Benefits of Online Group Therapy

One of the major benefits of group therapy is that you have the ability to share your feelings, experiences, and questions with other people- and hear their responses in a therapeutic environment that facilitates perspective and accelerates healing.

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The challenge of group therapy is that it usually takes a while for the group to feel comfortable with one another. For people to feel safe sharing in a traditional live group therapy setting, they often need a lot of time to get to know each other because opening up and sharing yourself can feel more vulnerable face to face or in small spaces. People are sometimes concerned they might have overlapping social circles or feel embarrassed if they “bumped into” a group member somewhere else.

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The new therapeutic tool of having online therapy gives the option of greater anonymity while still providing real-time community in a facilitated, therapeutic environment. This allows deeper interpersonal exchange of experiences to take place more comfortably for many people. Members of the group can share with you, and you can share with them too, from the privacy of home or some other quiet, private environment that is convenient for you. This facilitates a sense of safety, and often permits group members to share personal information more easily.

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Online groups are held over HIPAA-compliant software that allows you whether or not to show your face. Just like all group therapy in any professional setting, members will be required to sign a confidentiality agreement. You can participate in groups with or without choosing to share video, but members must share audio in order to join the group.

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Currently, Carmichael Psychology is offering an online anxiety support group. For more information, click here.