Group Experiences, Drop-In Activities and Outreach

Group therapy is often more effective than individual therapy. You can benefit by listening to others and their experiences. You will find that you share common concerns with other group members. As they address their concerns, you can learn more about yourself. Others may bring up topics that resonate with you, that you might not have been aware of yourself. 

Benefits of group counseling:

• There is no wait for group services; group counseling can be accessed weekly as long as you are a student.
• Group counseling assures individuals that they are not alone, while individuals share similar problems and struggles.
• Group counseling offers the opportunity to both receive support from others and to give support to others. Both of these notions are important in treatment. Receiving support from others is part of the bonding or therapeutic alliance that occurs in groups.
• The therapeutic alliance that occurs in groups is broader than the alliance that occurs in individual therapy; this allows for the incorporation of many different points of view.
• Group counseling helps individuals develop communication and socialization skills, and allows clients to learn how to express their concerns and accept feedback from others.
• Group counseling allows individuals to develop self-awareness by listening to others with similar concerns.
• Sharing one's experiences with others with similar concerns is often itself therapeutic.
• Individuals in group therapy can model the successful behaviors of other individuals who have gone through similar experiences. Modeling is a form of learning where individuals learn by copying or imitating the effective coping actions of others.