Group Therapy

What is group therapy? It is the process by which a group of individuals who suffer from some form of depression or other related issues meet with psychologists in a group format to discuss their issues and, more importantly, come to realize they are not alone in their pain.

Group cognitive therapy allows for each individual to become part of something greater than themselves; that is, they can listen, interact, and realize they are not going crazy, but that others are going through the same problems and experiencing the same symptoms. Moreover, the support an individual can derive from a group setting can increase the rate at which the recovery process is realized.

For example, if you are suffering from anxiety in which you fear social events or interactions, group cognitive therapy affords you the opportunity to meet others who are experiencing the same problem. In these cognitive therapy sessions, behavioral techniques can be utilized to help an individual overcome his or her fear in a group setting.

Alcoholics Anonymous works much the same way. Perhaps an individual seeking help may arrive at a meeting and sit in the back of the room. As each person begins to tell their experiences, the person in the back of the room may begin to feel connected, sense that the speaker is relating a story that is more than familiar.

So too, a person who suffers from anxiety is usually quite shy and may also tend to remain silent at the first group therapy session. But as he or she listens to others’ accounts of what they have been experiencing, they soon realize they are not the only ones who have been thinking negative thoughts, or going through the “fright and flight” symptoms of anxiety. Soon, they find the strength within to share their thoughts and feelings because they feel safe in this environment.

For most anxiety sufferers, it can be a lonely existence. Their world becomes smaller and smaller as each attack prevents them from revisiting the same place or situation in which the anxiety first occurred.

Group cognitive therapy can offer asylum to those who fear social settings. Who would you rather be with during an anxiety attack? Someone who doesn’t understand what is happening and fluffs it off, or a group of people who know exactly what you are going through and help you to overcome the intense fear.

The behavioral tools utilized in group therapy serve to help each individual within the group realize the reasons behind the anxiety, and offers support in dealing with the issues so that every person in the group understands and recognizes their own potential by empowering them to control each situation and not be controlled by it.

From Group Therapy to Cognitive Therapy