If you stop and think about it, each of us has been raised in group environments, either through our families, schools, organized activities, or work. These are the environments in which we grow and develop as human beings. Group psychotherapy is no different. It provides a place where you come together with others to share problems or concerns, to better understand your own situation, and to learn from and with each other.

Group does work!

Group psychotherapy is an especially effective form of therapy in which a small number of people meet together, under the guidance of a professionally trained therapist, to help themselves and one another. This therapy has been widely used and has been a standard treatment option for many decades. In my clinical experience I have found group psychotherapy to be as effective and often more effective than individual treatment. Research studies comparing group psychotherapy to individual therapy consistently support the success of group therapy.

Who can benefit from Group Psychotherapy?

Group therapy benefits individuals who are simply seeking to gain a greater understanding of themselves in relationship to their social environment. It is especially useful for individuals experiencing social isolation, emotional conflict and/or difficulties in their relationships with others, be they friends, partners, parents, children coworkers, or people in positions of authority or subordinates. The experiential learning at the core of the psychotherapy group addresses related symptoms such as anxiety, depression, loneliness, shyness, excessive anger, and a lack of clarity with one’s own identity.

Why group?

We begin to learn about our place in the world through involvement in our original group – the family group. Beginning in early childhood and continuing through adolescence, we learn to deal with a series of interpersonal challenges involving many different types of groups. These experiences are not always satisfactory and we frequently find that we require additional tools. Discovering that our navigational strategies, both verbal and non-verbal, are not as effective as we would like, we can choose to consider alternative forms of relating to others. Group psychotherapy provides a safe and secure place to face our behaviors and our style of communication, to witness how our communications affect others and to practice new ways of engaging with them.

How is group effective?

An individual’s typical interpersonal behaviors attitudes and interactional patterns come to life within the context of the controlled learning environment of a psychotherapy group. Constructive input and feedback from other group members and the leader provides members with the rare opportunity to see and understand themselves through the eyes of others. Members come to recognize the difference between effective and less effective forms of communication and relationship building. Members find safety in being part of a cohesive unit. They provide and receive helpful feedback and learn new ways of addressing their interpersonal needs. Through this learning process members can enhance self-expression, increase self-esteem, and learn how best to be helpful to others.

Due to Covid-19, all sessions for group therapy are now provided via a secure HIPAA compliant tele-therapy site.

Click each group below to lean more.

For a taste of what group therapy kinda looks like you can watch GROUP, an unscripted ‘made for TV’ show. This group is facilitated by a renowned group psychotherapist; the group members are actors who are NOT working off a script. Season 1 was filmed prior to Covid; the second season is on zoom, much like real life group therapy has been for the past 17 months. And now the show is going live on PBS!

Here’s the link:

https://allarts.org/2021/08/group-series-digital-release/?fbclid=IwAR3lqEHOxqfr9O6fnG14g6WbVCzdmh8nV24_GCDJ3BGQgdKk3jcT_HUEtYU