Group & Individual Therapy for Addiction

Medically reviewed by Dr. Eric Chegouri, MD, Medical Director · Last reviewed November 7, 2026

Most people picture therapy as two chairs and a closed door. In addiction treatment, that one-on-one time is essential, but it is only half the picture. The other half happens in a circle of peers who are working through the same things you are, often in ways that no single therapist can replicate.

This page explains how individual and group therapy work together in addiction treatment, what a typical session of each looks like, the kinds of groups you may join, and how both are used across residential and outpatient care at Reggie's Recovery Center in Los Angeles.

What are group and individual therapy?

These are not therapies in the same sense as CBT or EMDR. They are formats: the settings in which specific therapies are delivered. A CBT skill might be taught in a group, then applied to your own life in an individual session the next day.

Individual therapy is a private, ongoing relationship with one clinician. It is where you can talk about things you are not ready to say in front of others, look closely at your own history and build a treatment plan that fits you.

Group therapy is led by a clinician and includes several people in treatment. It is where you discover that other people have had the same thoughts, cravings and regrets, and where you practice honest communication in real time.

What happens in individual therapy?

Your first individual sessions are usually about getting to know each other. Your therapist will ask about your substance use, mental health, relationships, work and what you hope to change. Together you shape treatment goals, which your care team revisits as you progress.

Later sessions often follow a rhythm: checking in on how the week has gone, working on a specific issue, and agreeing on something to practice before the next meeting. Depending on what you need, your therapist may draw on cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, DBT skills or, for trauma, approaches such as EMDR.

What individual sessions are especially good for

• Trauma, shame or experiences you are not ready to share with a group
• Co-occurring conditions such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, bipolar disorder or ADHD, coordinated with psychiatric care through our dual diagnosis program
• Exploring mixed feelings about change at your own pace
• Preparing for family sessions or a return home
• Building a personal relapse prevention plan

What happens in group therapy?

A group usually includes a small number of clients and one or more clinicians. Most groups open with a check-in, where each person shares briefly how they are doing, including sleep, mood and cravings. The clinician then leads the main work, which might be a discussion, a skills lesson, a role-play or processing something that happened in the house or at home.

Groups run on a few shared agreements. What is said in the room stays in the room. People speak for themselves, listen without interrupting and avoid giving orders to each other. You are encouraged to participate, but you decide how much to share, especially in the first few days.

What types of therapy groups are there?

Treatment programs commonly use several kinds of groups, each with a different purpose. SAMHSA's guidance on group therapy for substance use treatment describes similar categories.

Why is group therapy so effective for addiction?

Addiction tends to isolate people. Secrecy, shame and broken relationships can make it feel as though nobody else could understand. Group work cuts through that quickly.

The psychiatrist Irvin Yalom, whose writing on group psychotherapy is widely taught, described a set of "therapeutic factors" that help explain why groups work. A few stand out in recovery:

• Universality — realizing you are not the only one.
• Instillation of hope — seeing someone a few weeks ahead of you doing better.
• Interpersonal learning — getting honest feedback on how you come across, and trying a different way in a safe room.
• Altruism — the lift that comes from helping someone else.

Groups also offer something practical: rehearsal. If speaking up, saying no or admitting a craving is hard for you, group is a low-stakes place to practice before you have to do it at a party, at work or at the dinner table.

Group vs. individual therapy: which is better?

Neither is better. They do different jobs, and most effective treatment plans include both.

What will you learn?

Across both formats, the goal is to leave treatment with skills you can actually use. Common ones include:

What does the research say?

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) describes behavioral therapies, delivered individually or in groups, as the most commonly used forms of addiction treatment. Its principles of effective treatment emphasize that counseling should be matched to the person and adjusted over time.

SAMHSA's Treatment Improvement Protocol on group therapy describes groups as a central, effective format in substance use treatment and notes that they can be as helpful as individual therapy for many people, while offering peer support that individual sessions cannot. The American Psychological Association provides public guidance on how group therapy works and what to expect.

Results depend on the person, the group and the quality of the clinicians. That is part of why programs combine formats rather than relying on one.

How Reggie's uses group and individual therapy

Group and individual therapy run through every stage of care at Reggie's. Once you are medically stable in detox, light counseling begins. In residential treatment at our Sun Valley campus, mornings typically begin with breakfast and group therapy, and midday brings individual sessions with your primary therapist, family work and education groups on topics such as relapse prevention and how addiction affects the brain.

In our PHP and IOP programs at Reggie's Treatment Center in Los Angeles, group therapy meets multiple times per week and individual sessions are typically scheduled weekly. The same clinical team works across residential and outpatient care, so the therapist who knows your story can stay involved as you step down. Our licensed and associate therapists, led by Clinical Director Riley Collins, LMFT, are introduced on our team page.

What if you're nervous about group?

Almost everyone is. It is normal to worry that you will be judged, that you will recognize someone or that you will not know what to say. In practice, most people find the first group much easier than they feared, because the room is full of people who have felt the same way.

You can listen more than you speak at first. You will not be asked to share details you are not ready for. And if a particular dynamic in group feels unsafe or unhelpful, you can raise it with your therapist privately.