Mental Health4 Benefits Of Virtual Group Therapy For Addiction

Psychologists have now started to allow their patients to form groups to undergo psychotherapy. Here, therapists or psychologists facilitate small group therapy sessions for individuals. The people within the group often see each other 1-2 times each week for about an hour and a half to two hours. Usually, the sessions are done with about 5 to 15 individuals seeking treatment for their issues.

What’s good about this is that a client can have the chance to communicate their experiences, feelings, and questions with other individuals and know their feedback. This is done in a therapeutic setting that allows for having the right point of view and faster recovery.

In the past, therapists often conducted group therapy in person. Yet, the online space has allowed for new avenues for this therapy. It’s now viable to start an online group therapy which can qualify for the group dynamic to happen remotely.

Likewise, this opportunity to undergo group therapy online can be ideal for those who seek a support group for alcohol or drug addiction. It can offer a lot of benefits for them as they seek treatment. In this article, you’ll learn about virtual group therapy’s benefits to people with substance addiction.

1. Accessibility

Virtual group therapy for addiction is ideal because it removes the burden for those with disabilities. Becoming immobile without proper access to addiction treatment can be a significant problem.

Likewise, it’s suitable for those distant from various treatment centers, mainly rural areas. They might have to spend a whole day off from their job and take their car on the road for many hours just to interact with a medical professional. If it’s about finding a therapist and support group for addiction, it can be proven more challenging.

Fortunately, online therapy allows anyone with a smooth internet connection more access to addiction treatment. One can undergo virtual group therapy immediately and easily without facing other issues.

Overall, many offer virtual evening IOP options for those who want to manage the behavioral symptoms of addiction without having to leave one’s house. You can search for them online.

2. Convenient

One reason why many people like online treatment compared to traditional ones is that it’s more convenient. All that a person has to use to join a session are:

• Stable internet
• Camera
• Speaker
• Computer, smartphone, or tablet
• Microphone

You can immediately undergo group therapy for addiction remotely using these technologies that you’re familiar with. Likewise, the younger generations are accustomed to these technologies, making virtual services easy for them.

Besides the convenience of using technologies, online group therapy allows you to avoid things that can be a hassle for receiving treatment especially for serious treatments like detox for opiates. You no longer need to get into traffic or leave your child at a childcare center. It’s more flexible and offers a way to keep up with your daily tasks.

3. Just As Effective As Traditional Group Therapy

Virtual group therapy for addiction can be as effective as in-person group therapy for many individuals. Yet, doing things online can pose some challenges, such as reduced body language exchange. These difficulties can somehow affect the rapport between clients and therapists. Rapport is the most significant predictor of success in therapy, such as addiction treatment.

Fortunately, virtual therapy inside one’s household also offers a new approach to creating connections. The therapist can notice a slight peek into the client’s domestic life that would not happen if they went to the therapist in person.

Another reason virtual group therapy can prove effective is that improved convenience, limited travel time, and affordability can enable clients with addiction to retain the recovery process and get counseling to further their healing. Other reasons it’s just as ideal as in-person group therapy are that it offers confidentiality and allows clients to feel more at ease sharing their thoughts and experience when done remotely. Overall, it benefits mental health professionals, patients, and the health care system.

4. Confidential

In-patient treatment programs have various measures to handle the confidentiality and identity of the client. Yet, virtual addiction treatment offers additional support for privacy. People with substance abuse disorder may think about meeting someone they’re familiar with when attending an in-person group therapy session. Yet, in an online setting, this isn’t a problem.

In a virtual program, people can take part in various sessions from the comfort of their homes. The probability that they’ll interact with people whom they don’t like to know about their status is lesser than in traditional group therapy. After all, remote treatment allows the client’s problems to be as private as possible.

Conclusion

It can be possible to be a part of virtual group therapy if you or someone you know have an addiction. Besides being accessible to those who are disabled or are living in remote areas, it’s also as effective as traditional group therapy. Moreover, it’s convenient. You no longer have to go along with the traffic just to attend treatment or secure childcare. Hopefully, seeing the benefits that this mode of therapy offers encouraged you or someone you know with addiction to try it.