I’m currently getting therapy for social anxiety, but I really don’t know how much help the one on one setting can get me. I have joined another group (though it’s more generalized and isn’t focused around one problem, such as social anxiety), but it’s too small for me to be comfortable, since it currently only has 3 people, which includes me, plus the counselors.
I think the best therapy for me, ideally, would be a medium-sized group setting with others who have similar fears/problems. Do these exist, because I can’t find any in the San Francisco Bay Area, where I live?
In my 20s I had pretty severe social anxiety. I tried the whole gamut of therapies, including three different types of group therapy: one for anxiety disorders; one for social anxiety; and one nonspecific group for people with a range of problems (think “Bob Newhart”) . It was the nonspecific one that worked the best, ironically. It did take two years of weekly meetings which I paid for out of pocket however ($30 a week, IIRC). But honestly I have never spent better money in my life.
So my advice, from experience, is that it is *not * the topicality or speicficity of the group that matters, so as much as the skill of the psychologist leading it. That makes all the difference. I personally would not look for somebody specializing in social anxiety who has a group on the side. Instead I would look for a person who specializes in group therapy and has a reputation for excellence, who *also * happens to know something about social anxiety (believe me a skilled group therapist will be very savvy about social anxiety – it’s extremely common and is in full force in group settings).
I live in MA so I can’t give you any specific recommendations, but I’d ask your therapist if there was anybody in the area was known as an outstanding group therapist and go from there.
Right. The fact that you’re already connected with a therapist should help in identifying a group. If they don’t know they should be willing to ask among their colleagues, etc.
Is the group you’re currently in an anxiety group, or just a general self-help group, Red? If it’s an anxiety group even if it isn’t specifically a social anxiety group, they should be able to help you. The ways to help social anxiety are the same as any form of anxiety. The small group is probably good for you, too, because it puts you more in the spotlight, where you need to be to work on your social anxiety. Getting lost in a crowd is probably what you want, but it probably isn’t what you need.
I think it was a general self-help group, sadly though, it seems to have disbanded as of today (which I did not attend) due to too few members (it was the group’s consensus, according to the e-mail I received from them).
So I’m back to square 1. yay. I’ll definitely check out those links though, thanks everyone!
Well, never mind then.
Keep on looking - finding a good group can be immensely useful in dealing with anxieties. Other people who have been where you are can tell you very useful things, appropriate to your situation.
