Group Therapy: Everything You Need to Know

By Faith, LCPC · 8 min read · February 14, 2025

What Is Group Therapy?

Group therapy is a form of psychotherapy where a small number of people — typically 6 to 12 — meet regularly with one or more licensed therapists to work on shared psychological concerns. Sessions usually last 60 to 90 minutes and occur weekly. While individual therapy focuses on one person's relationship with their therapist, group therapy uses the relationships between all group members as the primary therapeutic medium.

Group therapy is not a support group. Support groups are typically peer-led, whereas group therapy is led by a licensed mental health professional who actively guides the therapeutic process. Both have value, but they serve different purposes.

How Group Therapy Works

In a typical group therapy session, members discuss what is on their minds, share struggles and successes, and interact with each other under the therapist's facilitation. The therapist helps members notice patterns in their interactions, draw connections between their behavior in the group and their behavior outside of it, and experiment with new ways of relating.

Irvin Yalom, one of the most influential group therapy theorists, identified 11 therapeutic factors that make group therapy uniquely powerful: instillation of hope, universality (realizing you are not alone), imparting information, altruism, the corrective recapitulation of the primary family group, development of socializing techniques, imitative behavior, interpersonal learning, group cohesiveness, catharsis, and existential factors.

In plain terms: group therapy works because you realize others share your struggles, you practice relationships in a safe setting, you give and receive feedback, and you experience genuine belonging.

Types of Group Therapy

Cognitive Behavioral Groups: Structured groups that teach CBT skills — identifying cognitive distortions, behavioral activation, exposure hierarchies. Highly effective for anxiety and depression.

Psychodynamic or Process Groups: Open-ended groups that use the group's here-and-now interactions to illuminate unconscious patterns and relationship dynamics.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Skills Groups: Structured 24-week curriculum teaching mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness.

Psychoeducational Groups: Provide information about a specific diagnosis or concern alongside peer support. Common for conditions like bipolar disorder, ADHD, and eating disorders.

Support Groups: While not strictly therapy, support groups led by licensed therapists for grief, divorce, chronic illness, and addiction provide significant healing through shared experience.

Benefits of Group Therapy

Research consistently shows that group therapy is as effective as individual therapy for many conditions, and more effective for certain issues, particularly those involving interpersonal problems. Benefits include:

• Cost savings — typically 40–60% less expensive than individual therapy
• Learning from multiple perspectives, not just the therapist's
• Practicing social skills in real time with real people
• Breaking isolation — realizing others share your struggles
• Building a genuine community outside of one-on-one relationships
• Receiving honest feedback that individual therapy cannot replicate

Is Group Therapy Right for You?

Group therapy is particularly helpful for people who struggle with interpersonal relationships, feel isolated, want to develop social skills, or want an affordable alternative or complement to individual therapy. It may be less appropriate during acute crisis, for those with active psychosis, or for people who are not yet ready for peer feedback.

Many therapists recommend combining individual and group therapy, especially for complex issues. The individual sessions provide a private space to process what comes up in group.

How to Find Group Therapy

Your therapist can refer you to a group. Psychology Today's website has a group therapy finder. Community mental health centers offer low-cost or sliding-scale groups. Your insurance's behavioral health line can identify covered group therapy providers.

When evaluating a group, ask about the therapist's credentials and group therapy training, the group's theoretical approach, how long the group has been running, and the group's norms around confidentiality. A pre-group individual meeting is standard practice and helps both you and the therapist determine if the group is a good fit.