During a recent game of “We’re Not Really Strangers,” a friend asked about the most frustrating aspect of my job as a psychologist in a college counseling center. She speculated that it might be hard carrying the heavy things I hear from clients when the world is in chaos, or that I might get annoyed with the slow pace of growth. I explained that my training and the supportive work environment help me do my job, and that part of being a therapist is bringing a nonjudgmental understanding to the nonlinear process of healing. 

As a scientist and clinician, the resistance I sometimes face — for understandable reasons — when delivering my tremendous understanding of psychology is tiring. Overcoming this resistance is most challenging when I talk about group therapy.

When I suggest to someone that I think group therapy (also referred to as “group”) is the best treatment option, the most common reaction is deep discomfort, even fear, as they imagine what it would be like to be vulnerable with a circle of strangers. All therapy is pretty mysterious, and it is even portrayed in movies and television incorrectly, often in direct opposition to reality. However, group therapy is often the hardest for newbies to grasp because it’s different from anything most people have experienced. 

A therapy group can be imagined as a container that is solid, safe, and secure enough to hold the group’s vulnerability, tension, conflict, and emotionality. This safety is often difficult for people to conceptualize, as they expect it to feel similar to other groups they have been in. That’s the very beauty of group therapy; people bring the selves they are outside of the group into the therapy space, but they get to experiment with new ways of relating and interacting with others in a safe and controlled environment. While they do this, therapists guide everyone to take risks and give and receive feedback. It’s the group leaders’ job to develop the safety and cohesion that feels so hard to imagine for those who have never experienced this unique space.

As a group therapist, I get to see how people relate to each other in real time and guide them in trying out different behaviors. This experience is wildly out of reach in the individual therapy dyad, where our clients show up differently than they do when trying to connect with people in the world. This means group therapy is often more efficient than individual therapy for two reasons.  First, you can benefit from the group even during sessions when you say little but listen carefully to others. You will find that you have much in common with other group members, and as they work on their personal concerns, you can learn more about yourself. Second, group members will often bring up issues that strike a chord with you, but you might not have been aware of or brought up by yourself. Therefore, learning from others can be a powerful therapeutic experience and often enhances the work.

We spend most of our lives seeking to be a part of groups and craving the support groups offer, so group therapy is a natural and highly beneficial form of treatment for just about everyone. It offers a form of support, growth, and experience-based learning that you can’t get in individual therapy. Many times over the years, I’ve seen a single reflection from a fellow group member connect in a way that would have taken several hours of individual therapy. The cathartic universality of experiences, desires, and emotions is strong, and it results in a powerful projective identification and transference (seeing ourselves in others). 

My frustration stems from the difficulty of effectively describing how group therapy feels versus how people imagine it feels. If this article has helped you get on board, awesome. This spring 2026, the WashU Center for Counseling & Psychological Services is offering various group therapy options, including groups to help with belonging and acceptance, recovering from unhealthy romantic relationships, focusing and avoiding procrastination, handling an injury as a student-athlete, and navigating college as a first-generation student.

For additional information about these groups and more, or to learn how to get started, check out the WashU Counseling & Psychological Services website, which features details on our Group Therapy Support. Even if a group is full or doesn’t meet your schedule this semester, let a leader of a group know, and we can check in with you next semester! As a scientist and a clinician, I understand the difficulty of fully grasping the safety and benefits of group therapy; if one of our options represents an area in which you’d like to grow, I encourage you to engage in some science for yourself and experiment with group therapy.