Are You Looking For New Solutions and More Progress?
Are you happy with individual therapy but want to try an approach that could help you reach your goals faster? Do you seek specific skills you feel a group setting could provide? Could you benefit from telling your story among peers experiencing similar struggles?
Maybe you’ve made progress working with your therapist, but sessions with just one person have started to feel lonely. You might feel like you need a little more support or other viewpoints to work through your struggles. Or maybe you wonder if you’d be more motivated to change for the better if you were in a group setting.
While group therapy offers something unique to each person who participates, the overall goal is that you better yourself and your quality of life. Some of the symptoms group therapy can help manage include: social anxiety, depression, stress, low self-esteem, gender dysphoria, isolation, feelings of emptiness, mood difficulties and more.
You might already have a good relationship with your therapist but are possibly looking for an environment to serve as a sounding board for your experiences and others who can provide constructive feedback. Or maybe your pain has caused you to self-isolate, and you see group counseling as a way to build the relationships that provide mental and emotional support as you heal.
Even if you’ve found progress through individual therapy, group counseling can inspire exponential growth by offering a dynamic, collaborative environment to help you move forward in life and find tangible solutions to your problems.
Many Benefit From The Support And Accountability Of Group Sessions
According to the American Counseling Association, group therapy can be a more powerful alternative to individual therapy because it mirrors the way we live in the world–with others.1 It is this social aspect that allows people to interact with one another and learn from ideas, perspectives, and connections gained from these interactions.
Additionally, for particular issues such as major depressive disorder and PTSD, group therapy is also considered more effective than individual therapy.2 Essentially, therapy in a group setting cultivates an environment for further growth than what one might experience in an individual setting alone.
Technology in particular has caused us to become glued to our phones while forsaking human-to-human connection. As a result, we might struggle to maintain solid relationships in our daily lives. And consequently, this isolation breeds disconnect from ourselves and others–so we’re unable to truly address issues as they arise. Alone, we lack the skills and objectivity to work through our issues. And if we do look to a professional for help, how do we know which therapy route to choose?
Yet, group therapy offers an oasis from the current isolation of today, caused by the lingering effects of an ongoing pandemic and the influence of technology, and it can help you make the progress you desire. By providing you with the tools, support, and education needed to improve your circumstances, group therapy can increase your quality of life.
Group Therapy Can Help You Workshop In A Safe Space And Develop Lifelong Skills To Thrive
Group therapy offers a new way to look at your experiences within a supportive setting. At Elevate Counseling, we cultivate a safe, non-judgmental, and open-minded environment where you can explore your thoughts and behaviors and develop coping strategies to manage and overcome your struggles.
Treatment starts with an intake process, during which you will call our intake line so that we can learn more about your challenges and place you with a corresponding group. From here, we will direct you to a secure online portal to fill out intake forms and then we can begin therapy.
Clients can choose from a selection of more than 15 groups that span topics such as relationships, emotions, parenting, children issues, teen issues, sexuality, and more:
- Moms 2 Moms: A Post-Baby Support Group
- The Way Of Wellness: Learn the art of self-care. Targets anxiety and depression.
- All About Feelings: Children (age 7 to 11) can build skills to better cope with emotions. Targets big emotions like sadness and anger.
- You’ve got this!: Girls (age 14 to 17) explore how self-esteem impacts their lives (e.g. school, relationships, social media). Targets self-esteem.
- Building The Life You Want: Young women (age 22 to 28) explore who they are, what they believe, and how to care for themselves. Targets stress, self-doubt, low self-esteem.
- Rainbow Compass (For Parents): Explore ways to support your transgender or nonbinary child. Targets stress and anxiety.
- Rainbow Compass (For Teens): Transgender teens can find support among peers for their personal journeys. Targets anxiety and gender dysphoria.
- Elevate Your Marriage: Improve communication, manage conflict, and build trust in your relationship. Targets relationship distress.
- What the Fuzzzzzz? Women Who Love Too Much: Gain skills to move forward from an abusive relationship. Targets PTSD.
- Building Resilience During Challenging Times: A Toolbox To Help Your Child Learn and Grow: Children can find ways to cope with this difficult year and build connections with peers. Targets stress, anxiety, and low self-esteem.
- Be Bold, Be Creative, Be Yourself: Children can use art to build coping skills, identity, and mental health. Targets anxiety, stress, and depression.
- Building Boundaries: Developing Healthy Relationships With Self and Others: Adult children of alcoholics can find support in peers with shared experiences and learn how to put themselves first.
- Express Yourself: Learn how to weave creative arts into self-care. Targets stress, anxiety, and feelings of emptiness.
- Beyond Grief: Work through your grief within a supportive group of peers experiencing the same challenges. Targets grief and loss.
- Retreat Into Greater Self-Love: Learn how to experience greater self-love and address barriers. Targets anxiety, low self-esteem, and mood difficulties.
Due to the wide range of issues, therapists at Elevate Counseling use a variety of approaches to help clients address challenges. These may include:
- Cognitive Behavioral-Therapy (CBT), which allows you to build more positive thought patterns and deal constructively with issues as they come up.
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), which utilizes a similar approach as CBT when it comes to challenging negative thoughts and behaviors. DBT also adds the ideas of acceptance and validation to help participants accept the difficulty of change.
- Mindfulness, which allows clients to center themselves and process information from an emotionally neutral place.
- Art therapy, which offers a creative outlet such as painting, writing, or music to work through challenges within a group setting.
We have helped numerous people find personal fulfillment through group therapy, which embodies our motto “Building Bridges Of Healing Through Therapeutic Relationships”. Whatever your struggle, group therapy allows you to connect to others with similar challenges to boost healing.
But you may still have questions about group therapy…
I’m shy and don’t feel comfortable in a group setting.
Groups can certainly be intimidating. For one, you don’t know anyone, and maybe you worry that you will be judged. Chances are that you aren’t the only one who feels this way. However, one benefit to group therapy is that, like you, others will also be participating to work through their experiences. You’re not obligated to speak up, and you can still gain a lot by simply listening and doing the work outside of sessions.
How do I know this will work for me?
While we can’t guarantee that therapy will work for everyone, client feedback on the benefits of group therapy have included more accountability toward progress, support from others with similar issues, diverse perspectives, and constructive feedback.
I don’t want to leave the therapist I’m currently working with.
This is a valid concern, but the great thing about group therapy is that you can keep your current therapist while also participating in group therapy, which has a short-term duration of four to eight weeks. Your therapist is on your side and can either coordinate group sessions for you or refer you to groups they think you would be a good fit for.
Are You Ready To Find Support Among Peers And Skyrocket Your Growth?
Group therapy can give you a new way to view your challenges and find the support to grow beyond them. If you’re ready to take the next step toward healing, we invite you to give us a call for a free 15-minute consultation to see how group therapy can work for you!
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Groups:
A Post-Baby Support Group
If you’re a Mom with a new baby, come join us for 6 weeks of education, sharing and caring!
For high school aged girls (14-18) who want to increase their self worth and improve their self esteem.
For adult working professionals who identify as ‘givers’ and experience anxiety.
For adults (21+) experiencing anxiety, depression, grief, trauma, or simply feeling “frozen” or “stuck”.
