Just shooting from the hip...I think you should get all the one on one you can. Good Luck!

I think an anxiety group may be beneficial, but I recommend first and foremost you continue on with one on one therapy, as you really need to discover what is the actual root to your anxiety. I'm not a doctor myself, but I think that with all you are dealing with - anxiety, depression, PTSD, etc - you really should continue on with one on one therapy. I'm not too familiar with anxiety groups, but I'm sure they aren't as necessary and beneficial as one on one therapy.

i have to agree with the others..i think you should get the one on one also..it will help you find the underlying problem for your anxiety first then maybe join a group to help you cope with the anxiety...good luck hugs...

one on one is better. I tend to get sucked into other people's anxiety and make it mine and that just makes things worse. Just my humble opinion

I have joined a support group for anxiety but sometimes I feel like the support group actually makes me more anxious as I see what I could become and scares me! But I think doing both is good. I am also having individual therapy and getting off medication. The more you talk about it the better it gets for me!

All of the previous posting are correct because there is really no right or not wrong here. There are too many factors at play simultaneously and it would literally take hours to write a full response.

The underlying idea to most groups operating from a mental health clinic is to be providing instruction, if you will, on dealing with anxiery. You may have heard them all before. The hope is, that in hearing and sharing with others, they may resonate a bit better, or someone there may have a new personal help item etc etc. The downside is that at least for the first few sessions, you're meeting with new people which in itself can be anxiety producing.

Other posters have said stick with one on one but I think they missed your statement that this cannot continue with the therapist at that time. Again there can be a lot of reasons. One simply might be that you've been over things so many times there really is nothing more to be gained in covering the old ground once again.

Uncovering the source of your anxiety is easy to say but other than for very obvious things which would have long ago been identified, next to impossible to do. So much so in fact that the time is better spent working with reponse rather than source. If the source can be identified, nine times out of ten, it's beyond your control anyway so you've wasted all that time and perhaps money which could have been spent on response based activities. In an nutshell, we can't change what happens to us but we can change how we respond to it.

Back to the group... what do you have to lose ? Go see what it's all about? Nobody will have a gun to your head making you stay, or return to the next session.

I'm assuming tht for the problems you've listed, you're seeing a phsychiatrist for medication monitoring.

Just like there are good counselors and bad counselors, there are good groups and bad groups. And by bad I mean "not the right fit" for one's needs. I had to try three different counselors before I found the right one for me. The same is true for groups. Each group as it's own dynamic and that may be good or bad for you. There's only one way to find out though. I recently attended a group session. The concept was great, but there were far too many people in the group. By the time we finished introducing each other, it was time to leave. I didn't feel like we accomplished anything. I'll probably give it another try, but for now, I've got a good counselor that I'll keep working with. Good luck with your decisions, but I recommend trying different options to see what works best for you.

I think that if possible both seeing a therapist and going to a group would help you to get most out of treatment. I agree with your friend that you should be in 1:1 therapy. A group has its benefits but I think it should be more of an addition. 12 weeks may not be enough time to get to the bottom of the anxiety issue. It takes time to work through issues and resolve them. Good luck

Hi Jim,

Lots of good advice here.

I agree with the others that with everything you have going on it sounds important to have a lot of one on one time with a good therapist.

I've been in several different support groups and the good ones have really helped.

I like doing both -- individual therapy and support groups. As someone already mentioned, there are good groups and bad and everyone is an individual.

Check out the support group to see how comfortable you feel. Hearing other people's stories helped me feel less alone, and I've met some really good friends through support groups.

Wishing you the best!

Thank you for all the advice and support. I attended the anxiety group yesterday, and it was not too bad. There were five of us, but next week that is going to increase to 12. I can't quite see how 12 different people can each be treated in a period of 90 minutes.

I would much rather prefer seeing a therapist on a one-to-one basis. But it is my therapist who says she can no longer see me after one more session. Therefore, I have no choice in the matter.

Since I only have Medicare and Medicaid, this limits my chances of finding another therapist who will work with me. I am trying to deal with a substantially large number of problems all at one time, and this is causing me a lot of additional stress. I hope I can hang in there.