You Are Not Alone: Group Therapy for Substance Abuse in New Jersey

Some key findings include:

• Strongly supported by research — SAMHSA recognizes group counseling as a core component of effective substance abuse treatment, and decades of clinical literature support its effectiveness across a range of substance use disorders and mental health conditions.[2]
• Comparable outcomes to individual therapy — Compared to other types of counseling (e.g., individual or family), group counseling has been shown to provide similar results across multiple studies. When group counseling is used in conjunction with individual counseling, the combination has been shown to lead to the best long-term, sustained recovery outcomes.[3]
• Reduces isolation and shame — By offering a structured environment for participants to build positive bonds and connections, group therapy is a great way to combat common components of addiction (isolation and shame). Creating a safe space allows participants to come together around shared experiences, while offering them the opportunity to grow a supportive recovery community.[4]
• Builds lasting social skills — Group therapy allows individuals to develop important social skills through interpersonal dynamics of group therapy.[5] Group therapy provides a great way to build trust and practice communication, empathy, and boundaries within a safe and non-threatening environment. These skills translate to everyday life and will result in building stronger relationships and increased support.
• Effective for co-occurring disorders — If you have a co-occurring mental health disorder or substance use disorder, group therapy has been shown to be successful for both.[6] Specifically, using evidence-based approaches (e.g., cognitive behavioral therapy), group therapy has been shown to be successful in treating both mental health and co-occurring substance use disorder.

The weight of the evidence is clear: group therapy is not a supplementary add-on to addiction treatment. For most people, it is one of the most impactful parts of the recovery process.

• All groups are led or facilitated by licensed clinicians; this ensures that your group will be facilitated in a manner that is therapeutic, professional, and consistent with providing the highest quality of benefit to each member of the group.
• From the beginning of group therapy, there is a specific set of expectations established, and our clinicians understand how to foster an environment where every member of the group feels respected and valued.
• Group therapy is coordinated with your individual therapy, medication management, and all other components of your treatment to enhance your overall recovery experience.
• We offer specific groups for those managing co-occurring mental health challenges like anxiety, depression, or PTSD. These sessions allow you to process how your mental health and recovery intersect in a supportive, peer-driven setting.

We believe that healing happens best when you feel supported by your own community. Our groups are designed to be small enough to feel personal, yet structured enough to be clinically meaningful. Located in Sewell, New Jersey, in the heart of Gloucester County, our center is accessible for residents across the surrounding South Jersey areas.