Brighton and Hove Psychotherapy

01273 921 355
Online Therapy In the Press
  • Home
  • Therapy Services
    • Fees
    • How Psychotherapy Works
    • Who is it for?
    • Individual Psychotherapy
    • Child Therapy
    • Couples Counselling and Therapy in Brighton
    • Marriage Counselling
    • Family Therapy and Counselling
    • Group Psychotherapy
    • Corporate Services
    • Leadership Coaching and Consultancy
    • Clinical Supervision for Therapists and Trainees
    • FAQs
  • Types of Therapy
    • Acceptance Commitment Therapy
    • Analytic Psychotherapy
    • Body Orientated Psychotherapy
    • Private Clinical Psychology
    • CBT – Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
    • CFT – Compassion Focused Therapy
    • Coronavirus (Covid-19) Counselling
    • DBT – Dialectical Behaviour Therapy
    • Divorce & Separation Therapy
    • Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
    • Existential Therapy
    • Group Analytic Psychotherapy
    • Integrative Therapy
    • IPT – Interpersonal Psychotherapy
    • Non-Violent Resistance (NVR)
    • Family and Systemic Psychotherapy
    • Schema Therapy
    • TA – Transactional Analysis
    • Trauma Psychotherapy
  • Types of Issues
    • Abuse
    • Addiction
      • Gambling Addiction Therapy
      • Porn Addiction Help
    • Affairs
    • Anger Management Counselling in Brighton
    • Anxiety
    • Bereavement Counselling
    • Coronavirus Induced Mental Health Issues
    • Cross Cultural Issues
    • Depression
    • Family Issues
    • LGBT+ Issues and Therapy
    • Low Self-Esteem
    • Relationship Issues
    • Sexual Issues
    • Stress
  • Online Therapy
    • Therapy for Anger Management
    • Online Anxiety Therapy
    • Online Therapy for Bereavement
    • Online Therapy for Depression
    • Online Relationship Counselling
  • Practitioner Search
    • Our Practitioners
  • Blog
    • Ageing
    • Attachment
    • Child Development
    • Families
    • Gender
    • Groups
    • Loss
    • Mental Health
    • Neuroscience
    • Parenting
    • Psychotherapy
    • Relationships
    • Sexuality
    • Sleep
    • Society
    • Spirituality
    • Work
  • About us
    • Sustainability
    • Work with us
    • Press
  • Contact Us
    • Contact Us – Brighton & Hove Practice
    • Contact Us – Lewes Practice
    • Contact Us – Online Therapy
    • Contact Us – Press
    • Privacy Policy

July 5, 2021 by BHP Leave a Comment

Is a Therapy Group Right for Me? Am I Right for a Therapy Group?

Are you finding it hard to know if group therapy is what you need or want? Below, I outline a few of considerations that might be helpful when thinking about joining a group.

Considering a Therapy Group?
You may have had a group suggested to you or know someone who is in or has been in a group. Perhaps you are aware of difficulties arising for you in groups and want to explore these further. And/or maybe you have had individual therapy in the past or recently and feel you have explored what you needed to in that work.

Whatever has led you to think about joining a therapy group, the idea is likely to feel a new and unknown prospect for you.

Group Therapy and ‘Real Life’
Group Therapy is often described as being closer to ‘real life’ than individual therapy. The other people in the group are not there in a professional role and although the group therapy culture is one of respect and support, members are also encouraged to respond and relate in authentic and spontaneous ways to each other. For some people this is off-putting but for others this is an attractive proposition and seen as a way of more directly experiencing some of the relationship dynamics they might have struggled with in the past or present.

The constant mirroring in groups between members offers ongoing feedback (what happens in groups: mirroring). Many people find this helps them develop a stronger idea of who they are in relation to others. If you are aware that you struggle with your sense of self or identity you will likely benefit from being in a therapy group where you can experience feedback from others as well as observe for yourself your similarities and differences.

Group members tend towards being supportive to each other but do, when the group is working well, offer a realistic mix of positive and challenging responses to each other. Some people who feel particularly fragile in the face of less positive feedback from others can find this too threatening a prospect.

Is this the right time for a group?
If, for example, you have had a very recent trauma or bereavement you may feel you need some more focussed one to one help on your individual circumstances and a group may not therefore be the place at this stage for you. However, this might not feel clear cut and the group therapist would be able to explore this with you. They might even be able to offer to work with you individually over your recent experiences until you feel ready for a group.

