Learn How Group Therapy Can Help with Reducing Anxiety Symptoms

NYC Therapist Alison Pepper writes: “Anxiety, Depression, Stress, ADHD, PTSD, to name a few, can be very debilitating and challenging issues that many people deal with at points in their lives. We need to find effective tools that can help us cope with these issues. Group therapy canbe an effective tool in reducing anxiety symptoms.”

Group therapy may not be the right fit for everyone but it can be in particular helpful for those who are on a budget, have never tried psychotherapy before or for the experienced therapy client who wants to get extra help with a particular goal. Alison, a Therapist in NYC and a group therapy advocate explains what to expect in group therapy and how it can be an effective tool to ease anxiety and cope with depression. 

group therapy nyc

What To Expect In Group Therapy

Group therapy looks different depending on the group and therapist facilitating of course. Groups may be open where drop-ins are welcomed, or closed, where the group may meet consistently for a specific amount of time like 6 Wednesdays in a row or every other Thursday for 8 weeks. Groups can be more process oriented or psycho educational in nature. During a group session you can expect time to get to know group members, time to explore a topic (like anxiety symptoms, life stressors, or major life adjustments), and time for the therapist to provide information and lead a discussion.

What About My Anxiety and Depression?

Group is a great place to tackle anxiety and depression head on and to delve into any number of topics. With the support of a therapist and others who are dealing with anxiety, group can be safe space to talk about anxiety, learn more about how the anxious brain/mind/body works, and explore coping skills and strategies for combating anxiety and our worried thoughts. Finding support and asking for help can be hard sometimes, group therapy can help!  If you want to know more about the next upcoming NYC Therapy Group this Fall, including my Anxiety Group click here to learn more or see below for more information.

What Does It Feel Like When You Have Anxiety?

Symptoms may be; memory issues, overthinking, avoidance, stomach issues, panic attacks needing reassurance, procrastination, lack of patience, constant worrying, rapid heartbeat, insomnia, headache, trouble breathing…

Signs and Symptoms of Anxiety

How Can I Cope With Stress Naturally?

There are many ways to get relief from our stressors in life, we have discussed this topic before in our blog post “5 steps to calm down the ‘Worrier Brain’.” See this link. Besides a well-balanced diet, exercise, good sleep regimen, there are two other helpful methods that can help calm down your stress levels naturally. These two powerful tools are mindfulness meditation and neurofeedback therapy.  One can learn mindfulness meditation online with apps, books, videos or find a meditation centre near you to learn mindfulness in person and practice in a group. With Mindfulness meditation you can apply it everywhere, anytime. it is always available to you. Check out our mindfulness podcast on our blog post here. 

mindfulness

A lesser-known natural method to bring in wellbeing in your life and cope with stress is training your brain with Neurofeedback. The system we use for sessions and home system rentals is called NeurOptimal neurofeedback. This advanced system is 100% safe, non-invasive, real-time EEG that measures the electrical activity in your brain and then provides information back to your brain to what it is doing. One can say that NeurOptimal provides a high-tech mirror that lets the brain see what it is doing so that it can correct itself so it can rewire and optimize itself at the source – your central nervous system.  We all have bad habits that translate into various conditions such as high-stress levels, but with this drug-free brain training method your brain will moment by moment, session by session, gently break out of that habitual pattern and become more resilient and flexible. As one of our neurofeedback rental clients said: “NeurOptimal was easy to use, cost-efficient and extremely effective in managing my stress.” 

Is neurofeedback effective? Watch neurofeedback reviews

NYC Group Therapy

Go to My WellBeing.com if interested in Group Therapy in New York City or email Alyssa at [email protected] for more information. Space is limited so sign up early if interested in this option.


Natalie Baker

NYC Psychotherapist Natalie Baker, LMHC is a NeurOptimal® Neurofeedback Trainer, Meditation Teacher and founder of Buddhist Psychotherapy NY. She has been in private practice since 2000 treating clients with conditions such as PTSD, trauma, anxiety, depression, and relationship issues and 30 years experience with mindfulness training.