Group Therapy in York, Manchester & online

What is Group Therapy?

Group psychotherapy is a longer-term therapy, particularly helpful for people with difficulties in their relationships, their self-confidence or in communicating with others.
It is beneficial for people with difficulties in their relationships, self-confidence, or communication with others; this may be in all areas of life, particularly in work, home life, or with friends and family.

How can Group Therapy help?

Group therapy is often helpful if you are feeling isolated or alone, finding it difficult to trust others, feeling on the edge of things or struggling to belong, lacking self-confidence, feeling depressed, feeling anxious, seeing repeating patterns in your relationships, experiencing difficulties with self-identity or knowing who you are, having difficulty understanding your feelings, feeling stuck in a particular role in the family or at work or noticing how early life experiences are affecting you now.

Group therapy provides a safe space where you can talk about their difficulties. This increases self-understanding and will help improve your relationships with others. Being able to express complex thoughts and feelings makes them feel less overwhelming and, in time, more manageable.

What is a Group Therapy session like?

Our groups meet with a maximum of eight members for 90 minutes with breaks around Christmas, Easter and the Summer. The dates of the breaks are given to you well in advance. As this is a longer-term therapy, it is helpful to begin by planning to join the group for at least 6-9 months; many people stay for between 1 and 2 years.

The groups are facilitated by a skilled group therapist who will help group members get the most from the session whilst providing a safe space so people can talk about their difficulties. Before joining the group, you will be offered an individual meeting with the group therapist, to think with you about whether group therapy is right for you.

Members of the group are of all ages and backgrounds, and there is a mixture of men and women in most groups.

Group psychotherapy helps you to understand yourself as you talk about yourself with other people in the group. Is it normal to feel anxious about what the group will be like, and so it is useful to talk about this. There are often shared anxieties about life outside the group too.

At first you may find it difficult to talk in the group, but it can be helpful to listen to others, learning from them and supporting them by your listening. Being quiet in the group can give you time to think about what is happening to you and others in the group. You can become more involved in the group by talking about your problems, how you are feeling and how you see the group.

All members are asked to respect the confidentiality of what is discussed in the group. It is also important that members do not form relationships outside the group so the group can maintain an open, trusting environment.

We understand that seeking therapy can be daunting and that taking the first step can be challenging. We have a team of trained experts who can work with you to design a bespoke and flexible treatment that works best, which is available at our clinics in York, Manchester and online.

If you are unsure whether you need therapy within our general adult’s service or our Neurodiversity service, please get in touch using the form below. We would be delighted to discuss your situation and needs with you.