Group cognitive-behavioural therapy

Domain V · Systemic, relational, group & community · Muñoz, Miranda, Heimberg · 2000 · San Francisco, USA

What it is

Group CBT is a delivery format, not a single therapy: a CBT protocol for a given problem (depression, social anxiety, other anxiety disorders, substance use, psychosis, PTSD, inpatient care and more) delivered to several clients at once by one or two leaders. Bieling, McCabe & Antony (2022) frame…

Format

• A. SFGH rolling-module group (version followed)
• Structure: three independent modules (Thoughts and Your Mood; Activities and Your Mood; People Interactions and Your Mood), four sessions each, 12 sessions in total. The Palo Alto University i4health page describes the 2000 manuals as four modules (thoughts, activities, people, health) and 16…

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Leader requirements: training in assessing and treating mood disorders, mental-health coursework, a grasp of CBT principles, supervision by a licensed psychiatrist, psychologist or LCSW with CBT and depression experience, and observing or co-leading with the supervisor before running a group alone. No formal certification, licence or fidelity rating system is described. A leader self-evaluation form follows each…
• Session length, group size, the number of therapists and the exact contents of Sessions 1–2 are not drawn on here. Check them in the manual before delivering CBGT under its name. No certification requirement was found.

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Does it use a device, heat, cold, water or a physical procedure? Has a medical professional checked that it is safe for you?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• cards come back with the member's own wording, not copied examples.
• helpful chains that are just positive thinking. Keep them accurate.
• the member, not the group, chooses the solution, and reports trying it.
• members who already know each other; misunderstandings about the exceptions.
• members drawn into rumination. Keep the recall brief and move straight to writing.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.