Connect, Reflect, and Heal: Process Group Therapy in Los Angeles

Coming together, connectedness, and community - these are some things we have lost out on in a city like Los Angeles. Yet, these factors are central to your healing. Healing and recovery from substance use and co-occurring mental health conditions become challenging to achieve and sustain on your own. This is why you need peers who understand where you have been and where you are going.

NuView’s process groups in Los Angeles provide a safe, supportive setting for you to connect and grow together. Led by licensed and skilled psychotherapists, these sessions are tailored to address your challenges, foster healing, and strengthen interpersonal growth and understanding.

Process group is a type of group therapy led by one or two therapists, where 5-10 members come together to contribute to each other’s healing and personal growth.

Linda Whiteside, Clinical Supervisor at the NuView Treatment Center, says, “Our Los Angeles process groups are generally unstructured. Sometimes, the meeting can focus on specific persons or concerns. Other times, members can bring up any concern within the group and receive encouragement and support in return.”

The goal of process groups is three fold:

• Psychoeducation
• Desirable behavioral changes and coping skills
• Interconnectedness and meaningful relationships.

Process groups do not follow a one-size-fits-all approach; they are of different types, tailored to your specific needs and goals. Some common ones are:

• Substance Use: Members in substance use recovery process groups understand each other’s struggles with substance misuse. They motivate and inform one another on the different ways to prevent relapse.
• Eating Disorders: Eating disorders process groups allow those struggling with eating disorders to connect and learn coping skills as they move toward recovery.
• Grief: Grief process groups provide a safe setting where those who have experienced immense personal loss can come together and find comfort in one another during such a trying time.
• Life Transition Process Groups: Anyone going through life transitions, such as first-time college students, job loss, separation, or divorce, can learn the skills they need to adapt to these changes.
• Gender-Based Process Groups: Gender-based process groups are for men, women, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community with similar backgrounds and experiences to come together and understand how they relate to themselves and the world, and find comfort and understanding.

Linda Whiteside says, “At NuView’s Los Angeles facility, peer empowerment is central to our treatment principles. We offer different kinds of process groups so that you can find one that fits in with your needs and goals.”

Process group therapy works on the basis of certain core principles, which are as follows:

Confidentiality

Process groups are confidential, where every member’s privacy is respected inside and outside the therapy. The therapist(s) explain the ethics of confidentiality to all members.

Universality

Universality is when you realize you are not alone in your struggles; there are others on a similar journey as you. When you realize this, you do not feel lonely or isolated.

Cohesiveness

With universality comes cohesion. When members understand that they are not really different from one another, they experience feelings of belonging and cohesiveness.

Hope

As members feel connected with one another, they also instill hope in each other that there is a path forward and collectively work to fulfill personal and group goals.

Education

Process groups seek to educate members even as they stand to learn from the therapists who can provide a different perspective and a different insight.

Learning From One Another

Interpersonal learning is unique to process groups. Members learn how they impact one another via interactions and feedback. It deepens self-awareness and enhances self-concept significantly.

Imitation

Members learn by understanding and observing each other's behaviors. This leads to behavioral corrections and modifications wherever necessary.

Socialization

Members learn to effectively connect and interact with one another. These social skills can effectively translate into the outside world as well, especially when family and/or peer dynamics need changing.

Process group therapy involves five stages that inform how it is going to look in each of these phases:

• Forming Stage: In the first stage, you get to know one another. However, there is a certain level of distrust during this stage, which means you rely more on the therapist(s) to lead you.
• Storming Stage: You feel more at ease with one another. Still, conflicts can develop as subgroups develop. Nevertheless, conflicts are seen as an opportunity to strengthen the bonds between members as they are resolved and common goals are created.
• Norming Stage: As conflicts get resolved, the group becomes stronger and more committed to its goals.
• Performing Stage: In this stage, the group members know one another, understand one another, and support each other firmly. You provide encouragement and motivation, and accommodate each other’s strengths and weaknesses.
• Adjourning Stage: This is the final stage, as the group is disbanded. It is characterized by sadness, and the therapist helps members to prepare for life after therapy.

- Process groups are extremely beneficial in treating:

• Anxiety conditions
• Depressive and bipolar disorders
• Eating disorders
• Substance use disorders
• Trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Grief
• Life transitions
• Relationship conflicts.

- They instill a sense of community and provide encouragement that enhances accountability and responsibility in life.

- Process groups are flexible and cost-effective.

- Apart from being as effective as individual therapy, process groups are also suitable for training. For instance, healthcare providers and medical students can benefit from training with process groups.

Linda Whiteside informs, “Process groups have been infinitely beneficial in treating substance use, anxiety, mood disorders, and PTSD, among others. We have observed a 45% remission rate when process groups are tailored to your needs and goals. Combined with individual therapy, they lead to even better outcomes.”

Process groups are a powerful tool, but they are not without challenges. Typically, these stem from diversity in personality, thought, behavior, and background. Some of the common ones are:

• Confidentiality Concerns: Members may fear a breach of confidentiality, which is why some can find it difficult to open up and share.
• Lack of Participation: In the same vein as confidentiality concerns, a general sense of distrust can stop certain members from participating in the sessions. Social anxiety can contribute to this as well.
• Dominating Behavior: Some members may have the tendency to dominate the sessions, which can make others feel left out.
• Intrusive and Advice-Giving Behaviors: Some members can be intrusive with their questioning, while others can frequently dish out unsolicited advice.
• Conflicts: Disagreements can arise between members, given different backgrounds and experiences.

Linda Whiteside elaborates, “Yes, challenges do exist. Here is where the role of a group therapist becomes more prominent, as they are trained and experienced to mitigate and eliminate these challenges while creating a safe and conducive environment for your healing.”

Los Angeles is a city that emphasizes the strength of diversity, and yet misses out on connectedness and community. This is where NuView’s process group therapy becomes the key to your healing.

Our process groups bring together 5–10 members in a safe, supportive setting. Early sessions focus on building trust to encourage open, honest conversations, and each member will receive an equal opportunity to share, offer feedback, and grow through mutual support.

Led by our licensed and experienced therapists, the group fosters openness, understanding, and healing that extends beyond therapy.

Please do not hesitate to contact us at (323) 307-7997 to connect with our experts today!

1. Is process group therapy effective?

Yes, process group therapy is highly effective and offers a path for unmet psychological needs to be effectively addressed in an inexpensive way.

2. If someone is in a process group, do they need individual therapy?

Yes. When process groups are combined with individual therapy, it leads to better outcomes.

3. What are some rules of process groups that I must know?

Confidentiality, openness, cohesiveness, and a safe setting are some of the main rules of process groups.

4. Can I get process group therapy online?

Yes, process group therapy can be provided online via video conferencing and other platforms.

5. Is process group therapy covered by insurance?

Yes, when process group therapy is integrated into broader rehab programs for substance use and mental health, it is covered by insurance. Otherwise, it depends on your insurance policy. You can contact your insurance provider or connect with NuView at (323) 307-7997, and we can verify your insurance for you.