For most clients entering a rehab treatment facility, this significant life change brings some fear. That natural fear often relates to particular aspects of rehab, such as detox and therapies. For many, group therapy is the most intimidating. But those same people go on to enjoy the benefits of group therapy sessions and even seek to maintain their peers’ mutual support long after rehab.
Why Do I Need Group Therapy?
Group therapy is one of the best methods for treating addiction, especially alongside trauma-informed care for substance abuse in Palm Desert, CA. But today’s group counseling is not as you expect. That is, you do not just sit in a circle talking about your feelings for every session. You do much more than that.
Current group therapy programs use a variety of methods and approaches. These include educational sessions, in which you learn about addiction. You also learn about co-occurring mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), bipolar disorder, or trauma.
Coping Skills
Some of the education of your group therapy program involves learning coping skills as part of relapse prevention. After all, your biggest goal in recovery is to maintain that recovery. This means staying sober. To stay sober, you must know what potential relapse looks like and how to stop it before picking up a drink or resort to using your drugs.
Peer Support and Relationships
Group therapy also involves bonding with your peers in treatment. Rehab programs seem like a forced environment of widely varied personality types, at first. But in group counseling, you quickly find common ground with your peers. You learn to support each other, communicate better, and even lean on the people around you when you need to do so.
From your peers, you learn what works in recovery and where others suffer setbacks. This helps you make informed decisions in your own life. You soon find yourself using what you learn in your group therapy program as part of your daily life and even as you build new relationships.
Of course, group sessions also delve into why you started abusing drugs or alcohol in the first place. Sometimes this self-discovery and growth feel uncomfortable. But as you maintain your course and engage in your group therapy, you start seeing your changes.