Individual Therapy vs Group Therapy
Therapy is often depicted in one of two ways; someone lying back on a couch talking about their feelings while a therapist takes notes, and a group of people sitting in a school gym holding styrofoam cups and talking about their experience with substance abuse.
While these two pictures aren’t necessarily wrong, they certainly aren’t the entire picture. Individual therapy and group therapy are much more than what people perceive them to be.
In this article we’re going to talk about individual and group therapy, what sets them apart, what their weaknesses are, and who they’re best for.
What is Individual Therapy?
Individual therapy is a partnership process between a therapist and someone attending therapy. In most forms of individual therapy, there’s a heavy emphasis on building trust between the therapist and the client.
Benefits of Individual Therapy
Individual therapy has been around since the late 1800s, but a lot of ideas from the first forms of psychotherapy can be traced back to ancient Greece. All that to say, individual therapy has been around for a while now and the benefits are well documented. Here are some of the benefits of individual therapy.
Tailored Care and Flexibility
While attending individual therapy, you get one-on-one attention from your therapist. That means they’ll be able to tweak the program to your specific needs.
As the relationship between client and therapist develops, sessions can change to address things the client is currently feeling. For example, you may enter therapy expecting to engage in one form of therapy and then realize a different approach may be more useful. In most instances you can keep your therapist, they’ll just change the approach they take.
The flexibility also covers scheduling. As opposed to group therapy, individual therapy can be rescheduled and adjusted to the client’s needs.
Close Level of Care
During individual therapy, your therapist is solely focused on you and your goals. This level of attention may be uncomfortable at first, but once you get to know your therapist, you may come to find comfort in it.
With the one-on-one care individual therapy offers, your therapist can offer more specific insights into what you’re experiencing.
Weaknesses of Individual Therapy
While individual therapy has many benefits, it’s not perfect on its own. Some people don’t respond as well to it as they do group counseling. Here are some disadvantages of individual therapy.
Cost
Because individual therapy is in a one-on-one setting with a trained professional, the cost can be pretty high. Especially when compared to group therapy.
Lack of Peer Interaction
For some, this might be a benefit of individual therapy. In some cases, hearing from your peers can be very therapeutic and freeing.
Lack of Motivators
When compared to group therapy, individual therapy can be lonely. You have to take motivation into your own hands. In group therapy, you’ll be encouraged by your peers to grow, change, and apply principles. In individual therapy, your counselor will work to keep yourself accountable..
Types of Individual Therapy
There are a lot of ways individual therapy can be conducted. These different kinds of therapy are called modalities, and they each have strengths and weaknesses. The most common modality is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), but CBT can be used in an individual and group setting.
These are some of the therapy modalities that can only work in an individual setting:
The modalities above each use the brain-body connection to bring both physical and mental healing. They’re also mainly used to treat symptoms of trauma.
What is Group Therapy?
Group therapy is a kind of psychotherapy that involves a group of people being cared for by one or more therapists. Researchers are still working to understand the benefits of this form of therapy. However, it’s been proven to be just as effective as individual therapy.
Benefits of Group Therapy
Group therapy is not just support groups like Alcoholics Anonymous. These groups are great as supplemental support, but there are other forms of group therapy. According to recent studies, group therapies can work well for:
- Schizophrenia
- Eating disorders
- Panic disorders
- Anxiety disorders
- Social anxiety disorder
- Substance use disorders
- Depression and bipolar disorders
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder
- Posttraumatic stress disorder
- Borderline personality disorder
- Chronic pain
As you can tell, group therapy has a lot of benefits for those who engage with it. These are some of the other benefits of attending group therapy.
Efficiency
Efficient isn’t a word that’s typically used to describe the healing process. It takes time to understand what’s happening and an even longer time to get to the root of the issue. However, group therapy is considered more efficient because therapists can help more people within a given time.
Groups typically have a patient-to-client ratio of 1:6. That means five more people are receiving care than would be during individual therapy.
Group therapy should not replace individual therapy, but for those who benefit from the format, it’s a great option.
