Why Group Therapy?

"The act of revealing oneself fully to another and still being accepted may be the major vehicle of therapeutic help." - Irvin D. Yalom

Mental health issues have often been known to carry a negative stigma. Many individuals avoid seeking help because of cultural misconceptions or personal biases against therapy. Others circumvent because they refuse to acknowledge that they have a problem, or believe they can figure it out themselves. The most common reason, however, is due to the high cost of traditional individualized therapy.

Although economic disadvantage poses a legitimate argument in ruling out professional help, group therapy is known to offer a low-cost alternative solution. Group settings allow for the treatment of more patients per therapy session, therefore client services can increase at an affordable rate while maintaining the integrity of the therapeutic process.

From systematic reviews, we know that group therapy has an equivalent effect to individual therapy or other psychological treatments (Burlingame et al., 2016). In some instances, group therapy has shown superior results in the provision of social learning, developing social support, and improving social networks (Yalom, 2005).

Even with this new emphasis, many individuals seeking therapy may not feel comfortable sharing their problems with strangers. Others might feel as though they are not receiving quality therapy by having to share a counselor with others. In general, the media and fictional portrayals of group therapy are vastly inaccurate and often depict therapy groups in a mocking, ridiculing fashion (Yalom, 2005).

So, how is group therapy helpful?

Group Cohesiveness

Many members will find they share similar goals with others and feel what Yalom describes as universality. As clients perceive they share similarities with others, they report feeling more in touch with the world and describe the process as a welcome-to-the-human-race experience.

A group with a solid cohesive foundation may have members who explore topics together, offer practical advice on a situation, or even confront the individual’s irrational thought patterns. Being able to express raw truth in a group is known as the working stage in therapy and requires a significant level of trust and cohesion; this is where true life changes can be made. Members can develop insight and awareness in the role they play in their own lives by identifying similarities in others.

Contact me if you would like more information on upcoming groups!

References

Burlingame, G. M., Seebeck, J. D., Janis, R. A., Whitcomb, K. E., Barkowski, S., Rosendahl, J., & Strauss, B. (2016). Outcome differences between individual and group formats when identical and nonidentical treatments, patients, and doses are compared: A 25-year meta-analytic perspective. Psychotherapy, 53(4), 446-461.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2015). Racial/ethnic differe

Yalom, I.D. (2005) The Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy (5th Ed.). New York: Basic Books.