If you have already attended group therapy your will know how valuable it can be. For many people, group therapy is more powerful and transformative than individual therapy. People come to the group because they want to feel better. They want to gain a deeper understanding of themselves and their challenges, in a safe, warm and respectful environment supported by the facilitator and other group members.
It is particularly valuable for people who are struggling with depression, anxiety and life transitions. Being part of a group allows members the rare opportunity to learn how to raise their self-esteem, achieve more and establish better interpersonal relationships.
The groups are small with 5-10 members and are closed, in that the same people meet every week. However, in some cases, new members can be gradually introduced. This allows members of the group to get to know each other and to build trust.
What is Group Therapy?
Group therapy is simply a group of individuals guided by a professional therapist who comes together on a regular basis for the purpose of correcting unproductive behaviours and healing emotional wounds. It also offers an opportunity to see how we affect others, to experiment with new behaviour and to get feedback on our responses. The group acts as a microcosm of social and family dynamics and thus serves to mediate therapeutic change, not only in the individual but within the group as a whole.
Group therapy helps you realise you’re not alone.
While it’s true that everyone is unique, no one is alone in our struggles. Many people believe they are inadequate and incompetent making them feel alienated, and lonely, while others have social or emotional difficulties that appear unresolvable. Group therapy reduces isolation and alienation and increases the sense that we’re all in this together.
Group therapy is about giving and receiving support.
One misconception about group therapy is that members take turns receiving individual therapy from the facilitator while others observe, however, this is far from the truth. The members are actually encouraged to turn to each other for support, feedback and connection. The facilitator is not there to act as an authority figure, but rather to help maintain the process of interpersonal communication and to keep the group moving in a productive direction.
Group therapy helps you find your voice.
Sometimes members struggle with being authentic and speaking up for themselves thus leaving their views unexpressed. Group therapy strongly encourages members to notice how they’re feeling throughout the session and to talk about it. Many people don’t know how they are feeling while interacting with others and therefore, find it challenging to express themselves authenticly. Correcting this behaviour is perhaps one of the greatest benefits, and of eminence value to many of the group members.
Group therapy helps you relate to yourself and others in healthier ways.
Often people don’t understand why their relationships aren’t working and don’t know what to do about it. Here the group provides the opportunity to see just how you relate to yourself and others in a here-and-now environment. It provides a safe atmosphere where you can get honest feedback about your personality and behaviours from others who care about you. The group may also help you answer questions such as: Do I typically hang back until someone invites me to speak? Do I take the lead? Do I only share positive information about myself or do I share things I am struggling with? What parts of myself do I let others see? What parts of myself do I hide? How do I handle conflict? Or, how do I get my needs met?
Getting to know and trust fellow group members, and working together to think about problems, is the key. No longer will you have to try to solve everything on your own.
If you would like to know more or be part of this exclusive new group, please give us a call or drop us an e-mail.
To Find Out More Contact Us