Welcome to your adult sibling support group!
We hope you enjoy meeting others to share experiences and advice as a sibling.
Purpose of the groups
Being a sibling can be a complex and challenging experience. Whilst we can’t remove all of the stressors in an adult sibling’s life, we can give siblings more resources to cope.
The aims of the group are to:
- Reduce isolation
- Improve wellbeing and resilience
- Share knowledge
What you agree to
As a group member, I agree to:
Show up and take part
- I’ll offer and receive peer support
- I’ll give new members a warm welcome
- I won’t keep the facilitator in the dark – I’ll let them know if I need to miss a meeting
- I’ll help the facilitators wherever I can with things like advertising the group, welcoming newbies and deciding on topics
- I understand that the group wouldn’t exist without funding. I’ll give my feedback to Sibs so that they know what works, what doesn’t, how to improve and so that they can apply for future funding to keep the group running
Respect others
- I’ll respect everybody at the group and be sensitive to individual needs including culture, beliefs, ethnic background, gender, disability, sexuality and age
- I’ll recognise other siblings’ different experiences of childhood, experiences of bereavement, different expectations of their sibling role and different relationships with their brothers and sisters and involvement (or not) in their care
Keep things safe
- For online meetings: I agree not to share the meeting video link with anyone
- For online meetings: I understand that others at the meeting don’t want to be overheard by people in my household. Wherever possible, I’ll join the meeting from a private space in my home and/or use headphones
- For online and face-to-face meetings: I understand that the group is just for siblings and I won’t bring anyone else along
- I agree to keep what we talk about within the group confidential. I know that it’s OK to share something general like ‘today we talked about guilt’ and that it’s not OK to share ‘X said he feels guilty about Y because of Z’
- I understand that if I, or anyone else in the group, discloses an abusive situation affecting them, their disabled brother or sister or other family member then confidentiality will be broken and this needs to be reported by the person themselves or the facilitator (for example, to the policy or the local authority)
- I won’t use the group to advertise anything, for my own research projects or for any kind of financial gain
What your group facilitator agrees to
As a group facilitator or administrator:
Work closely with Sibs
- I’ll attend Sibs training
- I’ll keep in regular contact with Sibs and let them know if anything changes in my life that affects the group
- I’ll help Sibs with information they need for funding applications and research projects
Show up and take part
- I’ll offer and receive peer support
- I’ll give new members a warm welcome
- As administrator/facilitator: I won’t keep the members in the dark – I’ll check the email address once a week and keep in touch with them about meetings
- As facilitator: I don’t expect to have all the answers and I’ll signpost siblings on to further support if they need it
- I understand that the group wouldn’t exist without funding. I’ll give my feedback to Sibs so that they know what works, what doesn’t, how to improve and so that they can apply for future funding to keep the group running
Respect others
- I’ll respect everybody at the group and be sensitive to individual needs including culture, beliefs, ethnic background, gender, disability, sexuality and age
- I’ll recognise other siblings’ different experiences of childhood, experiences of bereavement, different expectations of their sibling role and different relationships with their brothers and sisters and involvement (or not) in their care
Keep things safe
- For online meetings: I understand that others at the meeting don’t want to be overheard by people in my household. Wherever possible, I’ll hold the meeting from a private space in my home and/or use headphones
- For online and face-to-face meetings: I understand that the group is just for siblings and I won’t bring anyone else along
- I agree to keep what we talk about within the group confidential. I know that it’s OK to share something general like ‘today we talked about guilt’ and that it’s not OK to share ‘X said he feels guilty about Y because of Z’
- I’ll agree on the group groundrules and remind members of them at the start of the meetings
- I understand that if anyone in the group discloses an abusive situation affecting them, their disabled brother or sister or other family member then confidentiality will be broken and this needs to be reported by the person themselves or by me as the facilitator or administrator. I know that I can go to Sibs for support with this, and that I am not alone
- I won’t use the group to advertise anything, for my own research projects or for any kind of financial gain
- If I’m holding face-to-face meetings, they will be in a private venue (not someone’s home)
- If I’m holding online meetings, they will be via a secure online platform and will require a specific link or password to access. I will only share this link the registered members of the group
Let us know what you think
We want to make sure the groups continue to meet siblings’ needs, so we send an annual survey to our members and facilitators. We would love to hear what you think. You can also give us feedback about your group at any time, by emailing info@sibs.org.uk