Let’s state the obvious that we might not always want to believe: relationships are hard work. And there is no shortcut to building and sustaining committed, intimate relationships. There is no pill you can take. No surgery you can undergo. The only way to get better at relationships is through consistent effort, practice, and hard work. Group therapy is a powerful opportunity to practice and cultivate extraordinary relationships.
We all have habitual relationship patterns that block us from friends, lovers, coworkers, and family. These are the patterns that often contribute to our anxiety, depression, or addictions. Group therapy is the ideal social environment to evoke your interpersonal patterns and learn to overcome them. You’ll practice being vulnerable, feeling your emotions, and having deep, honest conversations with others. Through this process, you'll learn all the strategies that you deploy for managing vulnerability, emotional closeness, intimacy, and uncertainty and cultivate new ways of being with yourself and others.
Groups are typically 8-12 members in size, meet once per week for 90 mins, and have a fixed rate per session. The Group meets in a private room where chairs are arranged in a circle so that members can see each other clearly. Free-flow dialogue is the main focus; this means that the direction of the group session is decided by the members, and the therapist helps to facilitate.
No topic is off-limits. Group members work to understand themselves and the other group members by communicating their thoughts and feelings towards other members and the leader and discussing why they have them. Participants are empowered to connect by taking a portion of the talking time each week, sharing the emotionally significant stories of their lives, and discussing important aspects of life with the group. Learning ultimately comes from the interaction between group members and the development of insight into the roots of your behaviors.
For those looking for therapy but worried that cost may be a barrier to access, Group therapy has financial advantages. Group sessions cost around $60-80 per session. Group is proven to be just as effective as individual therapy, if not more effective, for certain presenting concerns.
If you want to learn to authentically and deeply relate to others, improve communication skills, bolster emotional regulation, understand attachment needs, and discover healthy, meaningful ways of navigating relationships with yourself and others, then group therapy in Austin might be perfect for you. All it takes is a willingness to reach out and start that journey.
Authored by: Dr. Brian Trager
Learn more about our Group Therapy options here!