Group members come together to learn about themselves and each other by paying attention to the thoughts and feelings that arise spontaneously, particularly in relation to one another. While members may discuss events from their lives outside the group, the primary focus is on the here-and-now—what happens between members during group interactions. Through giving and receiving feedback, as well as witnessing and relating to each other, members engage in meaningful learning. Over time, familiar patterns and ways of relating will inevitably emerge. By becoming aware of these recurring thoughts and feelings, members are given the opportunity to reflect and invite change. Ultimately, the goal is for group members to develop greater emotional awareness and gain the ability to make more conscious choices that influence how they feel in the moment.

If you are unfamiliar with group therapy, the Youtube series entitled Group does a great job at portraying what a session might look like.

1. Group therapy is affordable, and offers unique opportunities for growth not readily available through individual therapy.

2. Being part of a group is exciting! It is a lively, interactive, and ever-changing experience.

3. An ongoing therapy group provides a weekly heart connection to an empathic group of others, with the potential for an experience of true acceptance and belonging.

4. Group therapy promotes a deep sense of community that is often missing from modern life.

Support groups and self-help groups (such as AA) are structured in nature, sometimes including homework or a focus on a subject/topic. In a process group, the type of learning and skills development we are doing is experiential and takes place through developing relationships with each other. The group is “the tool” so to speak, a play laboratory where deep change can take place. As such, every session will feel and look different depending on what is arising within the members that week.

While you may receive advice, ideas, and support from the other participants, this is not a support group in the sense that many support groups are time-limited and topic specific. Instead, group goes one step further where any and all topics are invited to be explored together and nothing is off the table.

Part of what makes group work is that the relationships with each other is contained to the group. Therefore this is not a place to make friendships that you can take outside of group, but rather a place to develop capacities to make strong relationships with people outside of the group.

In group, you will gain insights and skills such as:

How you are perceived by others and what other people really think and feel about how you interact

How to express your feelings in a way that will build relationships and elicit the responses you want from others

How to give feedback in a way that builds connection and helps people understand the impact of their behavior on others

What behaviors and reactions from others trigger emotional responses in you

How to regulate your feelings so you don’t repress them but can communicate them in a way that builds connection and doesn’t undermine your interpersonal power

How to connect effectively with others across differences

Group is an opportunity to work through deeply entrenched emotional and relational patterns. Because these patterns have been with you for a long time (for many of us our whole lives), it takes time to change them. Long-term weekly commitment is important to the experience. I encourage you to commit to at least six months to a year before evaluating if you are getting what you want from the experience. That is when some people start to see permanent, sustainable shifts start to take place.

Because of the on-going nature of group, it is understandable that you may have to miss a week due to illness, vacation, conflicting obligations, etc. However, an essential aspect of group is consistency in attendance. It is this consistency that allows for a richer, deeper experience for you and the other members. Making sure you prioritize group, and minimize disruption to the experience, is critical to the achieving what you want from the experience.

The therapist's role is to evaluate each person prior to forming the group. Usually, there is a mix of people who can learn from each other. While some group members will have similar circumstances to you, it's not necessary for all to be dealing with exactly the same problem. In fact, people with different strengths and difficulties are often in the best position to help one another. It is normal to have questions or concerns about joining a group. Some people feel uneasy or embarrassed when first joining a group, but they soon begin to develop feelings of trust and belonging.

Group therapy may be used as the primary treatment approach, or it can be used along with individual therapy. Please reach out to see if group can meet your needs.