Group is very disruptive i told the group t to

I have been going to a group 3x a week for substance abuse (alchohol) only binging with friends but i go for support because when i do drink i binge and not take my meds so its a good group, as for the people in the group thats another story here it goes

there is about 15 ppl in group its 2 hrs long the group therapist is new just got her license and is under supervision, she is a great listener but she is like a text book therapist.

i been attending this group like for 6 weeks my group consists of men and women who have been through the system for drugs and alcohol and have been arrested and are court mandated to be there with prior felonies and such

they are so disruptive that i had to tell the therapist to handle her group better or i will not come anymore because its a waste of my time, they talk out of place they interrupt ppl when its thier turn to talk they go off topic all the time, the t has to tell them to be quiet every ten minutes that is total disrespect to me in my oppinion, thier cell phones go off in group when its thier turn to talk they take up to a half hour no consideration for the rest of the ppl if its gonna take u a half hour to talk in group in my oppinion the therapist should jump in and schedule an individual session for that person, anyway its so frustrating im depressed and frustrated myself in general to have to go to group and deal with this is not good for me

sweepy are there other groups you could look into going too? Perhaps AA or NA instead?

That sounds like more of a mob than a group. I second Lola's recommendation. Let us know how it goes

It doesn't feel safe? It feels chaotic like a time in your past?

It's chaotic for me I like things organized and she said she is going to se boundaries for the group but she did that two weeks ago and it lasted maybe a half hour the ppl in group know they can get away with it they call her the coolest group t they really have no respect for her if I were the t I would be very embarrassed a speaker came to the group and it was embarassing

Group therapy is always a bit of a gamble.

In what way do you get support at this group? In what way is it a good group? Nothing you wrote made the group sound supportive or good. If the group leader cannot control the group (sounds like she doesn't realize she has all the power--if she kicks people out, they would probably have to go to jail), then can you ask her for referrals to groups that would offer what you need? Maybe there is even a group at the same place that has a different leader?

you are absolutely right the group t is new the ppl that go to the monday group also go to tues and wed group like me the other available groups are at night i cannot attend because its not the greatest neighborhood , most of them are court mandated i am not so i plan to tell her on monday again because there is no point to the group she cant even follow a curriculum because of interuptions even in highschool i did not have this problem they are like a bunch of rowdy kids ( not that all kids are rowdy) but you know what i mean

Maybe she can give you referrals to other groups in the community since it sounds like there are no options for you at the same place. Since she's new, she may not know the community well, so maybe asking someone else there for referrals (her supervisor?) might also be helpful.

It does sound like a worthless experience. I work at a place where some clients are very disruptive and it can be so hard to manage those people and still provide a helpful experience to the others. It sounds like your group leader needs a lot more support with this group than she is getting.

JMO, but the group sounds too big. 8 people would probably be better than 15. 15 is a lot to take on for just one therapist, especially when there are behavioral problems. If you do look for another group, a good question would be how large is the group?

Yes 15 is way too many when they have problems following rules simple rules I will ask her on Monday because it's useless to a couple of us which is not fair