What to expect from online therapy groups

If you’re reading this, you have likely already benefited from individual or couples therapy. You might be wondering how group therapy is different, why your therapist or psychiatrist thought you could benefit from a therapy group, and what to expect when you show up. Let’s jump right in!

Confidentiality in online therapy groups

As with any form of therapy, your therapist is required by law and ethical codes to maintain your confidentiality. We can’t even confirm that we know you without your written permission except in certain circumstances outlined in state law that have to do with safety (child abuse, elder abuse, etc).

We request the same standard of the participants in the group. We call it The Vegas Rule: what happens in group stays in group. 

Community in online therapy groups

One of the major benefits to group therapy is the opportunity to build and experience community. You will meet people facing similar challenges to you. Sometimes just knowing we aren’t alone soothes our struggle. 

Connection through men’s group therapy and women’s group therapy

Human connection is a powerful tool in healing and learning new skills, especially when the things you want to heal or learn have to do with relationships. It is one thing to understand intellectually that you are worthy of love and belonging and a completely different thing to experience that through connection with others. It’s one thing to know conceptually that you are capable of effective communication and an entirely different experience to LIVE that in relationships with other people. 

Support through men’s group therapy and women’s group therapy

Making changes to our lives or improvements to our relationship skills can be hard. Any kind of change can be hard, really. And often we need a little support and practice. You don’t shoot a free throw in the championship game without ever having practiced. Group therapy is like practice before the big game: you get to learn new skills, practice them, get feedback, and get better at using the new skills in a low-stakes environment. 

This is a real benefit over learning new skills alone--by reading a book or listening to a podcast--or even in individual therapy. In a group setting you get to learn with other people just like you! You might even learn something better because of the questions someone else asked that you hadn’t even thought to ask yet. You can expect your group experience to be supportive, friendly, and maybe even fun. 

Structure in online therapy groups

Your therapist will have a topic and plan for each session. We have designed our relationship based therapy groups so that the topics build on one another, getting more and more interesting each week. There will be a combination of learning from your therapist, time to discuss with other group members, and time to practice the things you are learning. 

Not limited to group therapy near me

Therapy groups bring tremendous benefit to the people who participate in them. (I still remember life changing moments from a therapy group I participated in nearly 20 years ago!) Sometimes geography can be a challenge. A great therapy group might be happening several cities away, but there’s no way you can make it there every week. Or maybe you’d love the benefits of group therapy but you’d rather not be in a group with people from your same town. 

Online therapy groups provide access to the group experience for people who aren’t local to our offices. And we are SO pleased to be able to help you in a confidential, convenient, and really effective way. 

Now enrolling for men’s group therapy here and women’s group therapy here starting September 2023. 

At Inland Empire Couples Counseling we offer the best marriage counseling we can! Our couples therapists are trained in helping couples heal from infidelity, substance use in relationships, childhood trauma, communication skills, as well as providing the LGBTQIA+ community with pride counseling. We have online couples counseling in California. We have couples therapy in Riverside, CA. We also have marriage counseling in Murrieta CA or the Temecula Valley. Please reach out for help by clicking the button below to schedule a free 15 minute consultation with our Intake Coordinator.

Have questions about couples counseling? Visit our FAQs page to find out more.