Group therapy is a powerful therapeutic tool for people who share a common problem to get support and advice from each other. In group therapy up to eight people meet together with a therapist and the therapy focuses on the relationship between the individual and the group.
Group therapy uses psychoanalytic therapy, and this type of therapy is concerned with how things are here and now. The group is unstructured and with the guidance of the therapist, the group looks at how the past is relevant to the present. Group members are encouraged to talk about their thoughts, feelings, memories, hopes, fears and preoccupations. The therapist supports and facilitates a process in which all group members contribute to exploration and analysis.
The groups currently running are both slow open groups, on-going groups with no limitations on the duration of therapy. New group members are able to join when a space in the group becomes available. Groups take place on a weekly basis for an hour and a half with planned breaks for holidays. Both groups take place online.
Most clients who would be considered to benefit from individual therapy would be suitable for group therapy. The assessment for entry into group therapy consists of three one-hour assessment sessions to ascertain the client's suitability for group therapy and to prepare them for the group and to allow time to prepare the group for a new member.