Individual & Group Therapy

Group Therapy at Muir Wood

In addition to individual therapy, we utilize group therapy as a core treatment modality in order to provide the teens a structured place where developmental challenges are normalized and shared. In their search to belong and achieve social acceptance, teens will seek a group or tribe where they may find acceptance and strength. Many of the teens who come to Muir Wood have been unable to sustain membership in emotionally reliable and safe groups of peers. In addition, many of the teens at Muir Wood have complicated their efforts to negotiate this complex developmental phase by their use of mood-altering substances.

Benefits of Gender-Specific Group Therapy at Muir Wood

Group therapy provides a number of benefits to your teen socially and emotionally as he rebuilds his life and learns how to have positive interactions with peers. When group therapy is accomplished in a gender-specific setting, it allows teens the safety and security to discuss sensitive underlying issues that might not be addressed in a mixed-gender setting. The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) states that teens in recovery from substance abuse can benefit from group therapy in a number of different ways:

• Positive peer support. Rather than encouraging teens to get high or drink as most peers would, teens in group therapy or other support groups will encourage their children to stay clean and sober.
• Release from isolation. Many teens in recovery feel that they are alone in their fight against drugs and alcohol – that no one else has had to struggle so hard, messed up so often, hurt so many, or been as hurt as they have. Group therapy removes the veil of isolation and allows your son to see that not only is substance abuse a symptom of a larger issue but that through communication and treatment, long-term recovery is possible.
• A place to share. Your child does not need to keep feelings, frustrations, and fears pent up inside. Group therapy provides a place to share those issues and get the support, advice, and encouragement necessary to deal with these issues in a safe and structured setting.
• Demonstration that treatment works. Other teens who have been in recovery longer will be able to attest to the effectiveness of treatment by example and help your son stay committed to his recovery.
• The opportunity to learn from the good – and bad – choices of others. In the group setting, teens will share the mistakes they have made as well as stories about good choices that served them in their recovery. Hearing their stories, and sharing his own, will provide your son with support from others as well as the confidence boost of being in a position to assist others in early recovery.
• Intervention when a member is at risk. If a teen’s behaviors are leading to relapse or it is believed that a member of the group is struggling, the group therapy setting provides a positive and natural intervention. Accountability is essential to ongoing recovery, and teens are able to intervene for one another when one is at risk of relapse.
• Family communication practice. When group therapy sessions meet regularly, it can give participants the feeling of family, which also provides them with the opportunity to practice effective communication as well as learn how to manage conflict and ask for help in a way that nurtures relationships.
• Positive peer relationships. Many positive peer interactions turn into friendships that expand beyond the therapy setting and provide an ongoing social support system that can help your son feel more grounded in recovery.