Therapy Group vs. Training Group: What's the Difference?

If you've heard of group therapy — sometimes called a psychotherapy group — you probably have some idea of what happens: people sit together, share their experiences, and work through emotional challenges with the guidance of a trained facilitator. But there's another kind of group that uses many of the same skills and principles, and it's designed specifically for mental health professionals: the training group.

What They Have in Common

Both therapy groups and training groups are built on the same foundation: process-oriented group facilitation. In both settings, the facilitator pays attention to what's happening in the here and now — the interactions, feelings, and dynamics unfolding between members in real time. Both create space for authentic connection, honest feedback, and the kind of interpersonal learning that's hard to access anywhere else.

The common factor isn't the label — therapy or training — it's the process. Skilled group facilitation empowers every kind of group, whether the members are therapy clients working on their relationships or clinicians working on their professional development.

What Is a Therapy Group?

A therapy group (also called a psychotherapy group) brings together people who want to understand themselves more deeply through their relationships with others. In a process group, the focus is on the here-and-now interactions between members. There's no curriculum or structured agenda. Instead, feelings are explored as they arise, interpersonal patterns become visible, and members practice new ways of relating in a safe environment.

Therapy groups are therapeutic by design. The goal is psychological growth, healing, and lasting change in how members relate to themselves and others.

What Is a Training Group?

A training group takes the power of the group process and applies it to professional development. It's designed for mental health professionals — therapists, counselors, social workers, psychologists — who want to become more effective in their clinical work and in their personal lives.

Elliot Zeisel has called the training group an "everything bagel" — and the comparison is apt. Just as an everything bagel combines all the toppings into one, a training group brings together multiple ingredients that are usually kept separate:

• Experiential process — Members relate to each other authentically, noticing and sharing their feelings toward one another, making the unspoken speakable
• Countertransference exploration — One of the primary purposes is studying your own countertransference in the here and now, which directly strengthens your clinical work
• Case consultation — Bring your clinical questions and challenges to colleagues who understand the work
• Personal and professional reflection — Share memories, goals, achievements, and struggles that shape who you are as a clinician and as a person

A training group is not therapy — but it can be deeply therapeutic. The distinction matters because it opens doors that therapy groups can't. Because it's professional development rather than treatment, a training group can be used as a business expense for tax purposes. And because our training group meets online, it's accessible to clinicians across the country and beyond.

Why the Same Skills Power Both

Whether someone is in a therapy group working through anxiety about intimacy or in a training group exploring their countertransference with a difficult client, the mechanism of change is the same: what happens between people in the room. The facilitator's job — in both settings — is to help members pay attention to the process, make feelings speakable, and use the group's relationships as a vehicle for growth.

This is why process-oriented facilitation skills are so transferable. A clinician who deeply understands group process can facilitate a therapy group, a training group, a team consultation, or an organizational workshop. The population and purpose change, but the core skills remain.

Which One Is Right for You?

A therapy group is right if you're looking for personal psychological growth — if you want to understand your patterns, build deeper connections, and experience lasting emotional change. Our process therapy groups meet in person in Bountiful and are open to anyone seeking this kind of work.

A training group is right if you're a mental health professional who wants to sharpen your clinical skills, study your countertransference, and grow both professionally and personally in the company of colleagues. Our training group meets online on Thursday mornings and is open to clinicians anywhere.

Both are accepting new members. If you're curious about either, book a free consultation and we'll figure out together which group — or both — might be the right fit.