8 Free Herpes Support Groups in 2022 to Find Love & Support 

In the face of a life-changing moment, such as a herpes diagnosis, it is more practical to join support groups than to read the figures or promotions for help. The fact that 1 in 8 Americans have genital herpes is just a placebo. The slogan - “Herpes is common, you are not alone” - offers no comfort.

Still, we can’t find people in the same situation to talk to; we are terrified about the end of our dating life; we don’t know how to live with herpes. But the herpes support groups are different. When your stories and confusion are heard by the people who understand what you’re going through, you will begin to heal and get empowered to deal with the emotional and physical impact.

Thus, in order to help you break the internalized herpes stigma, reclaim your life, and enjoy dating again, 8 confidential and free herpes support groups online & near me are introduced in this blog. Join the one that fits you the most!

Table of Contents

1. Psychology Today

2. MyPositiveSingles

3. Meetup.com Free Herpes Support Groups

4. Myheartdances.com

5. Herpes Opportunity Forums

6. HSV in the City

7. American Sexual Health Association

8. Free Herpes Support Groups on Discord/Facebook

1. Psychology Today - Professional Herpes Support Groups Near Me & Online

Psychology Today is the largest mental health and behavioral science destination online. Originally known for its publication of the most authoritative science writing in the field of psychology, Psychology Today launched “Find A Therapist” to connect customers and licensed clinicians in 2003. Since then, the website started to provide not only news and content to satisfy people’s curiosity to learn about ourselves but also mental health service in the US and internationally with clinical professionals, psychiatrists, and treatment centers.

The search option is categorized into 4 kinds: Therapists, Psychiatrists, Treatment Centers, and Support Groups. You can enter the city, zip, or keywords to find the services near you. For example, if you are looking for herpes support groups, you can select “Support Groups” first, then enter “herpes” into the search bar. As a result, a bunch of herpes support groups near me & online will appear with detailed information, and each one of them is led by a professional therapist. 

2. MyPositiveSingles - Free Herpes Support Groups for Networking & Dating

MyPositiveSingles is unique for its Reddit-like “forums” and Instagram-like “moments”. 

With the MyPositiveSingles “forums”, you can tell your stories, share your opinions, or ask questions about herpes. Other herpes singles will interact with you by liking, sharing, or commenting on your posts. Besides that, the “moments” feature allows you to share your lifestyle through pictures. 

In the MyPositiveSingles community, it is possible to solve all your doubts about living with herpes and get empowered by other herpes singles’ optimistic attitudes towards life. Best of all, you might meet someone near you and start dating with herpes without worrying about “the conversation”. 

3. Meetup.com Free Herpes Support Groups Near Me 

Meetup.com is created for connecting people locally. Anyone can start an event to meet other people who share the same passion nearby. You can also join any event to do new things, make new friends, or find support. Having been established for 20 years, users of Meetup build numerous communities from all corners of the world. 

When you are in the mood to network with people in the same situation, you just enter the herpes topic and the location. Then a list of herpes support groups will pop up for you to join. After logging in to your account, you are able to check the details of the group, such as the time, location, events, photos, etc. In addition, you should remember that living with herpes doesn’t mean you can only be friends with other herpes singles. In the Meetup dancing, picnicking, hiking groups, etc, there must be lots of people who won't mind your herpes positive status, too.  

4. Myheartdances.com - Herpes Group Support and Counseling for Women with Herpes

As a New York State licensed mental health counselor, Melissa King specializes in dating and relationship concerns, anxiety and depression, substance abuse, sexual assault, HIV and other STD diagnoses, sexuality and gender-related concerns, and sex addiction. Before entering private practice, she used to work for the NYC Department of Health STD clinics. With all the experience she gathered all those years, Melissa opened her own office in Murray Hill, Manhattan, and built her own website Myheartdances.com. 

Melissa’s private counsel mainly serves women, gay/bi/trans men, and couples. Among all the support groups she offers, the genital herpes women therapy group is a very special one. Usually, Mellissa’s weekly herpes support groups consist of 8 women in their 20’s or 30’s. In the group, they will discuss:

• The difference between HSV 1 and HSV 2
• Accurate testing (many women are still not receiving the best tests, as a result, they are misinformed about their diagnosis)
• Managing symptoms
• Transmission and how to protect future partners
• How to tell a new partner

If you’re interested in joining Melissa’s herpes support groups for women, you can visit her website and contact her through her email. 

5. Herpes Opportunity Forums - Free Herpes Support Groups to Break Herpes Stigma

Adrial got herpes over one Christmas holiday from his ex-girlfriend who cheated on him. He went through a long-time mental breakdown. He thought his life was over. He started to search all over the place for help. The transformation didn’t come until he followed the advice to start a men’s support group. For the first time, he disclosed his herpes positive status to more than one person. And the response was beyond his expectation. All the men in that group could relate to him and some of them were also in tears. The acceptance led him to change his perception of genital herpes. In Adrial’s own words, herpes wasn't a life-ender but an opportunity for vulnerability, connection, and realizing of a lot of self-limiting beliefs. So he founded herpesopportunity.com. 

After years of research and development, (h)opportunity is resourceful with all kinds of herpes information, such as how to take rejection, strength in disclosure, when do I disclose, etc. Adrial also offers one-on-one coaching to help people living with herpes rebuild self-esteem. His free herpes opportunity forum is even more popular. You can find all the herpes topics that people are interested in discussing: 

• General herpes discussion 30.1k
• Just found out I have herpes 10.8k
• Herpes question(s) 15.9k
• The herpes talk: disclosing 6.4k
• My herpes story 4.1k
• Herpes talk success stories 2.4k
• General inspiration 2.2k
• My partner/loved one has herpes 1.1k
• Herpes veterans 461

6. HSV in the City - All Gender Inclusive Herpes Support Group in the DC Metro Area

HSV in the City got exposure after the Washington Post interviewed its founder, Heather Haskins, a US. Navy veteran who was diagnosed with genital herpes 8 years ago. The herpes support groups are held at HSV in the city twice a month. The first meeting is for women and the second one is for all genders. Thanks to its teleconference style, members can choose to be anonymous or not. During the conversation, they’ll discuss:

• how to date with herpes
• how to disclose to potential partners
• how to cope with being “ghosted” after telling a date about herpes. 

7. American Sexual Health Association - Herpes Support Groups in the U.S. & Canada 

American Sexual Health Association (ASHA) is America’s authority for sexual health. This non-profit organization educates and offers all sorts of help to people with STI questions. If you are looking for herpes support groups in the U.S. or Canada, you can visit ASHA’s herpes support groups page. There is a list of organizations recommended by ASHA with the contact information provided. 

8. Free Herpes Support Groups on Discord or Facebook

Compared with herpes support groups near me or forums, the herpes support groups on Discord or Facebook are more accessible. You can directly communicate with other people living with herpes regardless of the time or location. However, those online herpes support groups are selective with the members because they have to make sure the environment is safe and non-judgemental. Oftentimes, you need someone to invite you. Or, you can search them on Reddit, TikTok, or Instagram. 

Conclusion 

Herpes support groups are going to help you feel less lonely, learn how to move on with herpes, and teach you to cope with the difficulties in your dating life. But the important thing is that you should find support groups with professionals or experienced people living with herpes like the 8 herpes support groups introduced in this blog. Otherwise, it will be very dangerous to spend time with paranoid people who have genital herpes.