Growing up is a natural, albeit complicated process. While getting older usually means gaining greater wisdom, having the opportunity to put long-gestating plans into effect, and clarifying your life’s purpose, there can be setbacks too. Teens, for example, encounter a bewildering assortment of challenges as they move from being children toward adulthood.
It goes without saying that this in-between phase of life, where they are learning to take on more responsibility for themselves, where they are coming into their own, and their sense of identity is being shaped is an important one. Figuring out who you are and what your place in the world is can be a painful process to endure.
Teenagers may face challenges such as developing their sexual identity, weight concerns, body image issues, loneliness, peer pressure, eating disorders, bullying, suicidal thoughts, and other concerns. While some angst is normal in teenagers, in some it can go beyond that.
This can harm their overall wellbeing, their relational development, their grades, and much more. What is a parent to do when they witness their child going through difficulties and struggling to cope?
If you feel your teen is struggling, and if you’re at your wits’ end about how to help them, seeking out professional help to provide you with tools to assist them, or to diagnose and set them on their path to good health is an option to consider. If your doctor or a mental health professional thinks that therapy is one such path toward your child’s good health, consider if group therapy specifically may have several benefits for your teen.
What is Group Therapy?
Group therapy is simply a form of therapy where a group of about five to nine people who are dealing with the same concern get together for about an hour every week or two and are led by a trained therapist in the sessions. The therapist is trained in group dynamics and in addressing the group’s core concerns.
The therapist helps the group navigate the issues, gain clarity, and come up with solutions. The group is a safe space where members can share their past experiences freely in an atmosphere of compassion and without judgment. They can meet anywhere from a few weeks to a few months to a few years, depending on the group and the dynamic they establish.
While group therapy doesn’t have the same amount of focused one-on-one time with the therapist, group therapy allows members not only to unburden themselves but to also share their perspective on what other members share – it is thus a space of active participation.
What, then, are some of the main possible benefits of group therapy for your teen?
Benefits of Group Therapy
There are at least three main benefits of group therapy.
1. Dispelling the sense of isolation.
One of the hardships of facing any problem is feeling like you’re alone in it. Not only do you have to deal with the issue, but you must also deal with the added burden of feeling alone and like a “freak” for even having the issue to begin with. This can be particularly crippling for teenagers, whose self-identity is still developing and for whom the approval of peers is a dominant force. Knowing that others share the same burden as you do helps alleviate that burden.
The fact that groups exist to deal with certain issues indicates that other people are in the trenches and are on their own journey towards wholeness. Having peers with whom to share and commiserate also goes a long way toward dispelling the sense of isolation. Group therapy helps your teen know that they are not alone and that the issue they are facing is one that others have also faced and are overcoming.
The saying that there’s strength in numbers seems to apply here. A verse in the biblical book of wisdom called Ecclesiastes says, “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken”.
Being part of a group, even if the group was constituted under less than favorable circumstances, nonetheless provides a safe space to share strength and to be vulnerable without the fear of facing ridicule. This can be invaluable for healing because one needs a place to acknowledge and share struggles openly to begin addressing the issues and receiving the help they require.
2. Peers they are more likely to listen to and learn from
One thing many parents can attest to is that it seems like their teenager listens more to their peers than to the parents themselves. Whether it’s through assuming their parents would never understand, or just being more open to influence from peers, teens seem to hear their peers much louder and clearer than the adults in their lives.
As mentioned earlier, in group therapy the members share their various experiences. An aspect of this is sharing their success stories and valuable strategies they’ve learned and put in their tool belt. These precious life skills can be shared in the group meeting, and group members can thereby mutually encourage one another and reinforce growth in positive ways.
“Peer pressure” is usually a term used for how young people influence one another toward foolish or harmful life choices. It is largely negative in the popular conception. At its core though, “peer pressure” simply means how a peer can influence your thought processes and life choices. There is such a thing as positive peer pressure, where the influence of peers is toward good, life-affirming decisions.
Group therapy leverages this reality by placing the teenager in a space with other teens who are struggling with similar questions and possibly similar situations, pulling towards a healthier life. A wise therapist is aware of and harnesses this dynamic so that the group members can influence one another for good.
Connecting your teen with other teens in a safe space where they can grow in positive ways while overcoming their struggles is a helpful way for them to undergo therapy if that is what their situation requires.
3. Build relationships with accountability
Group therapy can produce meaningful relationships. Sharing deep parts of yourself with others in ways that you may not outside of therapy can create a deep bond, especially if one is part of that group for several months or years. For certain groups where they are dealing with issues such as loneliness and shyness, the group space provides an opportunity to relate to others, practice communication skills, and build confidence.
Group therapy provides opportunities to practice empathetic listening, communicate struggles, and articulate solutions – these are all valuable relational skills in themselves, vital for building relationships (in and outside the group) that will last.
The relationships that one can form in group therapy, however, have in-built accountability as they form in a context where the group members are pulling towards living their best lives, and they are aware of what can derail that. When your friends know what your goals are, and the obstacles that stand in the way of that, it helps them to know how to keep you accountable to meet those goals and not give up.
The group dynamic also means taking responsibility to challenge other members and keep them accountable as well. Group therapy is about giving to others as much as receiving from them. Holding others to a standard challenges us to meet that standard as well.
Conclusion
In life, we can accomplish infinitely more when other people bring their life experiences, insights, strengths, and gifts to bear on a problem or situation than we ever could on our own. Group therapy provides just such an opportunity. Your teen’s circumstances may make these benefits of group therapy more attractive than individual therapy.
However, being a part of group therapy doesn’t preclude one from going for individual therapy – individual therapy sessions can supplement group therapy and vice versa. Whatever your teen may be struggling with, if talk therapy is prescribed by their doctor or psychologist as part of their treatment plan, being in group therapy is a strong and viable option for you to consider.
