How Can Group Therapy Sessions Foster Engagement?
Ever wondered how to truly engage participants in a group therapy session? We asked top mental health professionals, including a Psychotherapist and a Clinical Psychologist, to share their most effective interventions. The first expert suggests breaking participants into pairs to foster connection, while the final insight highlights the importance of drawing expectations and reflecting together. Discover a total of five unique strategies designed to maximize group therapy engagement.
- Break Participants into Pairs
- Use Creative Storytelling Exercises
- Implement Opening and Closing Rituals
- Ask Questions to Foster Connection
- Draw Expectations and Reflect Together
Break Participants into Pairs
Pre-COVID, when I used to run groups in person, I would have participants break off into pairs for an exercise and then bring them back to the larger group. I found that breaking it down in that way got people comfortable with opening up, and then when we came back to the larger group, there was already this sense of safety and comfort established.
Use Creative Storytelling Exercises
**Boost Group Therapy Engagement with Creative, Connection-Driven Interventions**
In group therapy, fostering genuine connection and active participation is key to a transformative experience. To keep members engaged and strengthen their bonds, integrating clever interventions can make all the difference. For example, storytelling exercises where participants share “resilience stories” not only open up new perspectives but also build a supportive environment where everyone’s strengths are acknowledged and celebrated.
Interactive techniques like “paired listening” can further deepen the group’s dynamic. By partnering members to actively listen and reflect on each other’s thoughts, you promote a culture of empathy and validation—key ingredients for meaningful progress.
Incorporating creative elements such as art or metaphor into sessions can also encourage participants to express themselves in fresh, insightful ways. Asking members to illustrate a “roadmap” of their personal journey or use a metaphor to describe their current emotional state can unlock deeper understanding and conversation, moving beyond traditional talk therapy.
These innovative interventions not only enhance engagement but also transform group therapy into a space where connections thrive, and members feel genuinely seen and heard.
Implement Opening and Closing Rituals
Group therapy can be trickier than we think to facilitate as mental health professionals. There must be clear guidelines, expectations, and boundaries in place for every group participant to feel comfortable, safe, and free to express themselves and be vulnerable. As a licensed mental health professional, I have facilitated several group therapy sessions and learned what helps foster engagement from all participants during the group therapy sessions. The most effective intervention I've used with a group therapy session that has fostered engagement from all participants is having an opening and closing ritual. This offers each participant structure and routine, knowing what to expect at the start and end of every group session. It also opens up communication and insight into each individual's personality and/or personal life that helps the other participants get to know each other.
For example, when facilitating a support group for pregnant and postpartum women, the opening ritual I've used as a licensed mental health professional included each participant identifying one of their hobbies or self-care activities and playing a bit of a game of charades. Each participant was instructed to act out their activity, and the other participants would have to guess what their hobby or self-care activity was. Then, at the end of the group therapy session, the closing ritual was more of a mantra. Each participant took a turn saying, "My name is _____, and this week, I have the power to _______." They would fill in the blanks with their name and whatever they wanted to focus on for the week. Maybe something they learned in session or just simply something they wanted to manifest by verbalizing it out loud. This could look like, "My name is Angela, and this week, I have the power to set healthy boundaries."
Ask Questions to Foster Connection
One intervention I've used is "sharing activities." This requires group members to ask each other questions. As the group progresses, this intervention fosters connection and communication.
Draw Expectations and Reflect Together
Exercise: GROUP EXPECTATIONS
Materials:
A sheet of paper (one per participant)
Various colored markers
Instructions for Clinician:
Step 1: Setting the Scene
"Let's take a moment to get comfortable. You'll each have paper and markers. Choose a color that stands out to you. We're going to reflect on our shared experience in the group. Don't worry about how it looks—this is about expressing your thoughts and feelings visually."
Step 2: Drawing Expectations of the Group
"Take a moment to reflect on your expectations for this group. What do you hope to gain? What do you think will happen in future sessions? Use shapes, lines, or symbols to represent these expectations. Don't worry about perfection—just allow your thoughts and feelings about the group's potential to flow into your drawing."
[Allow 10–15 minutes for drawing.]
Step 3: Sharing the Experience
"Now, let's go around and share what you've drawn. Feel free to explain what it represents for you. What thoughts or feelings came up while you were drawing? How does this connect to your experience in the group?"
[Give each participant time to share.]
Step 4: Group Reflection
"Thank you for sharing. Let's now talk about the similarities or differences you noticed. Did any themes come up that felt familiar? How did hearing others' experiences relate to your own?"
[Facilitate discussion on shared themes.]
Step 5: Collective Expression
"Let's now create a shared drawing. I'll place a large sheet of paper in the center. Each of you can add something small to represent how you feel about the group or your role in it. This will symbolize our collective experience."
[Allow time for contributions to the group artwork.]
Step 6: Reflection and Debriefing
"Now that we've finished, how did this process feel? What was it like expressing your group experience visually and creating something together?"
[Conclude with a final reflection, reinforcing the goal of exploring group connection.]
End
"Thank you all for participating. This exercise helped us reflect on how we experience the group, hopefully deepening our connection."
