Comprehensive Understanding of Individual Treatment in Depression Group Therapy

At one point in a person life, they will participated in a group whether it is part of a specific committee, therapy, or social group. In recent years, there has been a rise in counseling within a group forum veering from the tradition individual counseling. Therapists, physiologist, and counselors believe that form of counseling is beneficial to both counselor and client. This allows the counselor to help several clients at once rather than one at a time decreasing their strenuous workload and demanding work hours. This form of counseling integrate individual that share similar issues, struggles, and experiences into one forum. This not only allows the clients to learn from the therapist but from their fellow group members. The group experience

Purpose of the group counseling varies from group to group. It can be therapeutic, educational, or helping people to make fundamental changes in their way of thinking, feeling and behaving (Corey, 2004, p. 7). Group counseling/therapy has the advantage of being more effective than individual therapy because, it more closely stimulates social interactions and interpersonal communication patterns than does individual counseling (Kottler, 2004, p. 260). The techniques and strategies use in group counseling are to help resolve members’ interpersonal conflict, promote greater self-awareness and insight, and help them work to eliminate their self-defeating

The Effects of Psychoeducational Group Therapy on Symptoms of PTSD, Anxiety and Depression Among Incarcerated Women

The first time I personally experienced attending a group therapy was part of my course. Through this experience i can say that group therapy can be very powerful in healing a person emotionally and since the members were from the same class, where we all have similar goals. Group therapy helped all of us to establish meaningful and intimate relationship and we also recognised commanality of members needs and problems and to develop a sense of bonding and we became very close and we could also be there for each other during emotionally trying times.It also helped me to increase self-growth, self acceptance and self –confidence among oneself and group members. Group therapy is a powerful venue for growth and change. It also helped me in expressing my emotions in a healthy way.

Group therapy has been used for many years as a therapeutic method in which members can offer support and understanding for each other. It can be defined as two or more people, who share common issues, meeting and interacting face-to-face to help one another reach an identifiable goal. There are several types of group therapy, one that I will be discussing in this paper is the self-help group. In recent years, self-help groups have increased in number and credibility. Members can speak freely about their experiences, while receiving advice and support from others, which in turn, can help them realize that they are not alone in their struggles. In this paper, I will analyze my observational experience of two self-help groups, Alcoholics Anonymous,

Problems with primary support group, problems related to the social environment, occupational problems, problems related to interaction with the legal system

A unique aspect of the cognitive behavioral approach in group therapy is the focus on specific target areas of change. The members are responsible for formulating specific statements of the personal goals they want to achieve. The group leader is responsible for helping the members break down their goals into specific, concrete, and measureable goals. An agenda is set at the beginning of each session in a collaborative fashion with the members and group leader in order to prioritize

Group therapy is an important method that is commonly used by psychiatric professionals in the treatment of many types of mental illnesses. They consist of three or more people and are targeted at promoting psychological development and change. There are three different types of groups. The task group works by using tasks, such as activities and techniques, designed to help clients work toward desired goals. In addition, midrange groups work by allowing clients to share their thoughts and feelings with others who have learned to cope with similar problems over a longer period of time. Lastly, process groups work by allowing clients to work on their communicating patterns, skills and methods (Fortinash & Holoday Worrett, 2008).

Due to their divergent focus, group counseling and group psychotherapy also differ in relation to their goals. Since group

People encounter various challenges in life ranging from diseases, lack of basic essential needs and psychiatric problems among others. This has given rise to various forms of therapies being adopted by specialists whilst offering solutions to depressed individuals. Group therapy has taken a center-stage in the management of depression. Butler et al (2008) in their article titled "Meditation with yoga, group therapy with hypnosis, and psychoeducation for long-term depressed mood: a randomized pilot trial" show that depression and anxiety form part of the well-known conditions named by individuals seeking treatment using therapies and complementary alternatives. Alternative therapies include yoga, qigong, tai chi, mediation, and exercise. They argue that people are increasingly using these therapies. Butler provides information claiming that yoga and exercise are effective therapies with high rates than uncontrolled activities (Butler, et al 2008). The authors also demonstrate that these therapies can be compared to established anxiety treatments and depression treatments such as sertraline, cognitive behavioral therapy, and imipramine.

Looking for new and more effective ways to treat the issues of their clients, counselors and therapists may often begin to consider leading a group therapy session. Group therapy is a form of therapy in which a therapist either treats or provides psychoeducational skills to a small, carefully planned target group of individuals in an effort to ameliorate the issues and dysfunctions of each individual in that particular group of patients together (Scheidlinger, 2004). In this group, therapists often utilize some of the psychotherapy theories such as Gestalt, transactional analysis, psychotherapy or psychodrama which they often use to treat clients individually.

Major depressive disorder affects nearly 15 million of American adults in a given year. (Kessler, Chiu, Demler & Walters, 2005). With the impact it has on the society as well as the well-being of the individual, it must be in the interest of the healthcare to be able to provide patients with the most effective treatment method. Extensive research has been conducted on the efficacy of antidepressant medication and cognitive therapy, the two main treatment methods used for depression today. The discussion has, however, been characterized by conflicting claims, resulting in a debate over what should be used rather than us having definite conclusion of how patients are best helped.

Group counseling not only allows for members to learn from their therapist, it also allows for them to learn from personal experiences of other members and to gain insights and ideas on the issues they are confronting. Group counseling also helps in improving social skills among the members as they are able to interact freely in and out of the group. This way members can be more confident and open to interactions during the sessions. Group therapy influences growth and change to those involved. Also, it increases their self-awareness and enables them to gain sustenance from each other. Group counseling is also favorable to the therapist as they are able to gain faster and more efficient results for their members by counseling them simultaneously rather than one at a time. Jacobs, Mason, Harvill and Schimmel (2012) describe group counseling

& Cain, V. (2004). Group Therapy for Depressed Elderly Women, International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, 54:3,

Group therapy is a great non-pharmacological intervention with patients suffering from depression. This therapy gives patients a chance to interact with people who have went through the same struggles as they have. This therapy is able to instill hope in patients. It establishes a sense of optimism for change and the success of the group therapy experience. It also calls attention to the individual improvement that each member has made. It disconfirms that the client is alone or unique in misery or hurt to provide a powerful sense of relief ( (Kneisl & Trigoboff, 2013). Another effective treatment option is cognitive-behavioral therapy. This helps the patient to be able to recognize, avoid, and cope in situations where they are tempted to use drugs (Treatment Approaches for Drug Addiction, 2017). A recent study showed that cognitive behavioral therapy improved depressive and substance use outcomes when integrated with pharmacotherapy and addiction treatment (Hunter, Paddock, Zhou, Watkins, & Hepner,