# Anyone done group theraphy?



## SusanStorm (Oct 27, 2006)

I've said yes to be in a group and it's scary :afr:hide
I'm already having a hard time talking to my theraphist so I'm wondering how this is going to go.I just imagine myself sitting there without saying a word and that everyone else is doing fine.I always imagine that I'm the only one that will fail,but I guess that's not entirely true..

It's just that I am used to keeping everything to myself or other than posting on forums,but I'm pretty anonymous here and other places.It feels wrong to be pouring all that crap out in the open.

How was it for you that have tried it?


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## Chatise19 (Dec 31, 2011)

I wish..I'd probably be trying to get some friends and numbers bc maybe we can suffer together and help eachother...idk my town is too small for that to be possible


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## SusanStorm (Oct 27, 2006)

I haven't got any hopes that I'll find friends there.If I did that would a HUGE bonus for me..

It was actually my theraphist who asked me if I wanted to join one.If I was to find one myself I don't think I would because I also live in a small place.


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## Kathykook (Aug 16, 2011)

I did it. If you have SEVERE SA, I wouldn't recommend doing it....it's not going to help much.
Severe SA needs CBT first.


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## SusanStorm (Oct 27, 2006)

DragonFlight777 said:


> There's CBT group therapy too, and IME it works better than individual therapy.


That's what I'm doing


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## SusanStorm (Oct 27, 2006)

DragonFlight777 said:


> Go for it, all thos people from group therapy are probably just as scared as you are, so at least you'll have something to bond over. Besides, the support and motivation you get from group therapy is bigger than the ones you get in individual therapy because you have more than one person (the therapist) to lift your mood. You'll see.


Ok,I'm just worried I guess.It's a scary thing.


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## Kon (Oct 21, 2010)

I had group therapy on two different occassions. I did find that I was less anxious when speaking in front of people (e.g. reading out loud, acting, asking questions, talking about icky stuff like feelings and personal stuff) but it was primarily geared for drug addiction issues even though it was supposed to be for people with both mental health and addiction issues. I found the people in the group were very knowledgeable about their personalities (they really knew themselves). I felt like a child on these issues. But it was interesting learning this stuff. Oher than learning this previously unknown to me stuff, it didn't help my anxiety. Any benefits don't seem to generalize all that much for me, either. The best part were the lectures from specialists in the field. I didn't enjoy listening to people's stories, all that much after a while. It kind of got really boring. The approach was CBT-based. The worst part was the group-clapping and congratulatory stuff. I felt like vomiting. I hate when people do this stuff.


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## vashy (Aug 8, 2010)

A local university near me did group CBT sessions run by grad students. I don't think it really helped me that much, but a lot of that might have just been this particular program.


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## Keith (Aug 30, 2008)

I've done group therapy it was helpful, though i was terrified before the first session.At first it was mostly the therapist talking (she was teaching us about DBT) after a few weeks i was more comfortable with everybody and it wasn't really hard to talk, and it got easier and easier. Hope it goes well for you.


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## Classified (Dec 7, 2004)

I didn't, but wish they had an 'applied CBT' type of program to practice different scenarios with others who know what you are going through.


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## SusanStorm (Oct 27, 2006)

Kon said:


> I had group therapy on two different occassions. I did find that I was less anxious when speaking in front of people (e.g. reading out loud, acting, asking questions, talking about icky stuff like feelings and personal stuff) but it was primarily geared for drug addiction issues even though it was supposed to be for people with both mental health and addiction issues. I found the people in the group were very knowledgeable about their personalities (they really knew themselves). I felt like a child on these issues. But it was interesting learning this stuff. Oher than learning this previously unknown to me stuff, it didn't help my anxiety. Any benefits don't seem to generalize all that much for me, either. The best part were the lectures from specialists in the field. I didn't enjoy listening to people's stories, all that much after a while. It kind of got really boring. The approach was CBT-based. *The worst part was the group-clapping and congratulatory stuff. I felt like vomiting. I hate when people do this stuff.*


Oh no.I hate that kind of stuff too.I hope that there won't be a lot of that.


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## SusanStorm (Oct 27, 2006)

Ok,I'll just have to try it.
They said that if I found out that it wasen't for me I didn't have to do it anymore,but I want to try.Just as a challenge because I don't really have many chances in my daily life to interact with other people.


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## Stargate (Jan 7, 2012)

I think I may be a very social person with major social anxiety. I would very much like to try a group therapy. I feel I am ready for it now. Does anyone know one in the bay area nearby palo alto?


