5 ways group therapy has an edge on individual therapy
It's not unusual for many people to shy away from the idea of joining a group therapy. In the 25 plus years I've worked in the mental health field I've heard clients say, "I don't want to sit there and have to listen to everyone else's problems, I've got my own!" or "Opening up about my personal struggles with strangers doesn't sound appealing at all."
I get it. It can feel scary and vulnerable. It is scary and vulnerable. As a psychologist who has run a variety of group therapies over the past two decades (geez I'm really dating myself here!) allow me to fill you in on a little secret... group therapy has evolved tremendously. The interconnectedness that is present in group therapy is not like any other ordinary group.
At a time where some days might seem more dim than bright, where disconnection rather than connection feels like more of the norm, group therapy can offer you what you've been missing that maybe you didn't even know you were missing.
Take a look at my top 5 reasons why group therapy has an edge on individual therapy:
Group members have a place to learn and practice more effective ways of communicating and expose themselves to varied perspectives. Sometimes it’s easy to get stuck on autopilot or as if we are riding a never ending loop of the same thoughts and feelings. Group therapy helps to interrupt those loops by opening our minds to a wider range of possibilities in our thinking and behaving.
Group therapy creates more accountability and structure to show up each week. Consistency and predictability keep humans anchored. When moments might feel chaotic and uncertain, having scheduled commitments can be extremely grounding.
Group has been proven over and over again to reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation and increase self-awareness and problem solving.
Who doesn’t like saving money? Group therapy gives members a better bang for their buck. It’s often a fraction of the hourly rate of individual sessions.
Group therapy creates a framework for meaningful and authentic connections through establishing a trusting and safe environment.
I’ll end with an infamous quote from one of psychotherapy’s founding fathers, “People need people – for initial and for continued survival, for socialization, for the pursuit of satisfaction. No one – not the dying, not the outcast, not the mighty – transcends the need for human contact.” - Irvin Yalom
Zahra Domingo
Registered Psychologist