Group therapy
Group therapy is a form of psychotherapeutic work that involves the interaction of participants within a group setting. It addresses not only a person’s individual issues, internal conflicts, and maladaptive or underdeveloped skills, but also their relationships with others and their position within the group. One of the key rules of psychotherapeutic groups is mutual respect among the participants.
This format of psychotherapy is carried out with the aim of resolving internal conflicts, reducing psycho-emotional tension, developing new skills, behavior correction, and addressing a whole range of other objectives. In the context of rehabilitating individuals struggling with addiction, group therapy has a tremendous therapeutic effect: it is proven that battling addiction alone can be more challenging.
Group therapy methods
Within group psychotherapeutic work, various tools can be employed, including:
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy: the goal of cognitive-behavioral therapy is to replace maladaptive attitudes with constructive ones and develop new ways of responding to stressful situations and triggers;
- Psychoeducation: in this approach, the therapist informs participants about the nature of their condition, provides explanations, and answers questions;
- Gestalt therapy: this method focuses on taking responsibility for one’s own life and developing self-awareness;
- Rational emotive therapy: this form of psychotherapy addresses the emotional realm of participants to develop problem-solving skills and cope with stress;
- Psychodrama: it is a therapeutic group process involving dramatic improvisation. It allows individuals to explore their inner world, relive traumas, and form new behavioral patterns;
- Transactional analysis: a method that helps individuals understand and control their characteristics. It is a method of understanding behavior that allows individuals to learn to trust themselves;
- Art therapy: this tool allows for creative self-expression, improving psycho-emotional states, and self-discovery.
Key advantages
Group therapy is fundamentally aimed at improving the participants’ well-being, gaining better self-knowledge, forming new, useful skills for interacting with people, and responding to specific situations. Group dynamics are what the facilitator or psychotherapist focuses on; it’s the interaction among participants, which changes from session to session. Group dynamics allow each participant to rely not only on their own experience but also on the experiences of others. This broader perspective helps them develop entirely new perceptions and skills, value systems, and attitudes. This is the main advantage of group therapy as a form of treatment. In addition, the following benefits are noted:
- Practice in communicating outside the company of former like-minded individuals, beyond alcohol-related traditions and shared episodes of substance use;
- Preparation for encountering “temptations,” like old friends who still use substances, warning against triggers, and forming predictive skills;
- A real example of complete abstinence, simply through the existence of the therapeutic group.
Features of group therapy at the IsraRehab clinic
At the IsraRehab clinic, we use globally recognized methods of group psychotherapy. We’ve adapted them to address addiction-related issues and always tailor our approach to each patient’s individual needs. The range of problems that someone struggling with addiction faces can be diverse, including internal conflicts, maladaptive personal attitudes, loss of direction, and value systems. We help individuals regain the joy of a sober life, taking into account their specific requests and characteristics, goals, and desires.
