The Department of Liver Transplantation and Hepatobiliary Surgery offers support groups for Lahey patients and their families. It is normal to feel apprehensive about attending a group. Many people feel reluctant about talking in a group setting. Others may feel that they have enough issues of their own and do not want to listen to other people's problems. Still others have so many appointments with doctors that they do not have time for one more appointment.
While these reasons are all valid, there are also some good reasons to attend support group meetings. A group can provide you with mutual aid. You will be able to meet others with similar thoughts and concerns, and realize you are not alone. In this respect, support groups can help reduce anxiety and depression. Patients often learn from each other and exchange important information about what it is really like to wait for, and go through, a transplant or treatment for viral hepatitis. Groups can also help you become familiar with members of the hepatology and transplant teams. Knowledgeable staff, who can help provide support and education, facilitate the groups.
Support Groups Offered at Lahey
All support group meetings are held in the 4 West Conference Room, next to the Transplant/Hepatology Clinic at Lahey Clinic Medical Center in Burlington, Mass.
- Hepatitis C and B group: monthly meetings held on the first Wednesday of each month from 6 PM to 7:30 PM
- Caregiver group (for caregivers only): monthly meetings held on the second Tuesday of each month from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM
- Pre- and post-transplant group: regular meeting time TBD
For more information, contact Eric Richman, MSW, LICSW, at 781-744-5335 or Eric.Richman@lahey.org.
