by Jennifer Paige

Created on: January 23, 2012

You've reached a point where you can't handle a problem on your own any longer. You've accepted that you need to find professional help. The question is now: Which is the right choice-individual or group therapy?

Before you can answer that question, you need to answer a few other questions:

First, do you lack a strong social support network to deal with your problem?

Second, is your problem one that you feel comfortable discussing in front of or with other people?

Third, are you capable of being a support for someone else?

If you answered yes to those three questions, group therapy might be the right choice for you. Group therapy is beneficial for many people who are ready and willing to share their problem with others, particularly if they don't have friends or family that they can talk to about the problem.

Group therapy lets you know you are not alone. There are others who are experiencing the same or similar issues in their lives. You can learn how others cope with it and see the problem from multiple perspectives.

However, there are a few pitfalls in group therapy. For example, you must be prepared to have other people look to you for answers and support. It's a give and take relationship. This is not inherently bad, but you should be aware that someone might come to depend on you, perhaps too much. In that case, you will have to be ready to deal with that person.

Another possible situation is that you get into a group that doesn't really want to solve their problem. They just want to commiserate. If you get stuck in a situation where everyone wants to talk about how bad their lives are and feel sorry for one another, but no one actually wants to take the steps to fix anything, then you will need to find another group or consider individual therapy.

If you are not quite ready to spill the details to a group of strangers, individual therapy is probably a better choice for you. It would also be a better choice for you if you are not interested in becoming a support for any other person.

The nature of the problem will often dictate whether or not group or individual therapy is better. If you know the exact source of the problem and you just need help dealing with it, group therapy can be very helpful. If you aren't quite sure why you are having problems, then you probably need one on one discussions to try to determine the source.

Whichever method you choose, you are already on the path of healing. You have taken the first step in deciding to seek out help. That can be the hardest part for some people. Now you need to act and find a mental health professional that can point you in the direction you want to go, whether it be group or individual therapy.

Whichever you pick, remember that you are in control of your life and you can make it better!

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