“Let go of your attachment to being right, and suddenly your mind is more open. You're able to benefit from the unique viewpoints of others, without being crippled by your own judgment.” ~ Ralph Marston

Group psychotherapy is a special form of therapy in which a small number of people meet together under the guidance of a professionally trained therapist to help themselves and one another. Group therapy has been widely used and has been a standard treatment option for over 50 years.

If you stop and think about it, each of us has been raised in group environments, either through our families, schools, organized activities, or work. These are the environments in which we grow and develop as human beings. Group psychotherapy is no different. It provides a place where you come together with others to share problems or concerns, to better understand your own situation, and to learn from and with each other.

Group therapy helps people learn about themselves and improve their interpersonal relationships. It addresses feelings of isolation, depression or anxiety. And it helps people make significant changes so they feel better about the quality of their lives.

“Living a full and connected life requires our capacity to feel and to make use of our emotional experience. It is my experience that much of the alienation and separation that occurs in our relationships and family life can be attributed to our fear of feelings and/or our lack of acceptance and understanding of them. We tend to disconnect from our emotional life when we are afraid of being overwhelmed, humiliated, or perceived as weak or inadequate and we seem to pay the price later in isolation, anxiety, and depression.”

Does this sound familiar?

In the groups I run, I work to foster an environment for members to reap the profound benefits of experiencing and exploring their thoughts and the accompanying emotions. Safety is created within the group by learning to access and increase awareness of your internal reactions to self and to those in the group and by committing to express those thoughts, feelings and reactions with words.

Each year, many of us buy gym memberships to increase our physical well-being. I encourage you to think about providing the same commitment to the well-being of your emotional and mental health.

Who Can Benefit

Like individual therapy, group therapy can benefit almost anyone. Some of the issues typically addressed include:

  • Difficulties with interpersonal relationships—both intimate and work related
  • As an adjunct to 12-Step Recovery
  • Problems related to life transitions such as such as impact from a divorce, empty nest challenges, career changes, aging etc.
  • Depression and anxiety
  • Medical illness
  • Grief and Loss
  • Trauma
  • Lifestyle issues within a traditional culture
  • Personality disorders

More Information

Read more on our Group Therapy FAQs page and find out more about Current Groups that are in session at my office. If you feel that group therapy can help you, or you want to know more, please call my office.