What is Group Therapy?
Group therapy sessions include one or two mental health professionals and a group of otherwise unrelated patients who live with the same mental health problems. Participants learn from one another and the therapists as members share their experiences. These sessions usually consist of between five and 20 participants, but each group is unique. The counselor’s role in group therapy is to put the conversations into perspective, ensure everyone follows the rules, and ask appropriate questions.
What Happens During Group Therapy?
Almost everyone has seen at least one movie or television show with a group therapy scene. Although some portrayals are more accurate than others, real-life group therapy differs quite a lot from pop culture. While each group is different from the next, most of them follow a few basic principles:
- Anonymity among members is a must
- Members all struggle with something similar (grief, substance abuse, etc.)
- What people say inside the group stays with the members only
- Members encourage one another
- Both patients and counselors share information with the group
- Participants heal by helping others as well