What Is Group Therapy?
Group therapy is an effective form of therapy which involves the psychologist working with a group of people at the same time. Group size can vary, usually between 7 and 12 people. Group therapy is widely used, and research shows it has many benefits. This form of therapy can be accessed independently or alongside individual therapy.
Different types of groups exist depending on what you need support with. Group therapy is designed to help individuals address different challenges. It can be used to manage different mental health conditions, adjust to life transitions, improve social skills, or develop healthier and more effective coping strategies to deal with unhelpful behaviours or negative experiences. Sharing with others can be a powerful experience that can help us feel more connected with ourselves and others.
When we share in a safe space, we begin to see things in a different light. This helps us avoid falling into the trap of seeing our experiences only through one perspective, which can often make us feel stuck and helpless. Engaging and sharing with people can be a significant personal growth experience; in fact, group therapy is shown to also be very effective in helping individuals increase self-confidence and in supporting individuals going through a difficult moment or life transition.
All participants are asked to maintain confidentiality about what is discussed in the group as well as the identity of the other members. You can read more about how group therapy works and its guidelines below.
Different Types of Group Therapy
There are different types of group therapy. Depending on your difficulties, different groups may be more suitable than others, as they will use different therapeutic modalities to target different issues. Here below are the most common types of groups:
- Interpersonal Group - focuses on interpersonal relationships and social interactions. This type of group is shown to have many benefits, which include creating opportunities for personal growth, discovering individual strengths, increasing self-confidence, and becoming more assertive and comfortable in social interactions.
- Cognitive Behavioural Group - focuses on identifying and challenging unhelpful thinking patterns, behaviours, or emotional responses.
- Psychoeducational Group - focuses on providing information/education about specific issues and can also involve learning healthy ways of coping with these.
- Skills Development Group - focuses on developing specific skills, for example, social skills, in individuals with specific mental health disorders.
- Support Group - focuses on providing many different benefits to individuals with a specific mental health difficulty, such as support, enhancing motivation, reducing low mood and increased confidence, to name a few.
Groups can also be open or closed. An open group means the participants can join and leave the group at different times. While in closed groups, participants join at the same time.
Who Can Benefit From Group Therapy?
Psychology research has shown that group therapy can provide significant benefits to individuals in several domains, such as social anxiety, interpersonal and relational difficulties, identity and life direction issues, social isolation, low self-esteem, depression, and anxiety.
The benefits are likely to be achieved through therapeutic factors such as interpersonal learning, catharsis, instillation of hope and normalisation. Individuals who already have had the experience of one-to-one therapy usually find it easier to adjust to the group context. However, this is not always necessary, and this could be something you may want to discuss with the group therapist before committing to the group.
As mentioned above, not every group therapy will be suitable depending on the difficulties you want to work on. Therefore, it is essential to find the right group therapy for you. For instance, an Interpersonal group may not be ideal for people with specific personality disorders, psychosis, or people in an acute crisis. So, it is central that you discuss what difficulties you want to work on with the group therapist before joining a group therapy.
How Does Group Therapy Work at RWC?
Group sessions will run every week for 1 hour and 40 minutes. The maximum number of members in the group will be eight people (without counting the group therapist).
The group we offer will be an ongoing, interpersonal, open-ended group, which means that members can enter and exit it any time they wish. However, they will need to give the whole group a notice of at least two weeks if they intend to stop attending group sessions.
It is possible on certain occasions to attend group therapy while also attending one-to-one therapy with a different therapist, but this will need to be discussed with the group therapist in an initial one-to-one brief consultation to ensure that this would not hinder either the individual or group therapeutic work.
During the sessions, the group therapist will ask members not to interrupt others while they are speaking or make personal comments, which could be perceived as hurtful to others. It is common practice in group work that some members take more time than others in certain sessions, but the group therapist will ensure that everyone will eventually have an opportunity to share their narrative and challenges when they feel ready to do so, while no one will be pressured to speak if they do not feel like doing so.
In this type of group, there will not be a predetermined agenda for each group session, and members are encouraged to bring what feels personally important to them each time or follow up on topics discussed in previous sessions. It is common in group work to hear several different or even contradictory viewpoints from other members about a certain issue, but this is very often a beneficial and rewarding process.
Confidentiality In the Group
The group therapist will ask members to keep confidentiality about the identity of the members and everything that is discussed within the sessions. Members should not feel obliged to share anything in the group they do not feel comfortable sharing.
The group therapist will also be committed to keeping confidentiality, while the normal exceptions to confidentiality (i.e. severe risk to public safety or yourself) will normally apply.
On rare occasions, it may happen that when a member attends the first session, they discover that you know (socially, professionally, or otherwise) another group member, and – understandably – they may feel uncomfortable being in the same therapeutic group. In this case, the best possible arrangement will be discussed with them, and they will not have to give a two weeks notice if they decide that it would be best for them to withdraw from the group.
It is recommended that group members do not have social contact between them while they participate in the group, as this could compromise the cohesion of the group and, subsequently, the therapeutic benefit for the members.
If you have any specific concerns as the group work unfolds, please feel free to email Dr Sarantakis at drnicholas.sarantakis@resilientwellbeingclinic.com, and he will discuss these with you and keep this communication confidential to the other members unless agreed otherwise. It would be helpful to agree with the therapist if there is scope to share your concerns with the whole group.
The same cancellation principles apply as with one-to-one sessions (48-hours cancellation policy)
Benefits of Group Therapy
It can initially sound intimidating to join a group of people you have never met. However, group therapy offers benefits that individual therapy doesn’t. It is often the case that group members are surprised at how valuable and rewarding they found the experience of working through their issues in group therapy.
The group can also become a source of support, sharing, and learning from the experiences, ideas, and suggestions of others. Sharing and listening to others can be incredibly valuable in developing different perspectives on your problems or circumstances. It can also act as a reminder that you are not the only one struggling, and it can help in feeling less alone.
Despite the important element of support, it is important to remember that group therapy is more than support! In fact, group therapy provides benefits that go beyond self-help and informal support groups. Group therapy sessions at RWC are led by a qualified psychologist trained in working with groups that can facilitate a helpful process or offer evidence-based strategies depending on the design and objective of the group.
What Group is Currently Running at Resilient Wellbeing Clinic?
We are all in the same boat!
Share your therapeutic journey with other fellow travellers.
Start Date: Not Available Now
Time:
Duration: 100 minutes
Frequency: Weekly
This is an interpersonal process group, where the main focus is on the sharing and interaction in the here and now between group members.
Please get in touch with us to schedule your initial 15-minute consultation with Dr Sarantakis and book your place in the group.