What are the Benefits of Group Work?
Hey, guys! Welcome to this Mometrix video over group work and its benefits.
First, let’s talk about what group work, or group therapy, is. Then, we can get into its benefits.
What is Group Therapy?
Group therapy includes one or more psychologists who help lead a group of about five to fifteen patients. The information discussed in group is always confidential. Normally, groups meet for an hour or two each week. Often times a patient will attend individual therapy as well as group therapy; however, some may participate in group therapy alone.
Benefits of Group Therapy
Many groups operate to help target a specific problem; that may be depression, social anxiety, chronic pain, substance abuse, obesity, panic disorders, etc. Other groups may concentrate more generally on improving social skills, helping people manage anger, shyness, loneliness, low self-esteem, and so on. Also, groups are often put into place to help people who have been affected by a loss. A group may be opened or closed. Open groups are groups where members can join at any time. Closed groups are groups where all members begin the group at the same time, and generally have a specific timeline for when they will all end together.
Oftentimes, group work can be very intimidating, but group therapy can be such a great platform to encourage growth in ways that individual therapy cannot. Groups can provide patients with a community of people that help to support, encourage, and act as a sounding board for one another. Other members of the group may have helpful advice and wisdom to offer on a difficult situation or life challenge. A patient may say something that strikes a chord with another patient. It may be something that the patient hadn’t realized before.
Accountability is another helpful and necessary component of group therapy. Having people ask one another on a regular basis if they are doing the thing that they are committed to doing can help to keep the patient on track.
Regularly opening up about internal issues and listening to others can help the patient to put their own problems in perspective. It’s easy to fall into the lie that you are the only one who feels the way that you do; group therapy can help patients to see that they are not alone in their struggle, and that having struggles is a reality of this life.
Diversity is also a major benefit of group therapy. Not everyone thinks, feels, acts, or has the same convictions as we do. A diverse group of people with different personalities, backgrounds, and even living situations can provide healthy conversation and a different perspective than our own. Diversity can also be an effective tool to help us grow in patience.
Group therapy is also effective in revealing to the patient more about themselves than they knew before. Like, how they interact with people, and how others are affected by those interactions.
Overall, group therapy can be very effective in helping patients to recognize and identify problems, gain a community that pushes and encourages them towards change, learn more about themselves, and gain another perspective.
I hope this video was helpful to you. See you next time!