Group Therapy
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At PCP – The Perry Clayman Project, we understand that every client goes through unique challenges with addiction and mental health difficulties. However, we also know that clients need to reconnect with others. Therefore, we offer group therapy as one facet of treatment. In group therapy, clients connect with others, build communication skills, and learn to give and receive support. It offers unique ways for clients to learn to relate to themselves and others in a healthy way that supports their recovery both in treatment and when they return home after treatment.
The Basics of Group Therapy
Group therapy is a treatment modality that involves multiple clients and a therapist. The counsellor develops a structure for the sessions that is oriented around helping the clients to heal from their challenges with substance abuse and their mental health. Group size varies; however, in general, it sits somewhere between six and 12 individuals and either one or two counsellors.
The specifics addressed in group therapy vary depending on the individuals involved. However, the goal of group therapy is to help clients build interpersonal skills, and address the challenges that they face related to their mental health and addiction. As a group, clients are encouraged to participate in a way that is helpful for them and their process of healing.
Connecting With Others in Group Therapy
Addiction and mental health challenges often lead an individual to feel lonely. The sense of being apart from others causes many negative emotions that often play into the cyclical behaviours associated with addiction and substance abuse. Fortunately, clients can learn to connect with others. The connections that they build in group therapy play an important role in their lives. They help them to see and feel that they are not alone. Whether they continue with these relationships or not, the sense of belonging helps them to heal.
When a person is struggling with addiction and poor mental health, the way they relate to themselves and others is impacted by their challenges. Additionally, the poor connection also can be part of the puzzle in why they have continued to have challenges with substance abuse and their mental health.
In group therapy, clients learn new and healthier ways to relate to both themselves and others. The foundation of these changes often begins in individual therapy. However, the structure and support clients have in group therapy give them invaluable time and space to practice. Counsellors help clients to see how they are relating to others and themselves. Then, clients practice how to shift into a new way to see themselves, and others, and how they can interact. These changes are made in order to improve relationship dynamics, both in how a person relates to themselves and others.
Improving Support in Group Therapy
Group therapy provides clients with a unique experience to improve their ability to receive and provide support for others. It does so through the structured environment where clients share their challenges, receive support from others, and learn the benefits of having a support network. In addition, as they hear about other individuals’ experiences, they learn how to be supportive.
Having a healthy support network is vital in improving mental health and well-being. In addition, it helps clients to successfully recover from addiction long term. This is because support gives clients options when they run into challenges. These options may include talking to someone they know from treatment, a counsellor, or a loved one. However, knowing how to be in a healthy, supportive relationship is necessary in order to be willing to look for and accept support when they need it.
Additionally, group therapy gives clients an opportunity to support others. Relationships are a two-way street. However, for many individuals with challenges with addiction, supporting others is relatively new. In group therapy, clients learn to empathise with other clients’ unique issues. They learn how to speak supportive words and be a participating member of a group of individuals who are gathering to provide and receive support and care.
Building a Foundation For Long-term Recovery
At PCP – The Perry Clayman Project, we know that clients do best when they have healthy relationships in their lives. These relationships and their community provide them with support, care, and a sense of belonging. However, most individuals with mental health and addiction challenges struggle to have a healthy foundation of skills to build and maintain their connection with others.
Group therapy helps clients to build foundational skills. These skills include a variety of interpersonal skills such as empathy, expressing feelings, and active listening. However, it also teaches clients that they can be a part of a community. For many who have a history of addiction, this is new. Therefore, the understanding that they are welcomed and can build skills to better their involvement is important.
Each client comes into group therapy with a unique set of skills and issues. However, we find that clients come through group therapy with improvements that set them up for success in healing, both in treatment and in their long-term recovery.
Group therapy at PCP – The Perry Clayman Project helps individuals realise that they are not alone and provides them with vital foundation skills to build and maintain their relationships and general community. To learn more about how group therapy and addiction treatment at PCP – The Perry Clayman Project can set you or your loved one up for long-term recovery success, call us today at 08000 380 480.