The 7 benefits of going to group therapy

Psychological alterations such as Eating Disorders, trauma, grief for the loss of loved ones or disorders of Anxiety are complications that, many times, must be treated beyond individualized sessions in the psychologist's or doctor's office. psychiatrist.

That is why there is group therapy, a form of psychological intervention in which several patients participate at the same time and that takes advantage of the possibilities of working with people who face similar problems. Let's see what its benefits are.

• Related article: "Group therapy: history, types and phases"

What is group therapy?

The therapeutic group is a context in which it is possible to intervene in psychological problems from social dynamics that fall outside the scope of individual patient-directed psychotherapy (that is, the "classical" model of therapy psychological).

Is about a type of psychotherapy in which more than two people participate and that falls outside the definition of family or couples therapy; The participants usually do not know each other, but they have common characteristics related to the problems they face.

Within the range of possibilities of group sessions aimed at improving the quality of life of patients there is an important diversity of approaches ranging from Mutual Help Groups (which are not technically considered psychotherapy because the roles of therapist and patients do not exist, nor do they work from a clinical approach but rather from support and possibility of expression) to group therapy focused on the individual and psychopathology (in which the group is only a means to achieve concrete changes at the level of individual).

Nevertheless, all group therapy modalities share several characteristics related to communication and emotional bonding processes that will hardly occur between two people with very different roles.

• You may be interested in: "Mutual Help Groups (GAM): what are they and what values ​​do they promote"

The main benefits of the therapeutic group

Although the way in which group therapy positively influences people's well-being depends on the format used, in general terms, the benefits it brings are as follows.

1. Offer a support network

In group therapy it is possible to have a group of people who are interested in one's own problems and who are capable of offering advice, emotional support, useful information ...

What's more, this type of support is not only offered by therapists, and this has important implications. While professionals must actively avoid stepping out of their role to be able to carry out their work, the rest of the assistants are not subject to so many limitations, and emotional ties of an affective and friendly nature can arise that go beyond the specific goals of therapy.

• Related article: "Psychological help: how to know if I need it and how to find it"

2. It allows to enhance self-knowledge through communication with others

People who live socially isolated and who are exposed to only a very limited series of stimuli and experiences, have less possibilities of knowing themselves because they go through the same kind of phases of thought, of topics of reflection, of feelings, etc.

Thus, group therapy is positive, among other things, for raising issues and approaches that had not been noticed before, which allows discovering facets of oneself that were unknown until that moment.

• You may be interested in: "Self-knowledge: definition and 8 tips to improve it"

3. Allows you to adopt different points of view and break dysfunctional beliefs

Get in touch with the opinions of others on issues such as mental health, social stigma, the possibility of recovery from psychopathology or personal development makes the participants see their schemes and can discard dysfunctional beliefs to which they had been clinging and that only generated discomfort.

• Related article: "6 limiting beliefs, and how they harm us on a daily basis"

4. Provide references

In group therapy it is possible to see the example of other people who have gone through or are going through a situation similar to oneself, either because the same psychopathology has developed

The possibility of explaining the most experiential and subjective component of the problems that have led people to go to therapy makes it possible to find parallels with yourself and realize that you are not alone in the face of these kinds of sources of discomfort.

• You may be interested in: "Festinger's theory of social comparison"

5. Provides multiple sources of motivation to improve

As through the sessions, the experiences of those who regularly attend group therapy are monitored, the Participants have more incentives to progress appropriately both to serve as an example for others and not to demotivate the rest. What's more, seeing how other people gradually overcome their problems shows that it is possible to feel better.

6. Enables a more gradual process by exposing your own vulnerabilities

In the therapeutic group, the rhythms of each person are respected, it is not assumed that each individual must constantly adapt to the progress proposed for the whole group. Thus, it is possible not to speak during the first sessions, waiting to gain enough confidence to expose your own vulnerabilities to others.

This fact makes many people feel less uncomfortable in the early stages of therapy, since they do not feel that the focus of the session is centered on them.

• Related article: "Extreme shyness: what it is, causes, and how to overcome it"

7. Allows working on social skills

Another consequence of participating in group therapy is that the participants have the opportunity to develop their social skills in varied situations, since they must adjust to different kinds of interactions depending on the proposed activity.

That is, there is a real-time learning environment about skills related to active listening, to the return of constructive feedback after listening to someone, organizing ideas and thoughts to express them in a way that is understandable to the person rest, etc.

Are you interested in having professional psychological support?

If you are looking for psychotherapy services, I invite you to contact me.

I am a psychologist specialized in the clinical field and I have more than 10 years of experience in the sector, and I can help you through online therapy by video call I intervene in problems such as Eating Disorders, depressive disorders, mourning the loss of loved ones, low self-esteem, disorders of anxiety, and more.