Would Group Therapy be good in this situation?

Hello,

I've been recommended group psychotherapy, but I'm not sure if it's right for me. I'm a loner and I have trouble with anxiety and depression, so I feel like it might help me figure out the interpersonal problems I have. But at the same time, I'm scared nothing's going to improve socially outside the group, and I'd be stuck in a six month commitment. Also, trying helping people in the same situation sounds nice, but I feel like I'm so 'messed up' that it'd be the blind leading the blind.

Has anybody experienced this situation, of something like it? Any advice in any case?

Thanks!

Hello jlh88: I see this is your first post here on PC. So... welcome to PsychCentral… from the Skeezyks! I hope you find the time you spend here to be of benefit.

With regard to your concern, I guess you could say I am also pretty-much a loner. I'm an older person. And I live a pretty solitary lifestyle. I also have struggled with anxiety & depression. Quite a few years ago now, I participated in a partial hospital program.

One of the things we did was to have a daily group therapy session. I had always said that I would never do such a thing. I've always been one to not share my feelings. I was brought up with the idea that "you don't wash your dirty laundry in public." However, in reality, I actually enjoyed the experience & felt that it was beneficial. (Who knew?)

Is it going to improve your sociability outside the group? I would say, no... probably not. At least it didn't mine... maybe a little bit at first... but it didn't last. Is it a matter of "the blind leading the blind?" Well... yes... I guess it is sort-of. But, to extend the metaphor, with multiple individuals feeling their way along, it's a lot more likely you'll get to where it is you need to go too.

PsychCentral is a great place to get information as well as support for mental health issues. There are many knowledgeable & caring members here. The more you post, & reply to other members’ posts, the more a part of the community you will become. Plus there are social groups you can join & chat rooms where you’ll be able to connect with other PC members in real time (once your first 5 posts have been reviewed & approved.) Lots of great stuff! So please keep posting!

I have group and it helps me with my depression and anxiety. For me, it is having people to talk to that are feeling just as "messed up" as me. I don't feel quite as isolated. With social anxiety the best thing to do is go out. I use to be so bad socializing I did not know the names of my coworkers three years in! Now I look at it differently. It is either a good time or a great story.

I've been in that situation. Several times. T's think group therapy would be good for me because I have social anxiety. Three times this happened. Three times is failed. Though the third time I quit group after two sessions.
The problem was my anxiety was too high. I already found it difficult to talk to a T. I never really opened up. In the group I was too afraid to talk. There're were so many session I didn't even said one word. I was too afraid to say something wrong and I thought people would think I'm exagerating. So group therapy didn't help me.

After I had quit the last group, I found a good T. She helped me to be less anxious. I've opened up to her. I shared things I had never shared with anyone. A few months ago I started with a new T and I actually opened up to her pretty fast. So you could call that progress.
Next week I'll be starting group therapy again. I never thought I would do that again. But my current T is one of the group T's so I know it isn't being lead by some useless T. And my anxiety is not that high anymore. I've learned a lot in therapy. I still find it difficult to have contact with people, group is a good and save place to practise that (they say). And if it doesn't work out I can always go back to individual therapy.

I go to a peer support group, DBSA has them around the country, and there are other groups out there too. Nice think about peer support vs group therapy is there is no cost for attending a peer support group.

Thanks for all the helpful answers, everyone!

I meant to reply to this the other day but I was in a rush and didn't have time. Sorry!

I'm a very quiet person and group therapy didn't work for me at all. There were a few strong characters in the group who took up all of the time. Quieter patients like myself felt unable to speak because a clique formed among these stronger characters who would shoot us down whenever we did say anything.

I had high hopes for group therapy and thought it would improve my social anxiety and social skills but it left me feeling much worse. I just wanted to warn you as I had wished someone had warned me. If you don't feel like it's working or you feel worse, don't let the therapists bully you into staying the whole duration of treatment and lead you to believe that it's all part of your problem.