Group therapy is structured psychotherapy delivered to a small group of people working on shared concerns under the guidance of one or two licensed therapists. We match you with group therapists for process groups, skills-based groups, and condition-specific support groups. Insurance is verified before your first session.
What Group Therapy Is And Who It Is For
Group therapy is psychotherapy delivered to 6 to 12 members at the same time, typically once a week for 60 to 90 minutes. The therapist guides discussion, facilitates skill practice, and helps the group hold space for each member’s work. Sessions are confidential and members agree to not discuss what happens in group outside of group.
Group therapy fits people who would benefit from learning alongside peers, who want a more affordable format than individual therapy, or whose presenting concern is fundamentally relational. Common reasons to start group therapy include:
- Anxiety or depression where isolation is a maintaining factor
- Grief, loss, or major life transition where peer connection helps
- Trauma recovery in the stabilization phase, particularly for complex trauma
- Substance use recovery and relapse-prevention work
- Social anxiety, where in-vivo practice with peers is the active ingredient
- Skills-based learning (DBT, CBT, anger management, parenting skills)
- Identity-focused support: LGBTQ+, veterans, new parents, caregivers
- Step-down after individual therapy or higher levels of care
Types Of Groups We Match For
Group therapy is not one format. Different group structures serve different goals, and the matched therapist selects the group type that fits your situation.
Process groups
Process groups (also called interpersonal process groups) are open-ended groups where members work on relational patterns through the relationships that form within the group itself. The therapist focuses on what happens between members in real time. Process groups typically run for 6 months to 2 years or longer with the same core membership.
Skills-based groups
Skills groups teach a specific curriculum across a structured number of sessions. DBT skills groups follow Marsha Linehan’s four-module curriculum (mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, interpersonal effectiveness) over roughly 24 weeks. CBT-based groups for anxiety or depression usually run 12 to 16 weeks. Anger management, parenting, and stress-reduction groups follow similar time-limited formats.
Support groups
Support groups bring people together around a shared experience: grief, divorce, chronic illness, new parenthood, caregiving, sexual assault recovery. The therapist provides safety and structure rather than a treatment protocol. Some support groups are open (members join and leave on their own schedule) and some are closed (a fixed cohort works together for a set duration).
Psychoeducational groups
Psychoeducational groups teach about a specific topic: medication and mental health, recovery skills, trauma-informed self-care, family-of-someone-with-mental-illness education. These groups are typically 4 to 12 weeks and focus on information sharing alongside group discussion.
Twelve-Step facilitated and peer-recovery groups
For substance use and behavioral addictions, our network includes therapists who facilitate groups based on or compatible with Twelve-Step frameworks (AA, NA, SMART Recovery alternatives). These run alongside community-based peer meetings, not as a substitute for them.
How Matching Works
We are a matching service. You tell us what you want to work on, the format you prefer (process group, skills-based, support, online), your schedule, and your insurance, and we match you with a licensed therapist who runs a group with current openings.
After you submit the form or call us, a member of our intake team contacts you within 24 hours to discuss what you are looking for. We then reach out to therapists in our network whose group format and clinical focus match your situation and who have current availability, and we share the group format, time, size, and rates with you.
You decide which group to join. The matched therapist’s practice handles intake, insurance verification, and ongoing care directly with you. Groups vary in how they admit new members: some require a brief individual screening with the therapist before joining, some have rolling admission, and some run as closed cohorts that start and end together.
Process Groups Vs Skills-Based Groups
Process and skills-based groups can both help, but they work differently. The matched therapist or our intake team can help you decide which fits, or whether starting with one and moving to the other serves your goals.
Dimension | Process group | Skills-based group |
Focus | Patterns in relationships, including patterns that emerge between members in the group | A specific curriculum and concrete skills (DBT, CBT, anger management, parenting) |
Structure | Open-ended discussion guided by the therapist around what is happening in the group | Manualized weekly curriculum with skill teaching, practice, and homework |
Duration | 6 months to 2 years or longer; same core members work together over time | Typically 12 to 24 weeks; cohort starts and ends together |
Best for | Relational patterns, social anxiety, longstanding interpersonal difficulties | Emotion regulation, anxiety, depression, anger, specific skill-building goals |
Membership | Often closed or semi-closed; new members admitted with therapist screening | Closed cohort that begins together and finishes together |
Many people benefit from doing both: a skills group for a specific issue and a process group for longer-term relational work. The matched therapist can advise on sequence and combination.
