How to Find Group Therapy Near You
People tend to google ‘find group therapy near me’, when they are interested in exploring group therapy options. Google is wonderful and–depending on your location–it can help you find therapy groups near you. However, if there are not many group therapists near you, you might need to consider driving a long distance in order to reach the closest therapy group. Otherwise, you could consider joining an online therapy group.
Of course, with the ongoing pandemic, most all therapy groups in the United States are currently online.
Here at Group Therapy Central we recommend the following four ways to help you find a high quality therapy group near you.
(1) Directory of Certified Group Psychotherapists from the American Group Psychotherapy Association
Hands down the best place to find high quality groups is through the American Group Psychotherapy Association website. Simply click on the ‘Find A Certified Group Therapist’ button on their homepage. All the therapist in this directory specialize in group therapy and have met the international education and training requirement to become a Certified Group Therapist. You can search by zip code and read the profiles of any certified group therapists in your area. Many therapists will have links to their personal websites. You can learn about any of the groups they offer, fees, locations, and other information. The nice thing about this directory is you can trust that the therapists will provide high quality group therapy services.
Feel free to reach out to any of these group therapists to explore the possibility of joining one of their groups.
Now, some cities have a lot of group therapist while others don’t. If you can’t find any in your city, consider extending your search radius. I know a lot of people that are perfectly content driving 1-2 hours (one way) for quality therapy group.
If you still can’t find any certified group psychotherapists in your area, consider one of these next options options.
(2) Psychology Today Directory
Psychology Today has one of the best online directories of therapists. You can search for therapists within your zip code and filter the results according your concern(s), specialty of the therapist, population(s) the therapist is trained to work with, your health insurance, and other categories.
The website currently has a filter for ‘support groups’ that you can click. This will pull up a list of any groups that are near you and your zip code. It will show therapy groups and support groups. It will also show workshops, classes, and other events that are offered near you.
You can click on any of the groups listed on Psychology Today to read more about the group leader(s), fees, locations, and other details about the group. Most therapists include a link to their webpage where you can read more in depth about the services they offer and their approach to therapy.
Personally, I like to research several different therapists before reaching out to one to see if they have openings.
(3) Contact Us Here at Group Therapy Central
Our third recommendation is to reach out to us here at Group Therapy Central. We are happy to help you find group therapy near you. Most people that contact us haven’t found good results with the first two recommendations on this list (AGPA or Psychology Today websites). Maybe you live in a rural area without many group therapists, or you are discovering that the group therapists in your area are full and not accepting new clients.
We are well connected with group therapists in the US (and in some other countries) and are happy to help you. We will send out e-mails and make phone calls to discover group therapy options near you. Often, group therapists forget to list their groups online and so you would never find them without hearing about them from other sources. We also frequently learn about therapists that are wanting to start groups but haven’t yet posted any information online. For example, sometimes therapist that have recently moved to a new area and are just starting to “set up shop”. Also, there are several highly qualified group therapists that don’t have much of a web presence and we can provide you their contact information.
(4) Consider Joining an Online Therapy Group
Our final recommendation is that you consider joining an online therapy group. Online group therapy is remarkably similar to in-person group therapy, but with some differences. Some group members report that online group therapy more effective than in-person group therapy.
We recently conducted a survey with over 60 group psychotherapists that have transitioned to online groups (due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Many group leaders reported their surprise at seeing how well their online therapy groups perform compared to when they were in-person.
There are several well-qualified group therapists conducting online therapy groups (and currently with the COVID-19 pandemic most every group clinician is conducting their groups online).
You meet with your group members through video conferencing technology (similar to Zoom) that allows group members to all see each other in a virtual meeting room.
You can click here to find out which groups here at Group Therapy Central have openings.
What are the pros and cons of online group therapy?
There are certain limitation, but also some distinct advantages to online group therapy. Some of the advantages of online groups include: (1) convenience of staying in the privacy of your home with no commute, (2) ability to attend group sessions from any location in the world (with internet connection), (3) possibility to connect with a diverse group of individuals, (4) some people feel more “at home” with online interactions, (5) online groups are sometimes more affordable than in-person group therapy. One of the primary reasons people chose online group therapy is because they don’t have a good option for in-person therapy nearby.
Some of the disadvantages to online group therapy include: (1) certain limitations to online connection (e.g. eye contact is difficult), (2) occasional hassles of poor connection or other technical difficulties, (3) your insurance companies might not cover online group therapy.
If you are interested in exploring the option of online group therapy, please contact us and we can provide you a list of anyone offering online groups with openings in your state.
Please let us know if these recommendation were helpful to you in the comments (below). We’d also love to learn of any recommendations that we did not include in this article. We read and respond to all the comments that you make.
We wish you the best of luck in your search for a group near you!
-Nate Page, PhD, Licensed Psychologist, Certified Group Psychotherapist
Pronouns (he, him, his)
Director of Group Therapy Central