Group Therapy for Relationship Issues
Do you struggle in your relationship? That should probably be a rhetorical question because I’ve yet to meet any person who doesn’t have some struggle in one of their relationships. You’re not alone. Do you become activated quickly and find it hard to remain calmly engaged with your partner or others? Do you find yourself retreating from relationships? Do you find yourself becoming anxious or depressed when your partner, friend, or family member is upset? If so, you may find healing in a group therapy experience.
The relationships we had in childhood and adolescence created a template for us and informs how we show up with other people in our relationships today. It is common for individuals to have experiences as children that are left unprocessed and these unprocessed emotions, experiences, thoughts, feelings, and/or beliefs stay stored in the body, often causing our bodies (our nervous system) to become dysregulated.
Chronic dysregulation can affect one's life in many different ways such as feeling out of control and overwhelmed, inability to maintain relational connection, heightened stress responses, somatic symptoms possibly leading to chronic pain/illness, loss of sense of self and purpose, inability to focus and make decisions, and feeling stuck in anxiety or feeling shut down.
Group therapy can help you to move through these relationship difficulties by helping you:
Understand and process how your past is currently showing up in relationships
Learn how to re-regulate your nervous system to experience more connection, joy, and safety in relationships
Learn self-regulation tools to help you feel grounded and supported during difficult conversations and situations
Resolve trauma stored in the body that can manifest in physical health symptoms or mental health symptoms like anxiety and depression
Learn how to connect your physical/body sensations to the origins of your own story
Create safe connection with other participants in the group
Practice assertive and authentic communication skills
Hear how others have worked through their struggles
Group therapy is often a snapshot of how we show up in the world. If we struggle to voice our needs in group, we often do this in life. If we become easily triggered and find it hard to regulate when someone says something we disagree with during group, we often also do this in other relationships.
Group provides a safe place to learn new communication and relationship skills while having the guardrails of group guidelines and a group facilitator to make sure you’re on track.
We have many group opportunities at The Relationship Enrichment Center. Check out our “All Services” tab at https://www.relationshipenrichmentcenter.com/all-services to learn more.
Trusting the process,
Chelsie and Jessica