Group Therapy

Many of us cringe when we hear about a “group activity” or “group therapy”. I can’t tell you how many clients I’ve had in treatment who refused to attend group in the beginning. By the end of their stay, the vast majority of them felt a strong sense of bonding and cited group therapy as one of the most impactful experiences in their treatment episode. The initial resistance to group work makes sense. Shame might be the single most difficult emotion to feel, and shame is activated when we have “done something wrong” or feel ridiculed in front of other people. For most of us, the thought of opening up in front of a group of people can feel impossible. The thing is, while being witnessed is an element of creating shame, being witnessed is also the antidote for shame. We need to feel seen to heal. This can happen in one-on-one interactions. However, the power of being seen in a group is different.

Most often, groups are issue-specific and/or population-specific. For example, we might have a group for survivors of sexual abuse, or a group of survivors of sexual abuse with male-identified people only. Some groups have broader topics and more diverse populations, such as a depression group. There are also different types of groups. There are skills-based groups, which primarily teach skills and provide practice in their application. There are psycho-educational groups that focus on teaching members a specific topic. There are topic-specific or population-specific groups, as mentioned previously, which focus on working with a shared issue and/or a common community. Then there are work groups which provide an opportunity for the members to complete projects and share them with the group, or include experiential components. Finally, there are process groups, which use the word “process” as a noun, the “group process”. Most groups provide an opportunity for “processing” feelings or experiences, as a verb. However, process groups use the group process as the primary tool for growth and healing. What this means is that we are examining the way group members interact with one another, respond to each other, what triggers arise, and how conflict is managed, among other aspects. It’s a focus on what’s in the room at the moment.

I am currently working virtually. Groups can be held virtually or in person. I will post here and add a link to the main page when I start a group so people can request to join. If you have any specific topics or types of groups you’re interested in, please let me know.