Each person deserves mental health treatments that fit their unique personality and needs, whether that means individual therapy, group counseling, or both. At Dare To Care Too in Largo, Maryland, The Clinical Team has extensive experience providing individual and group counseling, offering personalized care that supports healing and improves emotional, mental, and behavioral health. Call the office or book an in-person or telehealth appointment online today to learn more about counseling and how it can improve your life.
request an appointmentWhat are individual and group counseling?
Individual counseling is a private session between you and your Dare To Care Too therapist. This type of counseling focuses on setting personal goals and treating your specific mental health needs.
During group counseling, one (or more) counselors work with multiple individuals who share the same problem, whether that’s a specific mental health diagnosis or life challenge. All the group members learn from one another by sharing their struggles and experiences.
In a group, each person has the opportunity to connect with and gain support and encouragement from individuals who understand their challenges and have tried different ways to overcome them.
When might I need individual and group counseling?
Choosing whether you want individual or group counseling depends on your needs. Clients sometimes choose to have both at the same time. Or you can begin with one and add the other.
Individual and group counseling have distinct dynamics. For example, if you struggle with socializing, individual therapy helps you understand the source of your social anxiety and teaches skills to overcome the problem.
Group counseling teaches social skills, reinforces the skills you learn in individual therapy, and gives you a structured environment for practicing your social skills.
Individual and group counseling help individuals with many mental health conditions and life challenges, including:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Anger
- Stress
- Bipolar disorder
- Schizophrenia
- Phobias
- Grief and loss
- Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD)
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
- Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
Together with your Dare To Care Too therapist, you can decide whether individual and/or group counseling are best for you.
What should I expect during individual and group counseling?
What happens depends on you and your therapist (in individual counseling) or the individuals in your group and its leader (in group counseling).
During individual counseling, your therapist recommends a therapeutic approach that fits your diagnosis, symptoms, and goals. Group leaders also use certain approaches based on the group’s purpose.
To give you two examples, some groups meet to learn about a mental health disorder and how it affects their life and ways to cope, while others focus on teaching and practicing skills.
Call Dare To Care Too or book an appointment online to learn how individual and group counseling may help you improve the challenges affecting your mental health.
