Group therapy

[Em00]

I was just wondering if anyone had had group therapy for their ocd? I'm being assessed for therapy next week and it says most is offered in a group setting. I wasn't sure if this would work for ocd? 

[Ashley]

Group therapy might work... but there is no evidence it is better than individual therapy.  Sadly I know several services that provide group therapy, but I don't think they do so because of evidence, they do so because it's a quick way to get waiting lists down. 

Where in the UK are you?

The reason I ask is that some services offering group therapy are miles better than others.  Sussex do a good job, other parts of the country I know do a woeful job.

There are some factors which I think will help group therapy work or fail.  Small group, therapists who work with you on your individual needs, other people in the group who can boost you and support you who you can feel that connection to.  The main issue is with individual therapy is that you are getting 100% of the therapists time.  In group therapy, if there is 20 people in the group, how much dedicated therapy time you get is questionable.

The other issue many people have given to me over the years, they are too embarrassed to share their OCD in the group so they never talk, stop going. So you need to decide if you could talk about your OCD in front of others. 

It's choice of course, you can give group a go, or you can stand firm and demand individual therapy, but you may have to wait far longer.   If it helps, I personally would never give group therapy a go for my main treatment, but I would consider post therapy groups to help me maintain my progress after individual therapy. 

 

[Em00]

Ah, tried to msg you my location (so not on forum) but cannot. No probs. Hoping it won't be group stuff, seemed odd for ocd and they've been talking about Maudsley with me too. Was just curious when I received letter as to whether other people had that experience of group work. 

[Ashley]

Ok yes, I can see your region from our database. I don't know much about their therapy offering, is this IAPT or secondary care?  Don't let me put you off, you can always do what they do in Nottingham and tell them you will give group a go0, but you want to be referred for individual therapy at the same time. In Nottingham they use small group therapy for patients on the CBT waiting list (a bonus). 

[Em00]

Thanks.

Secondary. 

Will see what they say next week...

[felix4]

Hi Em,

I actually responded better to group therapy, as opposed to having it on an individual basis.

The place I went to was good! It had a small group of 3-4 of us, plus 2 very good therapists. We had about 11 x 2 hour sessions.

ERP was difficult, but the CBT certainly took the sting out of this, & I found it particularly helpful having so many themes going on!

All the best.

 

  

Edited August 31, 2017 by felix4

[PolarBear]

My CBT was all group. Small group of 3 to 4. You have to advocate for yourself, ask questions and do the work. And you do need to speak up. You'll get as much out of group therapy as you put in it.

[Zazoo]

I'm part of a mood-disorders group in my home town that meets once a week for a couple of hours and while not OCD/CBT specific I have found its provided a lot of comfort and a place to vent my frustrations and worries if I'm having a bad week.  The people are all very understanding and sympathetic even if you do not specifically say whats going on.  

[PolarBear]

That's all good and fine but it's not going to push you down the recovery road.

Edited August 31, 2017 by PolarBear

[Em00]

Ah, maybe it's more common for ocd than I thought! I know I don't get on well with group stuff as I've had it in the past. But is good/interesting to hear it's really helped people. 

[Ashley]

I agree with the others, small groups of 3 or 4 people could be helpful, but I think it depends on the attitudes of those people. If the group is full of people who are struggling, but positive about recovery and wanting to make it happen then you can bounce off each other (even if different types of OCD).  But if it is a group of people who are all negative about recovery and their situations and not really willing to help others then that group could do more harm than good.

As mentioned above, I frequently get calls about groups of 20 people, which is not good, and for some they simply felt unable to talk about their sensitive and personal OCD issues to such a large group of strangers.

So I stand by my earlier comment, group therapy could work, but I think it needs the right dynamics.

[Em00]

20+! Eek! Yes, there's so much to group therapy that dictates how helpful it will be - members, personal experiences experience, facilitators etc. I'm quite happy to have come to the conclusion that group therapy isn't for me. Learning skills in a group is ok, but not talking about issues. 

[Angst]

I started a discussion on transdiagnostic CBT - tCBT - on the site as I found out that the psychotherapist who I will be seeing is interested in this. So I have been reading about it. In one article it states that it might be a useful form of CBT in group therapy where people with a variety of anxiety conditions can attend the same group. So it is a matter not only a matter of the nature of the participants, the skills of the therapist but also the therapeutic model which underpins the group sessions.