QR code back to the group.
- A saved list. Tap the heart (Save to my list) on any group. My Group List shows every saved group with its phone, email, and website, lets you mark Contacted, Heard back, or Attended once, and prints, emails, or copies as one page. Lists stay on that device only, so on a shared computer, print or email the list and then clear it.
- Waitlists. If a group is full, your client can join its waitlist from the listing and will get an email when it reopens.
How do I help the referral stick?
Timing matters more than many of us expect. In a study of 2,690 behavioral health referrals at one hospital, only 40% of people came to their first visit, and people scheduled sooner were more likely to show up. A warm handoff on its own didn’t change attendance (Pace et al., 2018). Not knowing enough about a group, and worry about being judged, are also common reasons people never go (Dilgul et al., 2018).
So, when you can, help the client reach out before they leave you: make the call or send the email together. Walk through what the first session will be like. Hand them a short handout, and plan a check-in about a week later.
Free handouts to share
- Finding Groups for Your Clients: these steps on one page, with a referral worksheet on the back.
- Your First Time at a Group, for clients.
- Support, Peer, or Therapy Group: Which Fits?, for clients.
- Is a Client Ready for Group? and Groups at Discharge, for clinicians.
All of the referral tools are collected on the For Clinicians page. Programs that refer often can also get a branded version of the directory for their own site. The Group Guide is a directory, not a crisis service: for urgent needs, follow your crisis protocol or call or text 988.