Empowering Practice Owners to Build Meaningful & Impactful Group Programs

Having a strong group therapy program within your therapeutic practice can bring a multitude of benefits for you as a practitioner, your team, and your clients.

While the benefits of taking part in group therapy for a client are vast, there are also profound benefits for you, the therapist or practitioner when it comes to establishing a sound group program.

Meaningful & Impactful Group Programs Have The Following Benefits:

Enhanced Therapeutic Impact

Group therapy offers unique opportunities for clients to connect, share experiences, and learn from one another. A strong program creates a supportive environment that fosters personal growth, self-reflection, and mutual support. Clients often gain valuable insights and perspectives through group interactions, leading to accelerated healing and transformative breakthroughs.

Increased Staff Satisfaction

Through the adoption of a group program, organizations will elevate their staff culture, leading to improved staff retention. Practice owners see a significant boost in staff satisfaction with the introduction of group sessions and note that enhanced collaboration with peers, engagement in varied therapeutic formats, and access to mentorship have collectively enriched their professional experience.

Cost-Effective Treatment

Group therapy can be a more cost-effective option compared to individual therapy. By offering group sessions, you can reach more clients while maintaining a manageable workload. This allows you to serve a broader population and provide accessible mental health support at a lower cost per individual, making therapy more affordable and inclusive.

Feedback and Accountability

Group therapy offers a platform for clients to receive constructive feedback and accountability from both the therapist and peers. This feedback can provide valuable insights, challenge unhelpful patterns, and facilitate personal development. Group members can also hold each other accountable for their goals and commitments, reinforcing a sense of responsibility and motivation.

By cultivating a strong group therapy program, you can harness these benefits and create a transformative space for clients to heal, grow, and thrive. The power of the group dynamic, combined with your expertise as a practitioner, can lead to remarkable outcomes and lasting positive change.

What People Are Saying

The time I spent at the CSU Health Network in group supervision with Carrie taught me more than any other experience in my graduate studies - in fact, it taught me more than any professional development program I've participated in. I learned about myself and my personal triggers, about group dynamics, about recognizing and attending to the energy in the room, about how to co-lead alongside another practitioner, about common themes that clients presented and how to support those clients, and how to support the entire group as an entity in moving forward so that the participants could do the work they came to do. I take any opportunity I can to be in Carrie's presence - she has a profoundly powerful ripple.

Carrie is an exceptional group therapist! She has a passion for group work and knows the positive impact a group experience can have on a participant’s life. Through her skillful facilitation, Carrie has helped many people make significant changes in their lives and deepen their connections to others. Carrie is also an experienced teacher and consultant. As Counseling Services’ Assistant Director for Group Services at Colorado State, Carrie taught our group seminars and supervised the work of multiple graduate students and staff. She fostered excitement about groups among our staff that translated into a thriving group program. Our extensive group training and successful group therapy services were frequently a reason students chose our internships. Her expertise also earned her teaching positions in graduate programs at both CSU and the University of Northern Colorado. As a group therapist, teacher and consultant, Carrie is among the very best!

Carrie Haynes has extensive knowledge and experience with group therapy modalities. During her time as the director of group services at the CSU Health Network, she created and ran a group program that averaged 25 therapy groups every semester, covering a wide range of topics and using a wide range of approaches. Whether interpersonal process, skills groups, or anything in between, Carrie created outstanding group curriculum, and provided gold standard training to staff and counseling trainees learning how to effectively facilitate therapy groups. Many therapists who worked and trained at CSU say they owe their group knowledge and skill to the solid and compassionate training they received from Carrie. She is truly a leader in the field of group therapy.

I took a group facilitation seminar with Carrie and she has been one of the most insightful teachers of group process I have had. She really understands what is happening under the surface in interpersonal relationships and group dynamics. From the logistics of filling groups and screening members to the art of handling difficult group situations, Carrie has the expertise needed to create a transformative, healing environment in any type of group. Her style is experiential, not just talking about theory, but living and practicing the work directly. Carrie group instruction is well above the basics taught in most grad programs and I highly recommend her work if you want to be more effective and confident as a group leader.

I attended IPT Group training with Carrie during my time in graduate school at CSU. I found Carrie to be a very insightful, enthusiastic, and supportive supervisor. My training in IPT groups was so eye opening, and I believe it has been a vital contributor to my effectiveness with clients. Even though I am not currently facilitating any therapy groups, I continue to apply the IPT concepts and awareness that I developed during this training in my individual counseling sessions, and also in my daily life. IPT interventions are often some of the most beneficial interventions for relationship and insight building in my work with clients.

Group therapy training with Carrie helped to expand my knowledge about the benefits of group therapy, different group therapy styles, and ways to increase client commitment to group. Her warm, nonjudgmental, and supportive facilitation style allows for genuine, vulnerable growth opportunities as an individual as well as professional. I highly recommend Carrie's group therapy training.

I am so thankful for the training I received from Carrie at CSUHN during my MSW internship around group theory and practice. Carrie really helped me see the 'magic' of group therapy as well as the evidence around group intervention. She helped me develop confidence and a passion for treating clients in group therapy settings. Carrie is a very intentional teacher, therapist, and human and her authenticity and vulnerability make her very relatable in a training setting.