Many people have heard of group therapy in passing, but it’s important to know all your options when seeking therapy support. Here we’ll provide a bit more insight into what group therapy is and help you figure out if it might work for you.
So, what is group therapy?
It’s a form of psychotherapy in which a group of clients meet to describe and discuss their problems together under the supervision of a therapist, also known as a group leader. Group therapy is best used to treat anxiety, depression, impulsive behavior, and intense, difficult to control emotions.
At Empower Your Mind Therapy, we focus on Dialectical Behavior Therapy, also known as DBT. This form of therapy is focused on using skills to find balance in your life and is used to treat anxiety, depression, personality disorders and more.
DBT groups are intimate meetings with around 7 clients and two therapy leaders. We tend to focus on understanding and exercising skills that can help you in real life situations. EYMT groups include handouts, phone coaching and are in addition to individual therapy. For teen group therapy, parent coaching is also included.
And yes – these are virtual for now!
You might be asking yourself, how can I tell if group therapy is a good fit for me?
Here are 5 reasons why group therapy might be right for you:
1. You’re Not Alone
One of the biggest advantages to group therapy is the connection with others who understand what you’re going through. Being able to navigate the process together, share experiences and connect with others who are learning the same skills makes us feel understood, supported and keeps us motivated to move forward. Especially for teens, being able to hear from others that they’re experiencing the same issues can make a world of difference.
2. Gain A New Perspective
Sometimes when we’re stuck in the same environment or feel isolated, we come to rely on a single perspective of an issue. With group, we’re able to gain other perspectives from both professionals and our peers while learning the skills needed to tackle our problems in a new way. Gaining new perspectives can help us ‘unstick’ from recurrent or persistent issues in our life.
3. Accountability
Especially with DBT, a big part of therapy is reaching our goals both big and small. Group helps us not only get closer to reaching them, but to keep us accountable by showing up once a week, practicing our skills with peers, doing our homework and keeping us connected with others. Group therapy leaders at EYMT also provide worksheets and offer helpful guidance that decrease the risk of feeling discouraged when great progress is being made.
4. Safe space to practice
Learning the ins and outs of skills in group therapy can get tough on your own. Group offers a validating, judgment free space to learn and problem solve any potential barriers or difficulties you may encounter. If you participate and work on the skills in a safe environment, it’s more likely you will use them in real life when you need them the most. In group, we also have the space to work through these things and try a variety of skills to see what really works for us and hone them throughout our week. This helps us focus on what will help most, and allows us to be one step closer to moving forward.
5. See progress in real time
When going through difficult times, group therapy offers the opportunity to build a network of support as we move forward through our healing journey. When we see our peers growing and learning in groups over time, we can recognize that this time spent together has been impactful and can help us look inward to see our own progress as well. It’s much harder to do this with individual therapy alone.
These are just 5 amazing ways that group is a wonderful addition to your healing journey and might benefit you.
