Individual vs Group Therapy: What’s Best for YOUR Mental Health?
When you're thinking about getting mental health therapy, one choice you'll face is whether to look for individual therapy or group therapy. Both have unique benefits to supprot your mental health and wellbeing; let's break it down.
The Benefits of Individual Therapy
Individual therapy is like having a special one-on-one meeting with a therapist who focuses just on you. Your individual therapist will help you work through personal issues in a private setting. The therapist can tailor everything to your unique needs and help you set and achieve your specific goals. Plus, you can schedule your sessions when it works best for you, and even change how often you meet, if needed. It's all about you!
Benefits of individual therapy include:
Confidentiality: The information shared during sessions remains completely private with a therapist as they are bound by confidentiality laws. Group members do not have the same accountability to uphold group members, though it is strongly encouraged and part of the consent for group therapy forms to agree to respect confidentiality.
One-on-One Attention: Individual therapy allows the therapist to be more thorough in understanding the individual’s specific problems and develop a personalized and comprehensive approach to treatment.
Stronger Therapeutic Alliance: The therapeutic alliance is the working relationship between the individual and therapist. Research indicates that the therapeutic alliance is a key component of a successful therapy intervention.
Develop Self-Awareness: Self-Awareness comes by discussing issues and getting feedback from the therapist. If you have very little self-awareness, it might be better to start individual therapy first to develop this skill before moving toward a group therapy approach.
Flexible Scheduling: You as the client can arrange a time for the therapy sessions that is most conducive to their schedule. You may still have to locate an individual therapist that has openings in their schedule that align with yours.
Quick Appointments: Individual therapy sessions can be arranged rather quickly, if needed.
Individual therapy can help you begin the process to development of better communication and relational skills with a trained professional at the pace you need.
The Benefits of Group Therapy
Now, let’s talk about group therapy. One of the greatest benefits of group therapy is having a supportive circle of people who understand what you’re going through because they’ve been (or are) there too. In group therapy, you get to share your experiences and hear from others, which can make you feel less alone, and get a variety of perspectives at once. It's a fantastic way to practice social and communication skills, like active listening, expressing yourself authentically, and responding with empathy. It's like having a team working toward the same goals where everyone is helping each other grow.
Benefits of group therapy include:
Universality: It’s the realization that you aren’t alone. Other people have problems just like yours, and that can make you feel less isolated and alone making what you’re struggling with a little less daunting. This is what Dr. Irvin David Yalom calls this the principle of universality.
Get & Give Support: Getting support from others makes you feel connected, and giving support helps you grow and learn.
New Perspectives: You’ll get to hear different points of view. You get a bigger picture of things, which can be really helpful.
Improved Communication Skills: You learn how to effectively share your feelings and accept feedback from others.
Increased Self-Awareness: If you already have a decent amount of self-awareness, you can deepen the skill with group therapy. Listening to others with similar issues helps you understand yourself better.
Validation: Sharing your experiences with people who understand can be really healing.
More Modeling: You can learn by watching others (in addition to the therapist). Seeing how others handle their problems can teach you new ways to cope.
Lower Cost: group therapy can be (but is not always) cheaper than seeing a therapist one-on-one.
Group therapy has many amazing benefits, not limited to the list above. It is a great place to connect, get support and encouragement, practice skills and strategies, all while having a safe place to come back.
Which One is Right for You?
Choosing between individual and group therapy depends on what you're dealing with and your what you like and need as an individual. If you struggle with talking in front of others or sharing personal information, for instance, individual therapy might be better. You’ll be able to get personal attention and lets you work through things at your own pace. But if you're struggling with something like communication and connection, loneliness, or substance use, group therapy can be super helpful because the sense of community can really support your journey toward greater mental health and wellbeing.
Combo Therapy: The Best of Both Worlds
Sometimes, the best option is a mix of both! You might benefit from the personalized support of individual therapy and the community feel of group therapy. In fact, many therapists often recommend this combo for a balanced approach to mental health and wellbeing.
At Encompassing Wisdom & Wellness, we offer both individual and group therapy to fit your needs, whether you want one-on-one support or a sense of community. Want to learn more? Contact us or check out our other blogs for more info!
Remember, everyone’s journey is different, and the right therapy for you is out there. We’re here to help you find it!