Types of Social Support

Are you in need of increased social support as you navigate your mental health journey? Since social support can come in many forms, it’s important to establish what type of support you need from someone— or else you and the people around you could end up frustrated with unmet expectations. Below, take a look at four different types of social support: emotional support, tangible support, informational support, and support with social needs.

Emotional Support

Emotional support is focused on helping you manage different emotions. This could include feelings of stress, anger, sadness, frustration, and more. What does emotional support “look” like? Emotional support might involve someone asking how you’re feeling during tough times, listening without judgment, and showing empathy.

Who in your life provides you with emotional support during your mental health journey? Often, this support comes from a therapist, social worker, or other member of your treatment team. However, there may also be people outside of your official treatment team who tend to take on this role. Do you have a close friend, family member, or loved one who often steps in to provide emotional support? If so, try your best to recognize and show appreciation for all that this person contributes. Though this type of support may not be tangible in nature, it is more valuable and meaningful than most people realize.

Tangible Support

Tangible support occurs when a person helps you with someone physical or actionable. Do you need help getting transportation a job interview? A friend who offers to drive you to the interview or provide childcare while you’re gone is offering you tangible support.

Before you seek tangible support from someone, it’s a good idea to think about whether or not this support is a finite source that can be drained without replenishment. Is it a resource that needs to be returned or repaid? Does the person providing this tangible support have enough time and capacity to provide it? Many times, miscommunication or constant one-side-only contribution can result in a drained relationship. Therefore, it’s important for everyone involved to talk through the specifics of this support before moving forward.

Finally, if you find that you are commonly seeking tangible support for urgent issues that keep repeating themselves, then it might be a good idea to work with a treatment provider to create a longer-term plan to help meet these needs.

Informational Support

Informational support is exactly what it sounds like: information. When you have a question, concern, or gap in your treatment, a support person might provide you with the advice or information you need to move forward.

For example, if you are struggling with depression, a support person might inform you about a local Depression Support Group that meets weekly. They may give you a flyer with the meeting details or provide you with the contact information for the mental health organization that hosts this group. In this case, the person may not be capable of offering emotional support to help directly with your depression; and they may not be able to provide you with tangible support by driving you to the group meeting; but they can provide you with information about the group.

Social Needs

We all need social support. Studies have shown that people who have strong and healthy social support have better mental health outcomes. Conversely, people who lack social support or have unhealthy relationships tend to have lowered mental health outcomes. To develop support for your social needs, you might meet with people in pursuit of shared hobbies, write letters to an old pen pal, join someone for dinner, chat with a friend on the phone, or even connect with others on social media platforms or online forums.

Sometimes, even just being around social and friendly-feeling settings can help. For example, even if you don’t have a strong support system in place to fulfill social needs, you might try sitting in a coffee shop and surrounding yourself with friendly voices and faces.

Communicating About Types of Support

Clear communication is necessary when seeking social support. Some people are better at providing emotional support, while others are better at providing tangible help, information, or activities. And some people might mistakenly offer up a type of support that you don’t appreciate in that moment. This can happen if you haven’t clearly communicated what you need. Furthermore, some people are not in an appropriate position to provide certain types of support. For example, it is appropriate for a therapist to provide emotional support by asking questions about your mental health and providing empathy; but it is not appropriate for a therapist to be a pen pal or dinner companion who fulfills a client’s social needs.

Heartland Mental Health

At Heartland Mental Health, our team of skilled treatment providers can help you navigate the different types of support you need throughout your mental health journey. We also offer a Drop-In Center and peer groups to foster an empowered mental health community in Denver. Whether you are interested in learning more about emotional support, tangible support, informational support, or support with social needs, the team at Heartland Mental Health is here to help.

Contact us today to learn more.