Why a group, when individual therapy is right there.
Individual therapy is excellent for understanding yourself. But there are some things you can only learn in a room with other people. Social anxiety is one of them. The fear is interpersonal, and so is the cure. A group is a low-stakes laboratory for the situations social anxiety has been keeping you out of. You're not performing — you're working — and everyone else in the room knows exactly why you're there.
What a group at PCG looks like.
We run two main types of groups, both led by a licensed clinician:
- Skills groups. Structured 8–14 week curriculum focused on social anxiety skills — cognitive tools, exposure planning, attention training, post-event review. Six to ten members. Closed format (the same group meets each week).
- Process groups. Open-ended, ongoing groups in which the work is the live interaction itself — what comes up between members, what each member is learning to say or not say, how the group functions as a relational lab. Six to nine members.
Sessions run 75–90 minutes, weekly. Some groups meet in person at our Pasadena office; others are video-only. Pre-screening is required — we want to know you and the group well enough to make the match useful.
What people find surprising.
- It's quieter than you think. Nobody is going to make you talk if you're not ready.
- The first session is the hardest. By the third, most members report it being one of the parts of the week they look forward to.
- The other members aren't who you imagined. Most people walk in expecting "people more anxious than me" and discover the room is full of high-functioning adults who happen to share this struggle.
- The change feels different. Not better than individual therapy — different. People tend to report more durable shifts in how they relate to others, rather than just how they feel internally.
Who it's for, who it's not for.
Group is well-suited for adults working on social anxiety, avoidance patterns, generalized anxiety, depression with relational features, and long-running self-concept patterns. It's not well-suited as a primary treatment for active suicidal crisis, untreated severe trauma without prior individual work, or active substance dependence. We screen for fit during the intake call.
Cost & insurance.
Group therapy is typically less expensive than individual sessions. We bill insurance for group when covered, and offer sliding-scale rates when not.
You don't have to figure this out alone.
If you're on the fence about whether group is right for you — most people are at first — we recommend a 20-minute consultation call with our group lead. No commitment, no pressure. Reach out and we'll set it up.
Ask about a group Call (626) 354-6440