Psychotherapeutic Approaches to Group Therapy for Addiction

A psychotherapeutic approach is a psychological treatment of behavioral, emotion and personality disorders. It involves communication between patients and therapists using theoretically based methods.

Psychotherapy is part of the approaches that therapists can use during group therapy for addiction treatment. Group therapy brings together three up to 12 people for them to share their common problem with a therapist, get support and advice from one another. The ideal number is seven to twelve individuals although they can be higher. It helps the members to realize that similar addiction also affects others helping them to acknowledge the problem and find a solution. Some people prefer to seek help when in a group because they consider it more efficient than engaging in individual therapy. Members of a group therapy usually meet for an hour or two once or twice per week.

Types of Psychotherapeutic Approaches to Group Therapy

Psychotherapy encompasses a broad spectrum of interventions that therapists lead to ensure maximum benefit for the patients. A therapist will use some of these approaches to accomplish the purpose which is to free group members from dependency on something or substance.

1. Coping-focused psychotherapy

This psychotherapy teaches patients practical and specific ways of coping with particular problems such as substance addiction relapse prevention. The most effective forms of coping-focused psychotherapy are the ones with an origin in scientific research. Most recommend a form of cognitive behavioral therapy with much emphasis on relapse prevention programs.

2.Supportive psychotherapy

This kind of group therapy aims to offer patients a trustworthy and safe forum in which they can share the aspects of the lives that they find troubling. A therapist will listen to a patient and encourage emotional sharing only acting when it is necessary. A therapist intervenes when it is right as an authority figure or guide outlining the things that patients should do and avoid. This kind of therapy does not explore by delving into the past histories of a patient. Therapists use it when attending to emotionally fragile patients and those who have become disorganizes after a confrontation with traumatic situations and memories.

3. Social skills /growth/interpersonal psychotherap

This type of psychotherapeutic approach aims at teaching patients how to become socially and emotionally mature when dealing with others. It aims at addressing the poor interpersonal skills that many addicts have for a variety of reasons. Their lack of interpersonal makes them deal with their emotions and problems in self-destructive ways like dependency of harmful substances. A therapist works to instill social skills /growth/interpersonal skills psychotherapy to enable patients to learn about healthy ways to communicate with one another. They begin by practice sessions amongst the group members.

4. Exploratory psychotherapy

This type of therapy helps the people to uncover the links between their past experiences such as substance abuse and present behavior. Exploratory forms of psychotherapy can be disorganizing as they often include recalling of recent painful events. The flashback can be traumatic to recovering patients or those with severe symptoms. It is wise for a therapist not to invoke exploratory psychotherapy. There adequate evidence to show that helping recovery from addiction by a patient can still proceed well without discussing the past traumatic events that led the person to explore drug use. Therapists should not rule it out entirely because it is still a useful way of treating many trauma or anxiety based disorders some of which could the cause of addiction.

Psychotherapy approaches are of great support for addiction therapy because it has a process that follows out the problem until it determines a way to solve it. Psychotherapy goes beyond simple counseling to include a variety of talk therapies to treat psychiatric, personality, emotional and behavioral disorders. A commitment to series of appointment with a psychotherapist creates a relationship that focuses on finding solutions to cope with factors contributing to the current condition.

Addiction makes patients feel lonely, and psychotherapy in group therapy provides them with a platform to find people with whom to share their problems, frustrations, and solutions.