Editing Support group (section)

===Appropriate groups still difficult to find===
A researcher from [[University College London]] says the lack of qualitative directories, and the fact that many support groups are not listed by search engines can make finding an appropriate group difficult.<ref name="Potts 2005">{{cite journal| last      =Potts| first      =Henry W. W.| title      =Online support groups: An overlooked resource for patients| url      =http://eprints.ucl.ac.uk/archive/00001406/01/Online_support_groups.pdf| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20060309233843/http://eprints.ucl.ac.uk/archive/00001406/01/Online_support_groups.pdf| url-status =dead| archive-date =2006-03-09| journal      =He@LTH Information on the Internet| volume      =44| issue      =1| pages      =6–8| name-list-style      =vanc}}</ref> Even so, he does say that the medical community needs "to understand the use of personal experiences rather than an evidence-based approach... these groups also impact on how individuals ''use'' information.  They can help people learn how to find and use information: for example, users swap Web sites and ''discuss'' Web sites."

It is not difficult to find an online support group, but it is hard to find a good one.  In the article ''What to Look for in Quality Online Support Groups'', John M. Grohol gives tips for evaluating online groups and states: "In good online support groups, members stick around long after they've received the support they were seeking. They stay because they want to give others what they themselves found in the group. Psychologists call this ''high group cohesion'', and it is the pinnacle of group achievement."<ref>{{cite web |url= http://psychcentral.com/archives/support_groups.htm  |title= What to Look for in Quality Online Support Groups |access-date= 2008-04-15  |last= Grohol |first= John M.  |date= May 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100114064133/http://psychcentral.com/archives/support_groups.htm |archive-date=2010-01-14 |url-status=dead }}</ref>