Group therapy can offer people a place to discuss a number of topics. So, what is group therapy? Group therapy is a term for any type of in-person or online therapy session where two or more individuals participate to heal or recover. It’s a modality used by mental health professionals to treat a group of people who may be experiencing the same or similar issues.
Group therapy can help participants by allowing them to share their experiences in a safe setting while receiving support from both a therapist as well as their therapy group peers. In combination with individual therapy, the format in which group therapy topics are covered can work well for many people.
Therapy treatment in a group setting might increase your chance of healing and feeling better faster. In fact, more than 50 clinical trials and several decades of research have shown that group therapy can be just as effective as individual therapy.
Read on to learn what types of group therapy topics can be helpful so you can see if group therapy sessions might be worth trying.
If you are interested in La Cheim’s tele-PHP/IOP, please see the virtual program page and then contact admissions.
Following is a current listing of our group therapy topics, along with a description of each group. Some group topics rotate and may not occur every week. This listing was last updated on 4/8/2022.
Please note that our “Suicidality Talk” group on Thursdays requires prior approval from your individual therapist. Be sure to talk with your primary therapist in advance if interested in attending.
DAILY CHECK-IN AND CHECK-OUT GROUPS (9:30 AM & 2:00 PM)
Morning Check-In Group (9:30 am, Room 1, Daily)
This group invites you to: introduce yourself by your first name; share your personal pronouns (she/he/they/etc.); describe a highlight of the previous day; set an intention for the day ahead and participate in a get-to-know-you question. The group is meant to help you gear up to make the most of your program day.
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Check-In & Check-Out / Coping & Grounding Skills Handouts
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Coping & Grounding Skills [PDF]
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Daily Closure / Check-Out Group (2:00 pm, Room 1, Daily)
Our final group of the day starts with sharing names and personal pronouns (she/he/they/etc.). Each client is then asked to reflect on present feelings as well as a highlight from the day. Next, clients are asked to confirm their physical and emotional safety for the night or weekend. The group closes with a practice of a coping/grounding skill or a fun group activity.
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Check-In & Check-Out / Coping & Grounding Skills Handouts
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Coping & Grounding Skills [PDF]
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THERAPEUTIC SHARING & PROCESSING GROUPS (10:30 AM – 11:15 AM)
Aging Group
A safe support group for people to connect and discuss the aging process and how it’s impacting their lives and mental health.
Black, Indigenous and/or People of Color (BIPOC) Group
NOTE: This group is intended only for clients who identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC)
This process group is for members who identify as Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC). Participants are invited to speak about personal experiences and receive support from each another, including but not limited to topics on race, identity and belonging, or self- and community empowerment.
Grief Group
Group members are invited to share about their process with all types of loss ranging from the death of a loved one, the end of a relationship, a loss of identity, changes in health or level of functioning, and more. This is an opportunity to lessen the sense of loneliness we often experience with grief and support one another in finding meaning and healing.
Intrusive Thoughts Group
In this process group, we discuss intrusive thoughts, paranoid ideation, hearing voices, and/or hallucinations. Also, we share information on how to understand these phenomena as well as how to cope with them as adaptively as we can.
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Intrusive Thoughts Handouts
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Paranoid Ideation [PDF]
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Family Matters Group
This open group focuses on discussion and processing of issues pertaining to familial relationships. Here, ‘family’ is defined broadly and may include any close relationships, whether by origin or by choice.
LGBTQIA+ Group
Clients share, reflect, and get feedback on their struggles and goals, as seen and experienced through the lens of LGBTQIA+ identity. Issues often include: coming out; self-discernment; coping with rejection; negotiating polyamorous relationships; sexual health and expression; intersections of gender, sexual, and other identity dimensions; and recovering from familial, cultural, and institutional trauma. 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
Me, My Body, and I
This process group takes a body-positive, Health at Every Size approach in holding space for members to discuss body image and its effects on their mental health. Members are invited to share on topics including, but not limited to sociocultural standards of beauty, family expectations, BMI and fat stigma in healthcare, and media and advertising messages. Members are asked to discuss their thoughts, emotions, and experiences without going into specific detail about subjects such as disordered eating/eating disorders, clothing sizes, and body weight that could be triggering.
Men’s Group
A process group for male-identified members to share about personal topics and receive support from fellow group members.
Movement Group
This group utilizes movement to promote well-being. The group activity varies each week and is able to be adapted to all bodies participating.
Mindful Movement with Qigong Group
Qigong is a Chinese moving meditation, it has been used for thousands of years. Qigong uses gentle movements, stretches, mindfulness and deep breathing. Qigong helps to relieve the symptoms of anxiety and depression, the movements are known to increase energy, feeling of well being, stability and endurance.
Neurodiverse Support Group
This process group offers a safe, compassionate space for individuals who identify as neurodiverse (e.g. on the Autism spectrum, or live with other neurodevelopmental issues) to discuss their unique experiences and the ways in which it can be challenging to function in a society that values “neurotypical” traits. In this group, we validate that there is no one right way of thinking, learning, and behaving, and take a strengths-based approach to managing differences.
Recovery and Coping with Shame Group
This group addresses the impact of deeply held shame on mental health challenges in general, and how shame has an impact on addiction and compulsive behavior. We frequently address shame as an emotional state that interferes with intimacy, friendship, goals, and sobriety. We offer support and how to move forward with life’s ambitions and to decrease the influence of shame so that we are more willing to act in the service of our values and needs.
