When it comes to therapy, we generally think of sitting there one-on-one with a practitioner in a quite intimate, bare-your-soul session. So the very idea of group therapy may be daunting!
However, it might not necessarily be what you’ve imagined. You might think you’d be sitting in a circle and talking about your problems with a bunch of strangers, but there are lots of different types of group therapy.
While some involves collaboration, teamwork and accountability, other forms of group therapy might be more about being a part of a group but answering questions posed by a practitioner (you’d write your answers privately in a journal), while you try to identify what might be holding you back in life or work.
Where would group therapy work?
The most obvious form of group therapy might be for addicts or alcoholics – AA or NA meetings. These types of therapy settings can help participants learn about maladaptive behaviours and gain insight into the recovery process. It can also offer accountability and provide a sense of belonging.
Other types – such as the kind kinesiologists might facilitate – would look at delving into what might be holding you back in life or work. This kind of therapy suits wellness retreats, online groups, coaching groups or small businesses who might want to look after their staff’s wellbeing.
It can also be beneficial for women’s groups or circles, groups of mums or teenagers, yoga studies or even corporate teams that need to try and create a friendlier, more productive workplace.
How does it tie in with kinesiology?
Group therapy can be done with kinesiology and our 90-minute Delete / Reset sessions to remove deep negative emotions that may be holding you back.
Think anger, sadness, fear, hurt, guilt or shame – all of which can apply to your personal life or your business. After all, we all have belief systems that keep us ‘stuck’ at times.
What goes on in a group therapy session?
During the session, we might:
- Discuss the problem
- Look at how it’s affecting you and others
- Delve into how it makes you feel
- Talk about how long you’ve had the problem
- What makes it better or worse
- How you’d like to feel
It’s about identifying what’s holding you back and how you can be different moving forward. This can be really effective in a group therapy session because it’s private to the individual, as you’re writing the answers to these questions down, rather than discussing them with the group.
Why would you opt for group therapy?
Firstly, it can actually feel safer and more nuturing to do healing work with others, rather than having the focus solely on you. It doesn’t have to be heavy and emotional – group therapy can actually be fun and empowering!
It’s can also be good at helping a group of people bond, give them a chance to be vulnerable and learn what makes you tick. In this way, group therapy can bring people together and be a good conversation starter, especially if people feel like sharing.
It can also feel as if you matter and are important to the company if your boss organises this for you – and it can help you open up to other work colleagues.