I have always tended to avoid group therapy. I wasn't comfortable with all the extra people knowing my problems, but my bigger fear was that I would just be lost in the shuffle, and nobody would notice me or care that I was there. Or maybe they wouldn't like me. If a group is run properly, though, none of those issues should be a problem.

I was in a social skills group once, probably close to 15 years ago. I didn't want to be in a group. What I wanted was individual attention from a therapist. I had gone to the university counseling center, though, and didn't think I had a choice other than take it or leave it. It was my third year there, and the third winter (or fall - my bad seasons) that I was struggling and needed help. The group was okay, but unfortunately I started late and was only there a few times and didn't really connect with anybody. But I have to admit that if social skills are the issue, it makes sense to have people to interact with in order to learn them.

Just recently, I took a class in group counseling, and we ran an ongoing group as part of class, with everybody participating as well as taking turns as the group leader. Most of us were uncomfortable about doing that at first, but it did turn out to be a very positive experience. Our teacher knew what he was doing. The thing is, the focus of a group needs to be the here and now and what is happening within the group and what each member can learn from getting honest feedback on how they interact. The leader's job is to create a safe atmosphere for real interaction between the group members, and also to be aware of each member and make sure that each one is responded to and has the opportunity to participate. Nobody has to get into any personal details that they don't want to, and in fact, telling long stories about one's personal life outside the group isn't all that productive. There really isn't that much drama involved - it would make a pretty boring TV show. It was a good experience, though, to be part of a properly run group. I would have liked to keep it going indefinitely. I guess that's what I come to PC for - it's not all that different in a lot of ways from what we do here.