What is Group Therapy?

Group therapy is a kind of therapy focused on self-understanding, healing and change with others who are committed to the same goals. It is a way of exploring and processing thoughts and feelings to lead towards learning and healing from previous or ongoing struggles and traumas and to gain new understanding in a context that more resembles a family.

But whereas the word “family” could trigger negative reactions and expectations based on painful memories from one’s family of origin, the group “family” puts great value and emphasis on emotional safety. This safer environment can enable members to explore more deeply and to communicate more directly and authentically to the other members and to the group therapist. Therefore, during the work of group therapy, members have the opportunity to create “corrective experiences” or learn new and healthier ways of expression and to experience interactions and outcomes that would be different than their earlier experience.

What are the benefits of group therapy?
* Members feel less isolated and more connected to others and learn on an experiential level of the reality and deep need for this universal experience of connection.
* Members discover ways that they push others away and block emotional connection and can explore the roots coping style.
*Members learn new ways to express themselves that better cultivates intimacy and connection
* Members can look more carefully at the “projections” or preconceived notions of others in a way that can more realistically alter their view of themselves, others and the world.
* Members deepen a sense of belonging.

How does group therapy work?
In the course of a 90 minute session, members are encouraged to talk about what they are thinking and feeling with an emphasis on their emotional state and to notice if and how their internal experience changes over the course of the session and as topics and discussions change. Members are also encouraged to verbalize what they’re thinking and feeling so that there is an opportunity for others to understand and perhaps join with a similar experience. This period of exploration and verbally expressing thoughts and feelings is “book-ended” by a “check-in” and a “check-out.” A “check-in” gives members an opportunity to talk about how they’re feeling as the sessions begin and attempt to be present or more focused on their current experience. At the end of the session, there is a “check-out” where members take a moment consolidate the group experience by sharing their reaction to the session