Anxiety Group Therapy

Anxiety group therapy is a way of helping people deal with their anxiety by meeting with others in the same situation and discussing their experiences instead of undergoing an individual therapy session. There are pros and cons to group therapy as opposed to individual therapy.

 

 

It can be very helpful for people with anxiety issues to interact with others who are going through the same thing as them. It is good for people with anxiety disorders to realize that many other people have the same problems as them. Many people are ashamed of their anxiety disorder and hide it from friends and family so it is good to be able to open up to others who know how they feel and to feel like they are part of a group instead of feeling alone and isolated.

 

Anxiety group therapy allows participants to share their experiences and to share what has helped them deal with their anxiety and that can be a great learning experience for everyone. People can use what they have learned from other therapies like cognitive therapy to help others deal with situations that make them anxious and fearful. Everyone can learn from each other.

 

For people with a fear of social situations, group therapy can help them overcome this anxiety and learn to interact with others socially. A group therapy setting is the perfect place for these people to work on their social skills and get ideas on how to reduce their anxiety and learn to deal with frightening situations.

 

 

Anxiety group therapy is not the best treatment for everyone with an anxiety disorder. Some people do not do well in anxiety group therapy because they are not getting enough individualized attention when there is one therapist and as many as 12 patients. Patients can sometimes feel like they are not being heard and their concerns are not being addressed in a group therapy setting.

 

In many cases, people with anxiety disorders will participate in both group and individual therapy sessions. This can mean that during the group therapy session, another therapist talks one on one with each participant for at least a few minutes to address any issues they may have. There are some things that just cannot or should not be dealt with in the group setting like medications or personal problems. This combination of group and individual therapy is very helpful to most patients.