Individual therapy vs Group therapy

I've had both and prefer individual therapy.

I was in individual therapy with my T last year for awhile then she decided to put me in a depression&anxiety group which she was in. I didn't like it because I was the only guy in there. Not that I had any problem with the women. They were all very supportive of me and I of them but still felt out of place. The good thing is my T was in the group so it was someone I knew and trusted. But I was also very impatient because I just wanted one on one with her. I sometimes had to wait to talk instead of just coming in and right away speaking. Sometimes I was a bit more reserved in group than in an individual session too.

I also went through a substance abuse program at the same metal health clinic. I also felt out of place in there too. I was put in there only because I confessed that I had a drinking problem. I spent four months in the substance abuse group and was given drug screens at random at anytime. It was tough because everyone in there was court ordered and I was sent there by my therapist. I was also the only one with depression. Having to both go to a depression group and substance abuse group was very hard on me. But I did stop drinking.

The new T I have is individual only, thank god. They do not do groups unless you want your family to come in and I don't. It's much more layed back and I can just talk until time is up or listen to her. Although I've only had two sessions with her, she is very caring. That's the way it was with my last T as well until I went to group.

Which do you prefer?

I've been in individual t for almost 2 years now. Over the last 5 months i have been in a pre therapy group and am now waiting to go onto the group therapy for the next 2 years. I'm really anxious because this means i have to leave individual therapy which has been going so well and has helped me to make great progress.
How did you make this transition?

Why do you have to leave individual therapy to go into group therapy? They are often done at the same time.

because my individual therapist has nothing to do with the group therapy and it can be counter productive to be going in 2 different directions with 2 different processes.
Part of me wants to not tell my t when i start group or not tell the group that i am attending individual t but i know that this is unethical and puts my t in an awkward position. I respect and like t too much to do this but the thought of losing our therapeutic relationship scares the life out of me

the idea of group T is just unthinkable to me.

scares me too but i know that ultimately its gonna help me on my relationships ad interactions. I just have to get on with it and hope and pray that perhaps i will b allowed to keep on with individual too

I'm in individual therapy and I have been an observer in group therapy for my classes.
Honestly, I don't fancy group therapy (not that I'm wild about individual therapy either), but I can see where it's beneficial.
For some people, they need the support of others to be able to open up.
It's also an opportunity to learn from other peoples' experience.

Who's telling you it would be counterproductive? Apparently not your individual t because you said he doesn't know. Must be the group t saying this?

I've been in group therapy and it was really helpful. My T encouraged me to go and it never seemed counterproductive to us, but maybe that's just my experience.

I do think you absolutely MUST be honest with everyone involved though. Personally I wouldn't give up my individual therapy to go to group therapy. I would only use group therapy as an adjunct to my individual therapy.

I am in group therapy right now as well as individual - two different Ts, although they both know each other. I process what happens in group with my regular T, which is nice.

sillystring, I think you should ask your individual T. Maybe it is OK with him to do both. Many people do both group and individual therapy simulataneously and it works well for them. I actually think it is preferable to have a different therapist for individual and group so there isn't any kind of conflict of interest. However, I know a lot of people do individual and group with the same T and it works fine.

I was interested in what you wrote about being in a pre-therapy group. What is that?

BeyondBlue, I have been in individual therapy and also done family and couples therapy. They are pretty different! I also help out at several groups from time to time. I think the groups serve a really different purpose from individual therapy in many cases, so it's hard to compare them. I like the one on one relationship with the therapist in individual. That aspect is minimized when there are more than just you and the T in the room. In the groups I help with, all of the people also have individual therapists. The therapist who leads it will contact the client's individual T if the client brings something to the group beyond its ability to help. I like that part -- that even if the group can't help, the leader makes sure the person gets help from his/her T.

Hi Sunrise... sorry for delay in replying
Pre-therapy group runs for a year. Its basically used to figure out what issues people can identify that they need/want to work on, if group therapy will suit them and their needs, improving social skills and gaining confidence in being in a room of people before making the commitment to group therapy if you decide to move on in that direction. I couldnt see the point at first, just wanted to get on with the "real" stuff but actually since starting i have found it to be really beneficial in getting me to place where i am able to deal with being in a group and start to work on my "issues"