Other Services We Match For
Group therapy often works alongside or in sequence with other services. We match for the full continuum:
Insurance And Fees
We work with most major insurance plans. The matched therapist’s practice verifies your benefits before your first session. Many therapists in our network offer sliding scale fees based on income, and group therapy is typically the most affordable insured therapy format because cost is distributed across members.
Most commercial carriers, including Aetna, Anthem, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and UnitedHealthcare, cover group therapy as an outpatient mental-health benefit. We do not quote rates because they vary by therapist, group format, and plan; after you are matched, the practice handles billing and shares specific cost details. Insurance verification typically takes about 15 minutes for plans without prior authorization, and 1 to 3 business days for plans that require it.
Telehealth and getting started
Many groups in our network run as telehealth via HIPAA-compliant video platforms, so where you live rarely limits which groups you can join. Online group therapy works well for skills groups, psychoeducation, and many support groups, while some process groups and trauma-focused groups are held in person for the relational immediacy they depend on. When you reach out, we match you based on the format you want, your schedule, and your insurance, then share the groups that have current openings and fit what you are working on. You decide which one to join, and the matched therapist’s practice handles screening, enrollment, and benefits directly with you. Most people are able to start within one to three weeks, depending on whether a group has rolling admission or runs as a closed cohort.
Medical Reviewer
This page was reviewed by Dr. Courtney Scott, MD, a physician with credentials in Emergency Medicine, Internal Medicine, and Addiction Medicine. Dr. Scott completed medical school at the Keck School of Medicine at USC and has more than a decade of experience in behavioral health. Clinical care for the people we match is provided by the licensed therapists in our network, not by Dr. Scott directly.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between group therapy and a support group?
Group therapy is led by a licensed therapist and is a clinical treatment, billable through insurance. Support groups are typically peer-led (sometimes co-facilitated by a clinician) and focus on mutual support around a shared experience. Both can help; group therapy is the right choice when symptoms warrant clinical treatment.
How big are the groups?
Most groups in our network have 6 to 12 members. Process groups tend to run smaller (6 to 10) so each member has time to work; skills-based groups can run larger (8 to 12) because the curriculum drives the structure. Group size and current membership are shared with you during matching.
Will I have to talk in group?
You set your own pace. The therapist will not pressure you to share before you are ready; many people listen for the first few sessions before participating actively. The group culture is supportive, and members typically check in with each other rather than putting anyone on the spot.
Is group therapy confidential?
Confidentiality in group therapy works differently than individual therapy. The therapist is bound by HIPAA and professional ethics; members agree to confidentiality as a group norm but are not legally bound. Most groups address confidentiality explicitly in the first session, and breaches are taken seriously.
Can I do group therapy online?
Yes for most formats. Skills, support, and psychoeducational groups work well online via HIPAA-compliant video platforms; process and trauma-focused groups can also run online, though some clinicians prefer in-person for embodied immediacy. The matched therapist’s format is shared during matching.
Can I do group and individual therapy at the same time?
Yes, and many people do. Group and individual therapy address different aspects of the same work: individual sessions hold space for what is yours alone, and group provides peer learning and real-time interpersonal practice. The matched group therapist may or may not be the same person as your individual therapist.
Does insurance cover group therapy?
Yes, for most plans. Commercial carriers (Aetna, Anthem, Blue Cross Blue Shield, UnitedHealthcare) cover group therapy as a behavioral-health benefit. Group sessions are billed under a different code than individual sessions and are often a lower out-of-pocket cost.
How quickly can I start group therapy?
Some groups have rolling admission and you can start within a week or two. Closed-cohort groups (DBT, anger management, structured trauma groups) start at scheduled intervals and admission depends on the next cohort’s start date. The matched therapist’s group schedule is shared during matching so you know when you can begin.