Group Therapy

Talking about how you feel in a supportive group with a trained facilitator is powerful. In doing so you release the emotional charge behind what’s bothering you, heal your sense of shame around the issues you expose, and learn assertive communication skills for dealing with groups of people all at the same time. This is particularly powerful at dealing with one of the biggest factors that undermines our self-confidence: shame. It is a logical next-step from individual therapy, and many therapists run groups as an adjunct to individual therapy.

The most powerful short-term group process I’ve come across is Path of Love. Longer term groups that involve open, honest sharing in a non-judgmental environment are likely to be the most beneficial in the long term.

Advantages:

• You discover that you are not alone

• Powerfully de-shaming

• Helps you transition skills learned in therapy to using them in the real world

• You learn to deal with conflict

• You learn to handle other people projecting onto you

• Can offer more support than individual therapy

Disadvantages:

• Requires a skilled facilitator and/or strong ground rules, or the group can degenerate

• Potential for conflict with other group members to distract you from dealing with your own issues.

• Other group members project their unresolved baggage onto you