Relationships Group
This is a process group that creates a safe container to address relationship issues, identify patterns in relationships, and work on personal boundaries and self-care.
Suicidality Talk Group
NOTE: This group requires permission to join. Please consult with your counselor before joining this group for the first time.
This group offers a safe space to discuss suicide ideation and how to deal with it for those who are dealing with acute or chronic suicidality. Group attendance requires a discussion with and clearance from your La Cheim therapist in order to join the group.
Women’s Group
A process group for female-identified members offering a space to speak about anything you might be holding in your heart or mind around moving about the world as a woman or female-identifying person. Whether you are seeking the support of other women, or just wanting to practice active listening, the women’s process group covers a wide range of topics, including but not limited to the experiences of female-identifying people in today’s world.
The Working World
In this process group, members share and discuss issues related to work, school, retirement, and volunteering. Topics vary each week. Past topics have included issues of occupation-related identity and self-esteem, issues and rights related to return to work, exploring jobs, school, and career interests, matching work styles and preferences to daily work, navigating changes in ability and occupation, building work-life balance, and understanding/improving professional relationships. In addition to sharing concerns and providing feedback, facilitator may provide practical guidance and help, and on occasion, may present materials of general interest to the group.
SKILL-BUILDING, COPING, & SELF-EXPRESSION GROUPS (11:30 AM – 12:15 PM & 1:00 PM – 1:45 PM)
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) Group
This group introduces the six core principles of ACT: diffusion, expansion, connection, observing self, values, and effective action (i.e. setting goals in line with one’s values and acting on them effectively). We do a short exercise for each principle. For those new to ACT: A = accept thoughts and feelings; C = connect with values; T = take effective action.
Beginner’s Mind Group
In this mindfulness-based group, we explore the concepts of “beginner’s mind” and “mindfulness” and do two 5-minute sessions of mindfulness practice. After each 5-minute session, each group member is invited to share their experience.
Boundaries and Safety Group
Clients explore boundary types, boundary identification/implementation, boundary hurdles, and the link between boundary-setting and psycho-emotional safety. Clients receive peer support as they examine personal struggles and successes related to interpersonal, external, and internal boundaries.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Group
This group offers structured discussion of how thoughts influence and impact emotions and behaviors. In each session we do an exercise, including the Cognitive Triangle, Thought Distortion Journal, Thought Record, Mastery and Pleasure Record, Identifying Core Beliefs, and Dysfunctional Beliefs About Change. A key goal is learning how to challenge negative thoughts and/or use the mindfulness approach to observe our thoughts (defuse from our thoughts) in order to the evaluate them adaptively.
Decompression Session Group
This group offers the chance to practice a variety of calming techniques within a supportive community. Explore how returning to these foundational skills can help steady emotions and find moments of comfort. Learn more about what works for you and how to tailor these practices to be most helpful in your own life.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Skills Group (11:30 am and 1:00 pm)
In this core skills group, participants learn how the brain and body respond to emotional and physical triggers, as well as how these “survival mode” responses may work against our longer-term goals. This group teaches participants strategies to move beyond “survival” mode, by learning and practicing skills for distress tolerance, emotional regulation, mindfulness, and interpersonal effectiveness. This group combines lecture, discussion, small group breakouts, and exercises to help apply these new skills.
Emotional Awareness Group
This group aims to facilitate discussions about our emotions and adjusting our relationship with them. It will help you reflect on your own experience with emotions, as well as how to implement tools and practices that can make your emotions more helpful and productive in everyday life and interpersonal interactions.
Expressive Arts Group
Exploring emotions, coping skills and mindfulness through artistic expression and processing.
Healing & Sustained Wellness Group
The primary function of La Cheim’s PHP/IOP is to assist client’s in attaining stability. The Transition Planning Group aims to begin helping participants envision how they will sustain and maintain wellness now and upon graduating from the program. We investigate current challenges to stability as well as foreseeable obstacles that are common to many after completion of La Cheim. We work to address issues regarding daily activities and structure, support resources, and building coping skills. We encourage participants (with the guidance of their treatment team) to begin exploring ways to strengthen their ability move toward maintaining stability and advance gains already achieved upon entry to PHP; early preparation sets the stage for greater levels of success upon graduation and even beyond..
Music Group
Music group offers a therapeutic space for participants to share music with one another and find connection and meaning through the process. Participants are welcome to share a prerecorded piece of music that feels meaningful and enjoyable for them to listen to with others, or to play live music for the group.
Understanding Trauma Group
This group is designed for addressing all things trauma-related with an understanding of how debilitating trauma issues can be. We discuss how trauma affects the brain and the body, as well as how we can use this information to not only manage our symptoms but to work through trauma recovery as well. We facilitate this process through psychoeducation by the most influential trauma and psychologically trained experts, as well as by using real-life situations to explore and process these perspectives. We also know this group can be triggering, so the facilitators take extra care in tracking and supporting the participants.
Weekend Planning Group
La Cheim provides structure Monday through Friday; however, on the weekends many clients hold concerns regarding a lack of structure or setting a schedule. In this group clients share these weekend challenges and their management of these concerns. Examples of topics discussed: loneliness/isolation, boredom/restlessness, and relationship troubles. In addition, clients also address their weekend goals, identify social supports, and plan their management of useful self-care/coping skills.
Other Handouts & Therapeutic Resources:
Meditation & mindfulness resources:
Focus & Memory Handouts
