The efficacy of group therapy vs individual therapy is highly dependent upon an individual’s personality. These variables are based on personal behavioral responses to the unique treatment approaches each treatment program has to offer. It’s also why California Addiction Treatment handles each recovery with the most individualized approach, attentiveness, and pace needed to achieve successful sobriety. The following details regarding group therapy vs individual therapy will fully clarify which treatment approach best suits your personal needs.
What is the Difference Between Group Therapy and Individual Therapy?
There are very specific distinctions between group and individual therapy that give each treatment approach its unique identity. There are pros and cons to both. The following discrepancies make the best treatment option for you very apparent to you and your treatment assessment specialist.
You can categorize the stark contrasts between group therapy vs individual therapy as contrary to the two words open and confidential. That’s because group therapy is very social and openly shared, while individual therapy offers one-on-one doctor-to-patient confidentiality. Therefore, your fit in either one of these treatment programs is solely dependent on your social comfort level.
This does not mean group therapy is less effective or not attentive. Rest assured, individualized treatment approaches are embedded into all of our programs by our core values. However, group therapy’s focus on collective team-based recovery is slightly different from the personal one-on-one attentiveness you’ll receive in individual therapy. As alluded to earlier, both unique approaches are equally effective in their own right based on individual personalities.
Some may feel more comfortable sharing their struggles with people they don’t know rather than relatives. However, not everybody is comfortable sharing their problems and forming new bonds in that way. That’s where the group therapy support structure differs from individual therapy. Individual therapy affords you strong support from your therapists and the power to be more selective with whom you allow into your inner circle. Regardless of which route you take, allowing some friends and family members to be involved in your support system is a vital aspect of any recovery.
What is Group Therapy?
Group therapy is a treatment approach that focuses heavily on sharing your experiences in the presence of other like-minded individuals. These shared experiences allow you to form close bonds with your group, which in turn allows you to form a close-knit support structure within your sessions. This in-session support system also encourages strong emotional and recovery support outside the realm of your group therapy sessions. These sessions, administered by a highly-trained specialist, are heavily monitored on a meeting-by-meeting basis so everybody is given equal attention, support, and help.
What is the Main Goal of Group Therapy?
Group therapy is centered around applying the knowledge acquired in treatment sessions to everyday life. Thus, attendees spend the majority of time training the group on how to apply key relapse prevention techniques to their lives. It also focuses on how to implement new habits to overcome former habits of the addictive personality. The whole point of group treatment is to grow collectively in a team-like environment, encouraging one another to achieve the next phase.
What are the Advantages of Group Therapy?
The majority of recovery patients feel alone in their struggle. One of the key advantages of group therapy is it fends off loneliness by meeting other like-minded people who share common struggles and goals. Diminishing loneliness increases confidence and encouragement to achieve the next step of rehab. Thus, removing loneliness from the recovery process plays a key role in achieving self-sustainable sobriety.
Group therapy builds an extended support network through forming bonds with doctors and other individuals you meet within your sessions. This puts more people in your corner to encourage you through the difficult challenges you may face in rehab. From relapse prevention to replacing old habits, you’ll have no shortage of support from the ones you trust most.
Everybody needs some form of a vent as bottling emotions only puts more strain on your mental and emotional health. Oftentimes, having a vent is even more of a need for people who battle addiction. Venting your addiction weaknesses, strengths, and needs to people who listen and understand is a burden-lifting experience. That’s just one of the ways group therapy lifts the emotional, mental, and physical burden of substance abuse from your shoulders.
Borrowing from other’s sobriety success refers to the privilege of hearing other success stories and taking efficient elements of their success and applying them to recovery. You can learn a lot by listening to others who have been where you are and have overcome the same battles you’ve faced. Doing so can fuel effective and creative ideas to help you combat your addiction struggles head-on.
What are Group Therapy’s Disadvantages?
There’s an identical correlation between the discrepancies between group therapy vs individual therapy and the advantages vs disadvantages. That is to say, you’ll notice many of group therapy’s disadvantages and advantages also describe their differences. Bear in mind, that the following disadvantages can be appealing and advantageous to others who are more suited for group treatment.
One of the negative annotations of group therapy treatment is that more people means less individual attentiveness from a treatment specialist. Some patients react better to treatment under closer and more personalized observation. Others, however, may benefit more from the “disadvantage” of less observation as this treatment is performed at a leisurely pace. While every program is done at your pace and terms, group therapy’s less hands-on doctor approach magnifies those leisurely terms.
As cited earlier in the differences between group therapy vs individual therapy, group sessions are very open with very little privacy. Therefore, group therapy is for people who prefer being open and don’t have a problem sharing their struggles with others. Though many people enjoy the confidentiality of one-on-one treatment, the lack of confidentiality can help more social individuals thrive.
Group therapy is often at set times that don’t work around work or class schedules. This is much different as opposed to individual therapy where times are usually set specifically to accommodate your scheduling needs. Therefore, anybody with a busy work schedule or lifestyle will likely face scheduling conflicts with group therapy. Reach out to a treatment professional to learn more about our group scheduling and if it works with your schedule.
Group therapy does promote strong support systems through the bonds you make. However, there also lies the potential to socially relapse into addictive habits with other individuals with similar substance abuse struggles. Bonds in group therapy are mostly good, however, some friendships don’t mix well and can encourage substance use. Therefore, if group therapy is right for you, it’s advisable to develop bonds with people stronger and farther along in their recovery.
What is Individual Therapy?
Individual therapy involves enclosed one-on-one addiction or mental health treatment meetings between you and a treatment specialist. Through these sessions, your therapist gets to know your addictive or mental health triggers and how they relate to your struggle. In turn, these personalized meetings enable your therapist to target the root of your struggle and chart an individualized recovery plan.
What are the Advantages of Individual Therapy?
Perhaps the most obvious advantage of individual therapy is that sessions are meticulously designed for your specific needs. This is a direct result of individual therapy making you the central focus, which is beneficial for individual growth in every aspect of your rehab. With no social or other external distractions impeding your recovery development, you can accelerate your progress in a favorable environment.
Individual therapy, like group therapy, builds a strong support system, except in a very different way. Instead of your support being peers with common struggles, your support system is purely doctor-based. This means you are given full-time access to a team of physicians and therapists to help you in your times of need.
The complete doctor-to-patient confidentiality advantages afforded by individual therapy encourage patients to open up more to their therapist. This is especially vital as open-ended transparency is the only way doctors can successfully map a personalized recovery plan. You’ll find a new level of comfort with a personal therapist to vent to in complete confidence.
Completely individualized rehab centered around your struggles enables therapists to utilize personalized training methods that stay with you forever. These teachings consist of relapse prevention techniques and new habit implementations that help you identify, remove, and replace addictive and mental triggers.
California Addiction Treatment Has Personalized Group and Individual Therapy Designed Just For You
Regardless of which therapy type suits you better, there’s no greater quality of treatment than California Addiction Treatment. Our unparalleled assessment team does all the work so you don’t have to stress over the treatment placement details. Most importantly, our top-notch treatment staff are fully dedicated to your sobriety needs and goals. Together we’ll find a solution and pave a road to self-sustainable sobriety at your pace. Find your solution by reaching out to California Addiction Treatment today.
