Family Support

As human beings we all need social support.  Put simply, social support means having other people we can turn to in times of need.

There are four key types of support * we can benefit from:

  1. Emotional support involves sharing life experiences with others and having the experience of feeling understood, cared for and loved. An example of this type of support would include seeking out a close family member or friend to talk through a problem.
  2. Informational support involves sharing knowledge, suggestions and information to help us address our problems. An example of this type of support would include seeking out community resources for information, such as financial counselling to assist with debt management.
  3. Instrumental/Practical support involves the provision of concrete tangible aid or services.  An example of instrumental support would be asking a friend or family member for help with childcare so that you can have a night out with your spouse/partner or friends.
  4. Affiliation support involves acceptance and a sense of belonging within a community or group.  An example of this type of support would be attending a formal peer support group, such as the Operational Stress Injury Social Support (OSISS) family support program.

Research has repeatedly found that social support provides key benefits for our physical and emotional health. Social support acts as a protective factor (to help protect us from experiencing health problems) as well as a recovery factor (to help us bounce back from problems when they do occur). Social support is a key element of resilience. Developing a “we are not alone” mindset can help you build and maintain your social supports.

For a family to have a strong and healthy social support network, it not only needs to have an adequate number of resources that it can turn to for support, but it also needs to be able to access these supports when required.


Who’s in your social network?

Having an adequate number of supports is important because no one person can meet all of our support needs.  At different times and in different situations, the type of support and who provides it to us may change.

Take a moment to generate a list of people in your life who you can access for different support needs.

Estimated time:   8 min

Learning objectives

In this activity you will have the opportunity to generate a list of your supports, and the type of support that they provide to you.

Accessing your Social Support Network

The best social support network in the world will not help you if you don’t reach out for its support when you need it. Some people find it hard to reach out, ask for and accept support.

Could you really use some time away from the kids, but are reluctant to bother someone to ask them for help with childcare? Do you find yourself worrying that if you talk about some of your problems, others will no longer see you as strong or capable? Do you see yourself as the person who provides support, not the one who needs it? These types of beliefs may be preventing you and your family from developing the “we are not alone” attitude that is so important for fostering resilience.

Friends, family and even community resource personnel benefit from feeling that they have done something positive and helpful for you. In fact, by reaching out to friends and family, you help keep the relationship balanced so they know that they have something of value to offer you, and in turn will be more likely seek support from you when they need it.

Use the activity below to map out the supports you identified in the previous activity, determine the type of support they provide, and how accessible your supports are to you.

Estimated time:   10-15 min

Learning objectives

Now you can create a map of your support network to quickly identify who provides various types of support, how accessible they are to you, and how they influence your life.

Need to expand your social support network?

The Canadian Mental Health Association British Columbia Division has a Social Support Wellness Module that may help you learn more about how much support you currently have access to and ways to expand your network.