Types of Group Therapy

Have you ever wondered if group therapy might be something that you would benefit from? According to the American psychological association, group therapy can be the preferred or ideal method of intervention for many different types of mental health concerns. (1)

It can be somewhat confusing to consider the different types of group therapy and what may be best for you. Today we will take some time to look into the main kinds of group therapy, and address the considerations and benefits of each type. We hope that this conversation will be informative and helpful as you determine Your needs and if group therapy may be a good choice for you.

Let’s start by exploring the basic types of group therapy: 

Psychotherapy groups: psychotherapy groups are also often referred to as processing groups. Psychotherapy groups are one of the more personal or vulnerable types of group therapy. Psychotherapy groups involves the sharing of life experiences, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that contribute to these experiences, and the learning from and processing of these experiences with other group members. These groups are or should be led by a trained therapist, who helps to facilitate constructive learning and the safe sharing of more personal information for group learning and processing. These groups are most often facilitated in higher-level of care of mental health treatment facilities, including inpatient hospitals, partial hospitalization, programs, or intensive outpatient treatment programs.

Psychoeducation groups: these groups focus on the education of group members related to a certain condition, or certain problems that they may be experiencing. Psychoeducation groups are aimed at equipping group members with factual, information and specific skills based on the shared need. An example of a psycho-education group might be a parenting group, an anxiety group, a phobia group, or some other issue-specific group, where quality information may be helpful in the treatment and understanding of the issue. These groups are typically led by professionals with some form of expertise in the area.

Skills groups: skills groups are groups facilitated around the development of a specific skill set that could benefit group members. DBT therapy skills groups are one of the most common forms of skill groups available. These groups are led by trained mental health professionals with special education in the skills presented or the therapy modality implemented. Some other groups like anger management may fall into this category. 

Self-help groups: self-help groups are groups of individuals that assist, one another in their goals towards health and healing. These goals are typically facilitated by a group member with advanced experience or expertise in overcoming the challenge or problem, shared by group members. The most common self-help groups around include programs for long-term addiction treatment including Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, SMART recovery, and Al-Anon.

Support groups: support groups are similar to self-help groups, in that they are often times led by group members, but some support groups may also be facilitated by a train professional. Support groups simply serve the role of supporting individuals who have similar concerns. Support groups are not necessarily therapeutic in nature beyond the idea that individuals are not alone in the struggles that they are facing, and that others are working through similar challenges. A common example of a support group would be a grief share group. 

There are also times that a group may fit into more than one category of the group therapy types above. So if you are interested in joining a therapy group ask the facilitator more about the type of group they are offering so that you can know and understand what to expect. 

And Salyer Counseling group, we offer DBT therapy skills groups as a part of our group therapy programs. 

And if group therapy may not be the right choice for you, that’s OK. Individual therapy services are also available both in person, at our Arlington, Texas base therapy office, and online through our online therapy services. It is OK to ask for help, and it is OK to seek help in different forms.