Could ADHD Group Therapy Work For You?

by Marielle Tye, MSW, RSW
Registered Social Worker & Psychotherapist with The Curious Collective

We know what you’re thinking: we lost you at ‘group,’ right? You may be thinking, there is absolutely no way group therapy will work for me. And you could be right; it’s not for everybody. However, there are a few reasons we are big fans here at The Curious Collective (TCC), and we’d like to share some of that enthusiasm with you. We’ll use our own group Hype Our Focus as an example, and we hope you might just change your mind.

            Hiya – Marielle here! When I first started out in my social work career – very green and pre-ADHD diagnosis – I thought I had it all together. I did well in university, and got my first job with a mental health team at a local youth shelter. It was the most educational and difficult job I will likely ever have, partly because I was brand new to the field and didn’t feel confident saying ‘no’ whenever I was asked to take on more work. Your girl didn’t know a thing about boundary setting back then!

I also had zero self-care practices, meaning I worked all day and came home exhausted and famished. I would have a good cry, wolf down dinner, and then numb out in front of the television, already worrying about work the next day. Aaannnnddd repeat.

About a year into doing this, I realized I was very depressed but hiding it well from everyone around me. I remember one client telling me I was “so smiley and bubbly.” I thought to myself, “Are they seriously talking about ME? I’m miserable inside!”

I also had extreme guilt when trying to teach my clients new mindfulness skills , or when advertising our coping skills group. This was partly because I knew nobody really cared to attend, but also because I knew that I myself didn’t practice mindfulness, nor had I taken part in a therapy group. I wasn’t exactly the best person for the job, and it probably showed!  

I was scrolling through my emails one morning when I saw an ad for a group training program in a mindfulness-based therapy modality called Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). The description caught my interest: “Looking for 8 participants for a pilot group training program. In this program you will experientially learn how to offer ACT for both individual and group therapy. We will also incorporate mindful movement and meet at a yoga studio for each group training session.” You can say I was instantly ‘hooked’ (no pun intended to any ACT-informed people out there)!

What is group therapy all about? Before I share more of my journey into group work, let’s do a quick refresher on the ins and outs of group therapy.

Purpose: Therapy groups seek to promote a safe place for folks who don’t know each other to come together and learn, heal, change unhelpful behaviours, learn helpful new ones, and connect over shared experiences. Groups typically include one or two facilitators, and range anywhere from 4-12 participants, running for one to two hours a week. Groups tend to be fairly small and intimate, so there is a shared sense of comfort and community, with just the right amount of people.

Benefits: There are many! Groups can teach new skills and strategies for managing various things, such as communicating effectively with others, setting boundaries, developing greater insight and self-awareness, regulating emotions, expanding our ‘comfort zones,’ making new friends, getting ‘unstuck,’ and trying new things. You also get to do this with other people who are also there to learn these same things, and who might be having a similar experience as you (after all, something made you all come together for this shared experience, right?).

Group can offer a place of community that you might not otherwise have, because it brings people together over a shared interest or experience – often a difficult one – with other people who are also going through it.

Group also can be fun! It’s a place to be yourself, share your stories, laugh, and get a break from work or school or other responsibilities. I see groups as an investment in yourself and a gift of reconnection when feeling disconnected from yourself and others.

Types of Groups

Most groups have a theme or specific area of focus. For example, a therapy group for coping with anxiety would be for people who struggle with excessive worry-thoughts, to come together and learn how to struggle less with overthinking. The three main types of groups are support, educational, and processing, and each is described below.

Support: In support groups, there is a focus on a single issue (such as grief, caregiving, or substance use, etc.) and the purpose of the group is for people to have a place to talk about their shared experiences, getting and receiving emotional support and encouragement from one another. A well-known support group is Alcoholics Anonymous (AA).

Support groups might have a small learning component, but are generally less about learning and more about offering mutual support, accountability, and mentoring. Support groups may or may not have trained facilitators (people who lead and direct the group) and instead are sometimes peer-led.

Educational (including psycho-educational): The purpose of an educational group is to share information about a specific topic and teach new skills. For example, a cooking group would teach cooking techniques, and involve some practice to develop and enhance each group member’s skill. In psycho-educational groups, the focus of the education is specific to mental health and/or self-development. Our focus will be on psycho-educational groups, since that’s what we offer here at TCC.

Psycho-educational groups may be rooted in an evidence-based therapy modality, like ACT, or be more broad and incorporate elements from different schools of thought. Psycho-educational groups may also have a peer support component (like in support groups above), as group members may have shared experiences with the topic and be given opportunities to reflect on their own experiences and personal reflections. Group facilitators in psycho-educational groups should be trained professionals with expertise in the subject, and often play a more active role in providing structured learning and education as part of each session.

For example, and ADHD psycho-education group like Hype Our Focus might educate participants about the diagnosis and its common symptoms, teach different techniques and skills for managing those symptoms, and offer support to group members as they discuss their shared experiences, reflections, challenges, and triumphs.

Processing or Process-Oriented: In these groups the relationships between group members is a core component. These groups are meant for sharing feelings and experiences, and coming to better understand our needs and receive affirmation and acceptance from others. There is usually a clear focus or goal for the process group, with members sharing a similar issue or concern they are all working through, and peer support encourages members to make meaningful changes in their lives which they might otherwise struggle to do alone. For example, process groups might focus on topics such as managing anger or navigating grief. Group facilitators are typically trained mental health professionals who mediate as needed, but group self-leadership is encouraged.

Each type of group may be offered as either an open (“drop-in”) or closed (“registration required”) format.

