Systemic Group Therapy—What a Group Has to Offer
Working in a Group and How It Differs from Individual Sessions
Group Therapy—A Setting That Many Underestimate
Most people seeking psychotherapy expect one-on-one sessions. The idea of sharing what’s weighing on you not just with a therapist, but with six or seven other people as well, doesn’t seem particularly appealing to many at first. Yet it is precisely this exchange within a therapeutic group that can be helpful—especially in a time when many people are living increasingly isolated lives.
While group therapy programs are an integral part of daily treatment in inpatient settings, outpatient psychotherapy in Germany still takes place almost exclusively in individual sessions. However, things are changing: The number of group therapy sessions is increasing noticeably. This is due, on the one hand, to the fact that the framework conditions for group programs have been specifically improved in recent years. On the other hand, and above all, it is due to their well-documented effectiveness.
Im systemischen Denken sind neben einzelnen Menschen die sozialen Kontexte in denen wir leben besonders relevant. Dabei sind vor allem Paare und Familien die Systeme auf die es ankommt. Das macht systemische Ansätze für die Arbeit mit Gruppen besonders anschlussfähig. Prototypisch für systemische Gruppenarbeit sind Formate wie die Multifamilientherapie, die Familienrekonstruktion, Reflecting Teams, Helferkonferenzen und Aufstellungsarbeiten.
In the systemic approach, in addition to individuals, the social contexts in which we live are particularly relevant. Couples and families are the systems that matter most. This makes systemic approaches particularly well-suited for working with groups. Formats such as multifamily therapy, family reconstruction, reflecting teams, helper conferences, and constellation work are prototypical examples of systemic group work.
How group therapy - and specifically systemic group therapy - works, why it can be beneficial to work with several people in a group setting, and what can happen in a therapy group that is what will be discussed below.
The Benefits of Working in a Group
A therapy group is not simply an individual session with an audience. It works through its own mechanisms, which have been described in group research for decades. Among the eleven effect mechanisms described by psychiatrist Irvin Yalom are the following:
Connection: What you may have perceived as a deeply personal problem turns out to be something others have experienced in a similar way. This makes feelings of shame and isolation less powerfull and creates space for connection.
Supporting others: In a group, no one is permanently in the role of the person in need. Anyone who can say something helpful to others or offer something of value experiences their own sense of effectiveness.
Space for change: The group is like a small reflection of your everyday life—a microcosm. The way you interact within a group generally follows the same patterns as in the outside world. Here, however, these patterns are immediately observable and can be changed within a safe environment.
Many perspectives: Your situation is viewed not just by two pairs of eyes, but by many. Often, it is the experiences and advice of other participants that set things in motion.
A sense of belonging: The experience of belonging and acceptance—of being accepted within a group—is itself a driving force.
Research also supports this: group therapy is not “worse” than individual therapy. Across various disorders, group therapy generally proves to be simmilarly effective at reducing symptoms as individual therapy.
How Group Therapy Works
The structure is more fixed than many people expect.
Before you join, there will be one or more individual sessions. During these sessions, we’ll discuss whether the group setting is right for you, and whether you’re a good fit for this group.
The group is small. According to psychotherapy guidelines, it consists of three to a maximum of nine participants.
The sessions are scheduled regularly, and the group composition often remains stable over an extended period.
Confidentiality applies to all participants. The group is a safe space: what is shared there stays there. This also means that participants do not discuss one another afterward.
In addition to standard group therapy, there are two other ways to participate in a group:
Basic group psychotherapy coverage (GKV) includes up to four double sessions, each lasting 100 minutes. It does not require an application or notification to the health insurance provider. Even those already in individual therapy can take advantage of it without having to forgo their own session.
Combined treatment: Individual and group therapy are not mutually exclusive; both formats can be combined.
What Defines Systemic Group Therapy
Patterns become visible: In systemic group therapy, just as in individual therapy, the focus is not solely on your inner world, but on the contexts in which you live: family, relationships, work, roles, and expectations. The group does not replace your system, but it can make its patterns visible.
The expertise lies with the participants: In systemic therapy groups, members actively support one another. Gunther Schmidt describes the group as a “greenhouse of competence”: a place where skills flourish because everyone plays a supportive role for everyone else.
Issue-oriented and goal-focused: We work on the specific concerns of individual group members and use the group to address them. The beauty of this is that everyone benefits, even when they aren’t the group's prime focus at that moment.
Diversity of perspectives instead of interpretation: From a stance of not knowing, we value the diversity of perspectives that emerges within the group. How do the others see it? What ideas do they have about it? Different perspectives challenge entrenched explanations. Different viewpoints are allowed to coexist.
Resources and solutions receive as much attention as the problem: We ask about exceptions, about moments of success, about what provides support, and about what a pattern was once good for.
Impartiality: This attitude, together with a benevolent neutrality toward all participants, is at the core of systemic work. Read more about this in my article: What Exactly Is Systemic Therapy?
Perhaps reading this has piqued your curiosity, yet you still feel some hesitation. These two feelings go hand in hand and do not mean you shouldn’t participate in group therapy.
I am currently developing new group programs at my practice in Frankfurt. Please feel free to check the group therapy page for my current offerings and sign up for the waiting list. I am also planning to start an English-speaking group.
Comments