Mutual support groups whose members are husbands, wives or other individuals who have experienced the loss of their marriage partner or significant other. Groups may also be structured for the surviving spouses of people in law enforcement, the military or other specific high-risk professions. The groups meet in-person, by telephone or via the Internet; and focus on helping participants accept their loss, express their grief, and move through the bereavement process. The groups also help members put their lives back together by providing practical information about legal issues, financial arrangements and other responsibilities of daily living.

Mutual support groups whose members are family, friends, significant others, non-familial caregivers or attendants who are caring for someone who has a temporary, chronic, life-threatening or terminal illness or disability or who is elderly and increasingly unable to provide for his or her own care. The groups meet in-person, by telephone or via the Internet; and provide emotional support, information and resources to help participants ensure their own well-being while remaining involved in the intense care of a loved one. Also included are care receiver support groups that help people who have a caregiver cope with the fact that they require care. Care receiver support groups are often offered in conjunction with caregiver support groups and are structured to allow care receivers to participate in their own group while their caregiver attends another.

Family members, friends, neighbors and others who assume responsibility for attending to the daily needs of individuals who are temporarily or permanently unable to care for themselves due to general frailty; illnesses, injuries or progressively debilitating conditions such as Alzheimer's disease or mental illness; or other incapacitating problems without compensation. Some, but not all, states have programs that help people pay for the caregiver of their choice, and in certain circumstances that can be a family member. Most of these programs have income and other eligibility requirements that the care recipient must meet, and strict rules often apply as to who can be paid for the caregiving. Benefits may also be available for veterans and their families through the Veteran's Administration.

Men whose wives or partners have died and whose patterns of personal, social and familial coping have been significantly affected by the loss.

Women whose husbands or partners have died and whose patterns of personal, social and familial coping have been significantly affected by the loss.