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Accessible mental health support for people with breast cancer.

You deserve access to mental health and psychosocial support as you navigate breast cancer. You deserve a safe space to unpack, process and heal in a truly supportive environments.

Our Virtual Support Groups are group therapy sessions that are hosted in a virtual setting, facilitated by a registered social worker or psychotherapist (all facilitators are members of our Healing Collective!).

Our goal is to ensure we offer sessions are that accessible to anyone navigating breast cancer, at any stage, who needs support right now. Rethink’s Support Program offers these Virtual Support Groups to the community free of charge, thanks to the generous support of our partners and donors.

We cover a diverse range of topics and even have a few workshops, such as:

  • Living with Purpose (6-week workshop)
  • Sex and Dating
  • Setting Boundaries
  • Living with Metastatic Breast Cancer
  • Narrative Writing (6-week workshop)
  • Grief + Loss

Questions you may have

Who are they for?

The Virtual Support Groups are currently for anyone who has been diagnosed with breast cancer, is seeking support and community and resonates with a session topic. In the near future, we hope to expand this offering to caregivers — stay tuned!

We encourage those who attend to be comfortable with having their cameras turned on, even if they don’t feel comfortable with speaking or sharing — it really helps contribute to a safe space for others, especially in this virtual setting. We are all here together.

Please note that these group sessions are not a replacement for individual therapy, but are meant to help equip you with a toolkit that you can use to support yourself, provide support from a mental health professional and create a safe space for connecting with others who get it.

Where are they hosted?

The Virtual Support Groups are currently hosted on Zoom in a private room. The link to the Zoom room is different each time and is only sent out to those who have registered for the session.

When are they hosted?

We aim to have at least 2 sessions a month covering different topics. The sessions are often hosted at 1:00pm EST and 7:00pm EST. The duration of a session is typically an hour and a half.

How can I prepare?

We have put together a guide for how you can help contribute to a safe space for yourself and others, which can be accessed below. As someone attending a Virtual Support Group, this is so important to maintaining the integrity of the space and honouring everyone who is present to ensure everyone gets the most out of the session. We really appreciate it if you can read the guide before attending!

What can I expect?

Here’s a link to our tips for how you can get the best experience out of the Virtual Support Group and what you can do to help foster a safe space. We highly encourage you to read it before joining a session.

In a given session, there will always be a facilitator (social worker or psychotherapist from the Healing Collective) and a Rethink team member. The number of participants can be anywhere from 3 to 25 depending on the session and who ends up being able to show up.

Are Virtual Support Groups the same as Mentoring Matters?

No. The main difference is that our Virtual Support Groups are led by psychotherapists and social workers from our Healing Collective, whereas Mentoring Matters is led by trained peer support volunteers who have lived experience. Virtual Support Groups are a good place to get professional psychosocial support and education and Mentoring Matters is a good place to get support from peers and build community.

Can I participate in both Virtual Support Groups and Mentoring Matters?

Yes! The support you get from each program will be different, but complementary.  While some topics will be the same or similar between the programs, the approach and discussion will be different. Topics for sessions are communicated ahead of time, so you can choose what kind of support you need and from where, based on your personal need.

How can I be the first to know about new sessions?

Sign up to receive Rethink’s emails to be the first to know about these sessions below. Sessions fill up incredibly fast, and there is often a waitlist. Given the nature of these sessions and intention to connect, we do have to limit the amount of seats available, but the sessions are ongoing, so we’re confident you’ll get in the next one!

What if I registered but no longer can join?

Please cancel your registration on Eventbrite so the next person in line on the waitlist can be notified and attend the session in your place! If you have any questions or trouble doing this, please email support@rethinkbreastcancer.com

The back story

In understanding the mental health needs of people in the community, especially during the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, we set out with a goal to make psychosocial making psychosocial support more accessible to people who were sitting on long waitlists, couldn’t afford (especially with the financial burden of cancer) private therapy or just wanted more support in their life. That’s when we launched our Virtual Support Groups. They were initiated as an urgent, short-term response, but we quickly learned how needed they were and continue to be in the community.


If you have any questions about our Virtual Support Groups, please reach out via the link below.