That group member may then be able to see a pattern in his life, perhaps a fear of being alone, that he had not seen before. Group therapy can be seen as comparable with family life, where a brother and sister can sometimes help each other more than their parents can. Other group members can be extremely helpful, in giving honest opinions and talking about their own life and difficulties. The therapist is still there, of course, to look out for problems and to help the group to be a helpful place for all group members. When someone applies for group therapy, a full individual assessment is made and people are carefully matched with groups.
Groups meet once a week and sessions last one and a half hours.
As with individual therapy, group psychotherapy has strict rules about timing, not meeting other group members outside the group, taking holidays at the same time as the group takes breaks, treating everything spoken about in the group as confidential, notifying the group of unexpected absences, and giving at least one months notice of leaving. Especially important is the rule about not meeting outside the group since friendship may well undermine the freedom people have in the group to explore things. Also, it is important to say that the more you participate in the group, the more you will get out of it. It is better to be as open as possible about feelings, and also to respond to other people's feelings and thoughts. Derek said that group members were encouraged not to meet outside the group.