What Is Group Therapy?

Group therapy provides powerful opportunities to explore interpersonal dynamics and develop insight into your interpersonal patterns – how you respond to others, and how these responses impact your relationships.

It also provides opportunities to receive social support and to experiment with new ways of responding and to receive valuable, constructive feedback about how others experience you.

Group therapy offers something unique over and above individual therapy, and I’ve seen it serve as an important catalyst for transformation in many of my clients’ lives.

Group therapy is not just individual therapy done in a group format.

Likewise, therapy groups are not the same as support groups, although support is certainly an important element.

Rather, group therapy gives members unique opportunities to explore their own interpersonal patterns within the group context, try out new ways of being with others in the safety of the group, and receive constructive interpersonal feedback from their fellow group members about how they are experienced and how they impact others.

Members benefit from sharing openly and authentically in the group and being received with warmth and acceptance. By taking risks and sharing parts of themselves that they may normally keep hidden, they have opportunities to disconfirm their fears of how others will respond – freeing them up to take similar risks outside of group and make more room in their lives for their full, authentic selves.

Likewise, members learn from one another and benefit from witnessing each others’ struggles and growth. They also often find it beneficial to have opportunities to help others and offer feedback and support.

As the group therapist, my role is to facilitate this process by creating a safe space in which the group can do its work, make observations, draw connections, ask thoughtful and probing questions, identify patterns, and redirect the discussion if the group is getting off-track.

Who Can Benefit From Group Therapy?

Therapy groups can be especially helpful if you’re struggling with interpersonal challenges – problematic patterns in relationships, difficulties communicating or getting your needs met, or having a hard time making satisfying connections with others.

Groups are also particularly helpful if you’re having difficulties related to your own personal identity or sense of self – insecurities, fears of judgment, or feeling less in touch with who you are.

Finally, therapy groups are also a good fit if you could use some additional social support or if you don’t have many opportunities to interact with others going through similar challenges. Learning from other people’s experiences and knowing that you’re not alone can be a major benefit of group therapy.

What To Expect:

Group Structure & Format

A therapy group typically consists of between 4-8 members plus the therapist. Groups might meet either in person in my office or online for 90 minutes each week.

Groups are “closed,” meaning that we have the same group of people meeting together each week and not a constantly changing set of people – so no new people showing up unannounced. However, new members may be added to groups with some advanced notice.

Groups are typically ongoing (unless otherwise specified), meaning that there is no set end-date and members can remain in the group for as long as they continue to find it helpful. All members agree to a set of guidelines in joining the group (including maintaining the confidentiality of other members) which helps build a sense of security and trust between members.

Current Groups

I do not have any current groups up and running at this time. If you are interested in joining a therapy group, please follow the link below to complete a form letting me know of your interest and availability. If I see that there is enough interest in forming a group from individuals with compatible availability, I will get in touch.