Explain the advantages of family/couples therapy and self-help groups versus individual therapy. Identify a psychological disorder where each type of group therapy would provide the best treatment.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Group therapy involves groups of people (usually about six to ten) who meet once or twice a week with a therapist to explore and examine personal problems. Generally speaking, group therapy provides the following advantages: (1) It is significantly less expensive than individual therapy; (2) spending time with others who share similar struggles can be a source of information and social support; and
(3) clients are provided an opportunity to learn and then practice communication and other social interaction skills in a safe and supportive environment.Family and couples therapists are more concerned with what goes on between people, the way they interact with one another, than with what is happening inside an individual. The reason is that, even if one person is causing the problem, it is a symptom of a larger problem with how the couple or family interacts. Family and couples therapies are often called systems approaches, reflecting the idea that most people are part of a complex, interrelated system of family relationships that contribute to and maintain unhealthy behaviors. In family therapy, the entire family comes in for sessions. Therapists teach people relationship skills, providing families with the skills to create smoother family interactions. Couples therapy (also called marriage counseling) is like family therapy in that the relationship is the focus of attention. The advantage of both family and couples therapy over individual therapy is that nearly everyone involved in the therapy benefits in some way, in addition to having the problem that brought them there in the first place addressed. Individual therapy only benefits the person who is going to therapy.
Self-help groups are a form of group therapy in which a therapist is not necessarily present; instead, groups of people meet to work through shared problems and goals. These groups may be led by a facilitator or run by the members themselves. Self-help groups help people cope with grief, eating disorders, substance abuse, or other shared experiences. Even though these groups are not led by a therapist, ones like Alcoholics Anonymous have been shown to be at least as helpful as other types of treatments, and in some cases more desirable than individual therapy. Self-help groups have been found to enhance self-efficacy, improve coping skills, and encourage motivation and goal-directed behavior-the same outcomes a therapist would target for individual therapy. Self-help groups have the added benefits of less stigma, greater convenience, and greater cost effectiveness than individual therapy.
Students will identify different examples of a psychological disorder where each type of group therapy would provide the best treatment, but they should be identifying a disorder that fits within the context of the therapy discussed.