Open groups (ie. drop-in groups) allow anyone to attend any session at any point, offering great flexibility for members who aren’t willing or able to commit to regular meetings but who do want to participate occasionally. The drawback is that each meeting might have different people (often new people), and it can be difficult to get to know group members or form deep bonds this way.

Closed groups (where registration or sign-up is required) offer the benefit of consistent membership – it’s always the same people at each session, allowing for deeper relationship-building – but do not allow new members to join once the membership is established. Closed groups usually have a start- and stop-date, whereas open groups might run consistently throughout the year.

Marielle’s Story

When I joined my first experiential training group, I didn’t realize that I would be attending group therapy as well. I also didn’t know how disconnected I felt from myself and my values, and how this was affecting my happiness at work and beyond.

I instantly felt safe after group facilitators kicked things off by sharing a bit about themselves, what to expect for each session, and had us all share what “norms” or group guidelines would help us each feel more comfortable to open up and take risks. That really set the tone for me: to feel like we as group participants were all on the same page, and that this was a judgement-free zone. I could talk about myself and know those details would stay within the group. It’s like the famous Vegas saying but with a twist: “What happens in group stays in group!”

Soon I looked forward to going each week. My social anxiety melted away as I got comfortable with my peers and facilitators. I appreciated hearing other members open up about themselves, and felt comfortable sharing my own goals too because it made me feel accountable to them. I felt compassion for my fellow group members, who at first were strangers and then felt like family, and I learned what compassion for myself meant too – something I hadn’t been able to do before then, and which was feeding my depression without even knowing it.

I went through significant personal growth by the time the group ended. I made new friends (who I’m still in touch with today), I felt safe to be vulnerable and talk about how unhappy I was (which felt liberating), and I was met with empathy and support. I also got to explore different ways to make changes in my life, such as attending yoga classes after work, and I even practiced setting boundaries with other group members so I felt more confident doing it at work.

I walked away from that experience both humbled and centered. I felt that I had reconnected with myself and  learned how to actually go about being more intentional with my career, the activities I enjoy, and the ways I could honour my need for rest as a highly sensitive person.

I am a better social worker and person as a result of my experience in group. I practice what I preach as a therapist, partner, and friend! This fundamentally changed what I thought group therapy would look and feel like, and I have taken these special experiences with me as I run groups in my career now.

I strongly believe everyone deserves to experience that level of community in a therapeutic setting at least once in their lives, and should be brave enough to give it a go even if it makes your stomach flip flop at the start. We often underestimate our abilities, and group reminds us to celebrate ourselves! 

So where do I look for ADHD group therapy?

The Curious Collective offers a group for ADHD-identified women and non-binary folks, called Hype Our Focus.

• Our online group is a closed program led over Zoom. It’s a psycho-education group: we have structured content on ADHD and neurodivergence each week that’s taught lecture-style, with PowerPoint slides and images. You will receive a participant manual to help follow along and have the same resources at home. We also teach coping skills that we practice experientially as a group, and always leave ample room for juicy group discussion on what its like to be neurodivergent. And don’t worry – we take breaks for water, snacks, the bathroom and getting the wiggles out!

• This group is all about connection. You don’t need to do any prep; all you have to do is come exactly as you are, participating at your level and knowing that facilitators moderate discussions to help it feel safe at all times (potentially triggering trauma-dumping is gently discouraged in group, and you also won’t ever be put on the spot to speak up without consent).
  
  
• We appreciate that sometimes meeting new people can be hard or can create feelings of uncertainty. And we also know that the ADHD community can have difficulty meeting similar peers. This is a group where participants and facilitators know what it feels like to struggle more than most and who also have difficulty making/keeping friends.
  
  
• It’s a place where we come together knowing we can each be our authentic selves. It’s OK (and normal!) to stim, get distracted, and even sometimes cut each other off during sessions. We also have invaluable opportunities to learn and grow together. Maybe even gain a new friend or two by the end of the final week. Together we strive in this group to understand ADHD better, and embrace ourselves more!

How Hype Our Focus Can Help You

Peer support:  Meeting a bunch of literally like-minded people who also have ADHD or self-identify, affirming one another’s’ struggle. Getting a chance to hear another person tell a story that sounds like yours, so you know that ADHD is a REAL thing and it’s not “all in your head”. Feeling supported by others feels good. It also helps us safely take risks, then can help us outside of group too!

Strategies: Hear about tips and tools that others have tried, that have worked – or didn’t work – so you can try them or avoid them, too. Why wouldn’t you want to find new ways to function better?

Education: There’s a lot of misinformation about ADHD, and a lack of quality insights about how ADHD presents in women and non-binary folks in particular. Learning about the disorder beyond the “hyperactive kid in the classroom” stereotype is really important and healing, because it validates diverse ADHD experiences.

Improvement in Mood: From having a safe social space you attend frequently, to having a better understanding of yourself and more compassion as a result. Less anxiety = less confusion and a happier outlook!

If I haven’t sold you on the magic of group therapy or joining our next Hype Our Focus group here at The Curious Collective, I’m still glad you stuck around until the end. If you now  think it could be something meaningful for you to try, I am genuinely excited for you and hope my personal story was inspiring. Groups don’t have to be scary or give you the ick!  They exist to be a safe place to learn, gain new skills, push yourself towards meaningful growth by having accountability from others, and meet people who can relate and support you. Also, ADHD groups are a place to unmask safely and be your authentic self. Who knows, maybe you’ll love them as much as we do!

Sources:

Learn more about Group Therapy from the team at CAMH: https://www.camh.ca/en/health-info/mental-illness-and-addiction-index/group-therapy