Groups and Belonging
Group therapy can be particularly helpful for people who have conflicts around belonging. This might relate to their family history, perhaps feeling they were always outside the family for different reasons, or it might connect to other aspects of their history or identities. Groups give a powerful sense of belonging. Once you join a group you are always part of it. Even after people leave, they are remembered as part of the group’s history. Groups also allow members to move in and out of experiences of outsider and insider-ness. This can offer experiences of, and help understand, relationships to belonging.

Isolation and shame
Like issues around belonging, groups can be particularly helpful for those who feel trapped by feelings of shame and alienation (shame). Most people find an immediate relief in a therapy group when they start to share their worst feelings and thoughts. The chances are always likely that at least someone in the group (and very often the majority) will feel similarly. Usually new members find that shameful thoughts, feelings or experiences become quickly normalised by the rest of the group.

For some though, the idea of making public what feels shameful is too big a step. Some people might benefit from seeing an individual therapist first where they can ‘test out’ their secret feelings, if the idea of speaking in a group feels too frightening.

Some feelings of isolation are easier to dispense with than others. Being in a group does not necessarily stop the individual having these feelings, and indeed the public nature of the group can heighten them. However, it is this very nature of group therapy that creates an opportunity to directly understand and address these difficulties.

The Therapy Group as Alternative Family System
Being in a group can feel like being in a family. Group members can start to represent family members to each other.
Families have their own ‘systems’, but the group creates an alternative (generally more benign and authentic) system which challenges the unconscious assumptions of members’ family systems.

This aspect of groups includes the opportunity to explore dynamics from past and present with siblings (Sibling Rivalry Part 1 and 2). Group members can often feel strong sibling-like feelings towards each other.
People who have had difficult family dynamics growing up, in my experience, gain a lot from the way the therapy group offers this alternative family system and allows explorations of sibling relationships.

What if you don’t like Groups…
If you do not like groups and the idea of being in a group scares you, you may, understandably, not want to join one. However, this might well be why a group could be the right kind of therapy for you. I explored this in more depth in another blog called ‘if you don’t like groups, could it be time to join one‘.

Commitment and Ambivalence
Joining a group requires making a commitment from the outset. Most group therapists will ask that you agree to a minimum of between 6 months and a year. This is an important requirement because someone arriving and leaving quickly can disrupt the group. So, I end this piece with the first question you perhaps need to ask yourself – can you practically make this commitment at this time.

This is a different question than having mixed feelings or ambivalence which is very normal and common when thinking about joining a group.

If you are not sure about whether you can or want to make the commitment, the group therapist can explore your uncertainty with you and help you decide.

Summary
This piece touches on some of the different considerations about joining a therapy group. I have not covered all aspects but focussed on those dilemmas and considerations that, have come to light most often in my experience of helping people think about joining a therapy group.

 

To enquire about psychotherapy sessions with Claire Barnes, please contact her here, or to view our full clinical team, please click here.

 

Claire Barnes is an experienced UKCP registered psychotherapist and group analyst offering psychodynamic counselling and psychotherapy to individuals and groups at our Hove practice.

 

Further reading by Claire Barnes

The Problem with Change

What is it like being in a Psychotherapy Group? Case study – Joe

Silences in Therapy

Sibling Rivalry – Part 1

Sibling Rivalry – Park 2

Filed Under: Claire Barnes, Groups, Relationships Tagged With: group psychotherapy, group therapy, support groups

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Find your practitioner

loader
Wordpress Meta Data and Taxonomies Filter

Locations -

  • Brighton
  • Lewes
  • Online
loader
loader
loader
loader
loader

Search for your practitioner by location

Brighton
Lewes

Therapy services +

Therapy services: 

Therapy types

Therapy types: 

Our Practitioners

  • Mark Vahrmeyer
  • Sam Jahara
  • Gerry Gilmartin
  • Dr Simon Cassar
  • Claire Barnes
  • Sharon Spindler
  • David Work
  • Susanna Petitpierre
  • Thad Hickman
  • Angela Rogers
  • Chris Horton
  • Fiona Downie
  • Dorothea Beech
  • Rebecca Mead
  • David Keighley
  • Georgie Leake

Search our blog

Work with us

Find out more….

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Charities we support

One Earth Logo

Hove Clinic
49 Church Road, Hove, East Sussex, BN3 2BE

Copyright © 2023
Press Enquiries
Privacy Policy
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.AcceptReject Privacy Policy
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT