The Value of Group Therapy

Throughout our program there has been a lot of talk of group therapy. We have been practicing running groups and have talked a lot about the value of groups. Besides the obvious time and cost savings which are required by both the insurance companies and therefore employers, groups serve many other purposes, such as the benefit of sharing and learning from other experiences, recognizing that you are not alone in your struggle and finding moral support in your peers. Support groups are similar, though often without a therapist leading, they provide many of the same benefits as group therapy. I recently attended a PD support group as part of a homework assignment. Though I was only silently observing, I was able to experience all these things going on in their group. I saw the sort of camaraderie that the people in the group shared as they all dealt with the same illness, and the way they drew comfort and moral support from the experience.

Groups also serve other purposes that we as OT practitioner (students) know. Groups allow us to help our clients work on social skills, learning to tolerate the presence of others, and increase their awareness of others. Groups can be a very valuable tool. A recent guest who works with mentally ill patients spoke of how she uses group therapy and the value of that in teaching those patients how to overcome the difficulty of interacting because of their illness. Learning to deal with others while you address your illness is valuable practice for daily living. When she said that she had only ever had one violent outburst, I thought that she must have a very good understanding of the patients and recognize their triggers well. That is a sign of a great group leader.

Online group therapy can be beneficial for those in society who are not willing or able to physically participate in sessions. This type of therapy works really well for some people for whom anonymity is important. Although this may not be the best therapy option overall, I think it is a good compromise for those who would otherwise not seek therapy and therefore be left to suffer alone.

The following link is an article regarding the details of online group therapy.

http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Value-Of-Group-Therapy&id=803876