Groups and Workshops

People may turn to therapy when they feel dissatisfied with their interpersonal lives, often struggling with loneliness, social anxiety, or the inability to maintain healthy relationships. Since these issues are rooted in how we function with others, both experience and research suggest that a group setting is one of the most effective ways to address them. By working alongside others facing similar challenges, individuals can directly tackle the communication barriers and relational patterns that hold them back.

What Is the Difference Between Individual and Group Counseling

Being referred to a group can elicit a mixture of reactions. However, despite fear or anxiety, it is true that for many concerns, group therapy is an extremely rich, intense, and powerful road to personal growth.

Many people have the mistaken belief that group therapy is simply a more cost-effective way of doing individual therapy. Thus, many people believe that they are receiving "second-best treatment" and are being "cheated out" of individual attention from the therapist.

This is simply not true. Research and experience show that group therapy can be, in most cases, as effective as individual therapy, and in many cases is considered the optimal treatment modality—more effective and/or desirable than individual therapy—for addressing certain concerns such as social anxiety, substance abuse, and eating disorders. In group therapy, you have access to two trained therapists and up to eight other "therapists" (other group members) who provide feedback.

Benefits of Being in a Group

Group Can Provide a Much Needed Sense of Not Being Alone in One's Struggles. 

Many believe that everyone else's life is perfect, or that everyone "has it all together." In a group, you get to see that although others may look "perfect" on the outside, inside they are dealing with similar problems and insecurities.

Group provides a safe "laboratory" to work on problems. 

Typically, the interpersonal problems that brought you to the group will be evident in the group. For example, if you regularly feel socially awkward, you will likely feel socially awkward in the group. The difference is that other group members who care about you will give you feedback about how you come across to them. You will receive different perspectives and suggestions on how to improve. Then, you can experiment with these suggestions in the group and receive feedback on your progress.

A common question is, "How can others who are trying to work on the same problem help me? They don't know the answers either!" It's not necessary for other group members to "know the answers." It's enough if they're willing to support you on your journey. It helps if you know that others know you are struggling, if they care enough to be honest with you about what keeps you stuck, and if they help you find your own answers while supporting your decisions and chosen path of:

• Feeling good about helping others.
• Learning about how others see you.
• Learning new skills and gaining hope from seeing that others have had similar problems, and have survived and even thrived.

Groups Are Confidential: What’s Said in Group Stays in Group.

While we cannot guarantee the behavior of other student group members, our therapists take confidentiality very seriously and expect all members to take it seriously also. The importance and rules around confidentiality are typically discussed in the first group meeting, and we encourage everyone to voice their concerns, particularly since Miami University is a small campus and Oxford is a small town.