Stigma Reduction
It’s no secret that mental health has been stigmatized for generations. While working through issues in a private closed room there may be conversations about tearing those stigmas down, but it’s even more obvious in group therapy sessions.
When a group of people come together to talk about their similar life experiences it creates comfort and solidarity. Clients are no longer alone in their struggles against mental illness, they’re part of a community struggling together. This benefit is particularly felt by people who are a part of marginalized groups.
Develop Social Skills
Social anxiety is a real problem for a lot of people. Attending a group therapy session, for any form of issue, will help you better interact in social situations.
You may find this uncomfortable at first, but hopefully over time you’ll realize that group therapy is a safe place for you to interact with like-minded people who want to be a part of your growing process.
Chances to Offer Support
Group therapy offers attendees the opportunity to give and receive support from their peers. This builds therapeutic bonds and offers growth opportunities.
Weaknesses of Group Therapy
Not everyone will be a good candidate for group therapy. For people with extreme social anxiety, it could take time before they are comfortable considering attendance. Here are some other weaknesses of group therapy.
Rigid Scheduling
Group sessions aren’t designed to accommodate everyone’s schedule. Instead, they take place at a set-scheduled time. This could be every week on Tuesday at 5, Every other week, and even once a month. If something comes up or if you’re unable to make it to a session, there’s no way to reschedule the session. You’ll just have to make it to the next one.
Not as Much Confidentiality
Therapists are trained to keep personal information confidential. That’s not the case for everyone in a group therapy session.
Confidentiality is expected from everyone involved in the sessions, but it’s not something everyone is guaranteed to follow. A break in confidentiality is much more likely in a group therapy setting.
Types of Group Therapy
Within group therapy, there are different kinds of groups dedicated to tackling a specific topic. Groups are usually broken into two categories:
- Skill groups: This style of group therapy focuses on developing healthy coping and living skills that decrease symptoms of psychiatric issues
- Processing groups: During this style of group therapy participants gather together to process the emotions and feelings that are common to them
Within these categories are even more specific categories that people can take part in. Some of these specific groups include:
- Grief processing groups
- Substance use disorder recovery groups
- Eating disorder processing groups
- LGBTQ+ support groups
Group therapy can be granular or broad. Some places offer specific groups while others offer simple skills and processing groups.
Experiential Group Therapy
Group therapy is more than sitting in a room talking about feelings. Creative activities, hikes, and recreational events can all be used in a group therapy session. This is called experiential therapy.
Some activities often engaged with during this kind of group therapy include:
- Painting
- Hiking
- Guided meditation
- Adventure therapy
- Sound baths
These kinds of activities help groups engage with and overcome challenges, and express themselves through creative means.
Overlaps Between Individual and Group Therapy
The benefits of individual and group therapy are not exclusive. These are some similarities between group and individual therapy.
Greater Self Awareness
Both group and individual therapy offers people a way to better understand themself.
- Individual therapy lets you closer examine your thoughts and why you’re experiencing them
- Group therapy does the same thing but with the added bonus of hearing other people share their feelings—you may find similarities between their experiences and your own that will help you better understand yourself
No matter what kind of therapy you attend, you’ll be gaining better insight into your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
Healing
Individual and group therapy are both effective at creating a healing environment. They do this by creating therapeutic bonds. One, with an entire group or community. The other is between the client and therapist.
Individual and Group Therapy Are Not Mutually Exclusive
Group and individual therapy are best effective when a part of a treatment program. These programs won’t only have individual therapy or group therapy. They’ll have a healthy mixture of both kinds of therapy. This will make both forms of therapy more effective.
Treatment Programs at Sequoia Behavioral Health
At Sequoia Behavioral Health, everyone receives the customized care they deserve. During our intake process, we’ll get to know you better and build a program that’s just for you. This includes group therapy and individual modalities. We do this to create a holistic healing space for you to grow and heal in.
To learn more about our program and what kinds of therapies we offer, check out our program page. If you’re interested in learning if Sequoia Behavioral Health is the right choice for you or a loved one, get in contact.