The Benefits Of Group Therapy

For people who have never attended group therapy, it can sometimes sound a bit scary. Sitting in a room with a group of strangers and sharing your deepest feelings for the first time is enough to make anyone’s anxiety spike. Take it from a person who has been through it a few times; it’s really not as bad as people think and there are definitely some benefits that you cannot get from just individual therapy Alone.

The first time I sat in a room full of people who were of varying ages and genders, people I had never met before in my life, was quite terrifying. It didn’t help that I had (and still have) severe social anxiety. I thought for sure that I was going to have a panic attack, but I didn’t.
As it turned out, everyone was extremely friendly there. We were all people who were going through different things and had been through so much more. Our main goal in common was to get better while helping each other out in the process.

The good thing about group therapy is that you can get so much insight from people who think differently than you do. You get to see your situation, problems, and issues from a different perspective. There may even be people who have gone through a similar situation.

It gets much easier sharing each time you go. You may learn tips for things, and get to see what works for other people when you were so sure there were no options left. It truly is beneficial. There is always the chance that you may make some new friends in the process. And being able to help out others is a wonderful feeling as well.

In individual therapy, you only get feedback from your own therapist who appears to just go through the motions and tells you what they have learned in their schooling. While some things may be helping, it’s not the same as getting feedback from your peers. I actually think group therapy may have helped me in some aspects in which my personal therapist wasn’t able to really help me. You won’t get just the textbook answers.

Now, by no means am I saying ditch your individual therapist. You will most likely need both since there may be things you don’t feel comfortable talking about in group and vice versa.

My advice to anyone would give it a shot. It can’t hurt anything. And if you don’t like it, you can always stop attending. You may be surprised by the ways it can help you. People can surprise you sometimes… ☺

Thanks for reading!

Have you ever been in group therapy? What did you think about it? I would love to see some comments below! You never know who is reading and who may find your comment helpful! 🤗