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## Shredder (Apr 19, 2011)

I went to a group art therapy group once. It was only a small group of about 4 people but it was a complete failure for me. I had a minor melt down .... It set me back quite a bit. The worst part was that we had to draw and everyone looked at each others work and spoke about what they thought which freaked me out. I should add that I did this on my own initiative... later when I told my therapist, he thought I was crazy for doing it as I wasn't ready at the time.
Im going to try a group meditation course in a few weeks so Im confident that will go better


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## Maslow (Dec 24, 2003)

You can get a lot of benefits from group CBT. You can learn how to manage your maladaptive thinking and get some exposure therapy by participating in group discussions. There's also the fact that you're with other people who experience some of the same problems in life, which can provide you with a sense of normalcy. There's comfort in knowing you're not alone with your encumbrance.


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## 49 and all loan (Dec 28, 2011)

i spent 3 months attending an acute partial hospital program. my first day the group room was full of people i never met before. i went 5 days a week from 9:00am till 3:30pm and i think it helped after i was there for a while. the 2 therapist that did the group were very good and i started to trust some of the people there. i don't see the other people any more but it was a good program


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## meganmila (Jul 25, 2011)

I tried group therapy when I was 15 and I lasted a day and the next day I quit it heh....so I never had experience with it....just one day of sitting in a circle.


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## ChrissyQ (Apr 15, 2009)

I have to go to groups to try to get better trust me i don't want to go i'm just going in effort to get better coz a life of social isolation is not doing it for me anymore.. I was terrified to go to group i went to 2 so far it wasn't like i imagined with SCARY STRANGERS it always seems to turn out the ppl are friendly and NICE and not judgmental it's nice that the ppl are like me with mental health issues so it's less scary then going to a group with normal ppl it's not going to be as bad as you imagined actually i did go to this one walking group it turned out i was the only female with 9 other older men few of them creepy looking i felt very awkward it was a nightmare to me except looking back on it the ppl were nice it was just me thinking badly about things


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## SusanStorm (Oct 27, 2006)

So,next wednesday I am going to the first group theraphy session.I'm nervous.:afr

I always imagine how horrible everything is going to be,that everyone will hate me and just stuff like that.Usually I find out that I worried over nothing,and I'm always so surprised about it.Sounds weird,but I keep thinking about how everything is going to end in disaster and I really do believe it.
Probably it's going to be the hardest before I go to the first meeting,but I keep worrying about other stuff too.
Like that I won't be able to say anything or that I'll cry.I cry easily when I talk about certain stuff,and I'm very afraid about doing that in front of a group of people.


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## Paranoid of Spies (Nov 3, 2011)

I currently attend a day group twice a week. I feel that it has helped me very marginally. The group there is really for depression but Im really there too socialize with people there and to better handle my anxiety. Unforuantely most people there are almost twice my age and I can barely relate to them. Because of the age of these people it almost feels like Im some kid that doesn't belong in a room with adults...


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## Banzai (Jun 4, 2009)

Paranoid of Spies said:


> Unforuantely most people there are almost twice my age and I can barely relate to them. Because of the age of these people it almost feels like Im some kid that doesn't belong in a room with adults...


^Hah, this is my experience of it almost exactly. It was a group for general social anxiety & self esteem issues conducted by my uni and it was all full of Masters students whilst I was the only undergraduate. I only went to the first session and didn't bother with the rest - to reiterate another poster, your experience of it probably depends on the group. Although for me, even if you ignore the age gap, I've never been optimistic about all the stuff they use in CBT which is pretty much what they were doing so it was a complete waste of time. Also, to reiterate another post, I can't really imagine someone with severe SA going through with group therapy. However, different things work for different people so it may work for you


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## SusanStorm (Oct 27, 2006)

Ok,so now I've attended two group sessions and if I'm going to be honest it was horrible.Still,I am going to keep on going because it really does help to put myself out there.
My SA is pretty severe so going there is probably one of the hardest things I've done in a while. 
The group I'm going to is for people with anxiety so there's people with all kinds of anxiety issues.Not many with SA it seems,but I think that people who struggle with anxiety can relate to each other in some way.

Most of the people there are older than me and/or in a different life situation than I am,so I kind of feel like an outsider,but the main reason for going there isn't for making friends.

If it helps is something that I am not sure about now,but ask me again in may..


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