Although many children benefit from individual therapy, in some cases group therapy is more effective. Group therapy is not only cost effective, but also contains certain key therapeutic factors:
In group counselling relationships, children experience the therapeutic releasing qualities of discovering that their peers have problems, too, and a diminishing of the barriers of feeling all alone.
Group members recognize that other members’ success can be helpful and they develop optimism and a sense of hope for their own improvement.
A feeling of belonging, trust and togetherness develops. This allows for new interpersonal skills to be learned practically.
In groups children are afforded the opportunity for immediate reactions and feedback from peers as well as the opportunity for vicarious learning.
Group members have the opportunity to re-enact critical family/peer dynamics with other group members in a corrective manner.
Children also develop sensitivity towards others and receive a boost to their self-concept through being helpful to someone else. For children who have poor self-concepts and a life history of experiencing failure, discovering they can be helpful to someone else may be the most profound therapeutic quality possible.
In groups, children also discover they are worthy of respect and their own worth is not dependent on what they do or what they produce, but rather on who they are.
Group members begin to accept responsibility for life decisions.
