Charlottesville Empowerment Counseling and Wellness Services

Group therapy is a primary treatment modality.

Studies show that group therapy is as effective

as individual therapy for many concerns, and

may even be more effective for some problems!

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Joining a group of people you don't know may

sound intimidating at first, but group therapy

provides benefits that individual therapy may not.

Oftentimes, you may feel like you are the only

one struggling — but you're not. It can be a relief

to hear others discuss what they're going through,

and realize you're not alone. Groups can act as a

support network and a sounding board. Other

members of the group often help you come up

with specific ideas for improving a difficult situation or life challenge, and hold you accountable along the way. Diversity is another important benefit of group therapy. People have different personalities and backgrounds, and they look at situations in different ways. By seeing how other people tackle problems and make positive changes, you can discover a whole range of strategies for facing your own concerns.

(American Psychological Association).

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Charlottesville Empowerment's groups have 4-8 group members. Groups cost $50 per session. We currently accept Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield and Aetna insurance.  Groups include:

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Trans* Support Group

(Fridays 11 AM-12 PM)

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This group is for persons who are seeking support related to gender identity. Topics may include coming out, transitioning concerns, and other relevant issues.

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DBT Skills Group

(Mondays 5:15-6:30 PM; Full- email to be on the waitlist)

 

DBT is an evidence-based treatment that has been shown to help people with a wide variety of

concerns, such as: having intense emotions that you have difficulty regulating, struggling to build stable

and effective relationships with others, and issues with self-harm and/or suicidal ideation. It is important

to recognize that all “problematic” behaviors are learned because they’re important attempts at coping

with the difficulties of life. In other words, these behaviors are examples of you doing the best you can!

At the same time, these are behaviors that usually aren’t effective in the long-term and it’s equally

important to learn new ways of coping.

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Joining a DBT skills group can be an important addition to your work in individual therapy by providing a

structured environment where you can learn concrete skills from a trained therapist and also connect

with other people who are working on changing their own behaviors, too. The four modules of skills that

we teach are: mindfulness, distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness, and emotion regulation.

Our DBT skills group is slightly adapted from the original model, in that the pace at which we teach skills

is flexible and slower on average. 

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Women's USO

(Every Other Friday at 230PM; Full- email to be on the waitlist)

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This is an interpersonal process group that focuses on facilitating self-understanding, awareness of relationship patterns, and learning new ways of relating to one’s self and others. Group members will learn about themselves, identify and expand their own interpersonal patterns, try new behaviors, and clarify feelings within a supportive and growth-producing atmosphere. Group will allow for the opportunity to provide and receive honest feedback in a therapeutic setting. Members guide session focus and may choose to explore personal struggles, current, and past important relationships, unresolved concerns, communication, emotional support or expression, and social perceptions.

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Family of Origin: Understanding Self and Others (USO) [Must be a current individual client- internal referrals only] (Thursdays 5-630).

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