Mental health group activities for adults unite individuals to come together and share their experiences with the help of various activities. As per a study, nearly 1 in 5 American adults will have a diagnosable mental health condition. Mental health group activities for adults provide a supportive platform where people can unite to self-introspect and discuss the common issues between them.

Types of Group Therapy for Mental Health Group Therapy Activities for Adults

While different people have different issues to overcome, Group Therapy offers different types of mental health group therapy activities for adults

These are the five most common mental health group activities for adults:

1. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy 

CBT is one of the most prominent mental health group therapy activities for adults. Cognitive-behavioral therapy helps in learning and practicing techniques to manage thoughts and emotions.

2. Support Groups

Support groups offer support to like-minded individuals. People share their personal stories and experiences which helps them cope together

3. Process Group

Process group allows members to come together and brainstorm their inner conflicts between themselves.

4. Psycho-education group

Psychoeducation helps member to go to the root cause of mental disorders, thereby discussing their grievances

5. Skill Development Groups

Skill Development Groups offer a basis for learning skills to overcome and recover from mental health disorders.

Mental Health Group Therapy Activities for Adults

Below are highlighted 10 mental health group therapy activities for adults –

 Checking In:

Create a safe space for participants to share their current emotional state. Use a simple check-in scale (1-5) or a color-coded system to express how they feel. Encourage brief explanations, allowing others to offer support or empathy. This fosters open communication and helps build a sense of community within the group

Vision Board

Visualizing goals aids in its implementation. Setting goals and creating a plan to reach those goals is one of the most used mental health group activities for adults. Vision boards help go one step beyond writing down goals. 

Two Truths And One Lie

To encourage participants, to come together for a game in which a person tells three statements about themselves out of which two are true and one is false. The group divides itself into pairs to discuss this fun activity

Fun Facts

We all have some intriguing facts about us. In this activity, members write fun facts about themselves on a piece of paper. Each paper is kept anonymous and kept in a bowl. Then each member chose a paper from the bowl and guessed the fact about whom.

Food For Healing

Nutrition plays a key role in one’s mental health. If used with a substance use disorder group, the group can discuss how substance misuse depletes the body of nutrients. Then have the group create a healthy meal using items provided or by creating a healthy menu on paper.

Self-care

Self-care is one of the most essential group activities to make yourself a priority. In this mental health group activities for adults, members come together for ideas on self-care. And held themselves accountable for the same.

Sharing Songs

Music soothes the soul. One of the most effective mental health group activities for adults is sharing songs. In this activity, each member shares a song that resonates with their life in some or another way. Then, members play songs for the whole group and discuss the lyrics. While some lyrics might be triggering, members can replace the song with any feel-good or motivational song.

Stress Management and Relaxation

Stress can lead to triggering emotional and physical health. While there can be many sources of stress – like peers, work life, etc. Practice these techniques in group therapy. Deep breathing, aromatherapy, and meditation can be practiced anywhere.

Support System Review 

A support system is essential in one’s life. Each person in group therapy should be working on building a support system. However, some people they choose for support have characteristics that indicate they will not be the right type of support needed. For example, someone misusing alcohol or drugs cannot be on a support team. Neither can the enabling parents, abusive siblings, ex-lovers from a codependent relationship, or jealous coworkers.

Have each group member present their potential support system. The group is allowed to ask questions and vote on whether the person is a good choice based on the answers

Writing Eulogy

While death is inevitable, writing a Eulogy for oneself helps members to focus on the decisions that lead to life and death.

Formation Of Group Therapy 

Mental health professionals approach your treatment in a variety of ways to build a team of therapists. In some cases, it may be based on a particular mental health problem (such as depression or anxiety) or a common experience (loss or trauma of a loved one). Group therapy includes Mental health group activities for adults.

The size of the groups varies according to the situation, needs, and objectives. The American Association for Group Psychotherapy recommends a maximum group size of seven to ten members. Therefore, they are large enough to aggregate a wide range of contributions while maintaining a high level of individual participation.

How to facilitate a group therapy activity for an adult’s mental health session?

How to run a successful mental health group activities for adults sessions- 

• Know the rules and regulations for group therapy 
• Put proper systems in place
• Set expectations for the group
• Set the objective
• Learn icebreakers 
• Manage interpersonal dynamics
• Make group therapy fun

What are the best topics for group therapy?

Mental health group activities for adults consist of the following topics –

1. Family Issues
2. Substance Abuse
3. Mental Health Conditions
4.  Emotional Wellness
5. Grief
6. Criminal Behavior
7. Divorce
8. Trauma
9. Domestic Abuse
10. Phobias
11. Self-Care
12. Weight & Body Image
13. Anger Management

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most popular group therapy?

Mutual self-help groups are one of the most popular group therapies. Perhaps the most common, effective, and popular type of group therapy outside an intensive treatment program is mutual self-help support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous.

How do I start a group therapy session?

The session may begin with group members introducing themselves and explaining why they are in therapy. In subsequent sessions (in closed groups) or every session (in open groups), members may also share their progress and any updates since the previous group meeting.

What are the mental health group activities for adults dealing with schizophrenia?

Some of the mental health group activities for adults dealing with schizophrenia –

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is effective for schizophrenia. CBT teaches you to see situations, thoughts, feelings, emotions, and actions individually, so u can identify the origin of unhealthy patterns

Cognitive Enhancement Therapy(CET)

Cognitive Enhancement Therapy also known as cognitive remediation is a system of cognitive thinking training that’s helpful for some adults with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.

Psychosocial Therapy

Psychosocial therapies combine elements of psychotherapy, vocational training, and social training to educate, support, and guide people living with schizophrenia. It typically involves:

• Coordinated specialty care (CSC): CSC is another recovery-phase treatment that helps people with schizophrenia via a team-based approach.
• Assertive Community Treatment (ACT): Assertive community treatment (ACT) therapies for schizophrenia help someone follow treatment and reduce the risk of hospitalization. It’s a behaviorally-oriented subcategory of CBT that uses counter-conditioning and positive reinforcement to change how you respond to emotions, impulses, thoughts, and physical feelings
• Social skills training: Social skills training involves a set of techniques that help someone with schizophrenia enhance their ability to have social interactions. By addressing specific skill insufficiencies, you’ll start to curtail those negative symptoms of schizophrenia and improve critical social functioning that can help you maintain healthy relationships and positive personal interactions.
• Self-help groups: Group counseling can help people living with schizophrenia learn and improve their social skills. Self-help groups allow you to gain new insights into other schizophrenia therapies, helping you deal with deep feelings of isolation that are common with the condition.
• Rehabilitation: It varies from person to person but typically includes individual and family counseling, independent living training, vocational training, medication management, job counseling, and emotional support

Conclusion

This blog discussed various mental health group activities for adults. In the era of mental illnesses increasing at a high pace, these group activities unite a strength to overcome mental disorders.  In summary, mental health group activities for adults provide a crucial platform for individuals to come together and navigate common challenges. With diverse therapy types like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Support Groups, Process Groups, Psychoeducation, and Skill Development Groups, participants engage in self-reflection and growth.

The highlighted activities, including Checking In, Vision Boards, and Two Truths and a Lie, foster a sense of community and encourage open communication. These activities cover emotional, nutritional, and stress management aspects, emphasizing holistic well-being. Group therapy, with its various approaches, signifies finding strength in unity and shared experiences, ensuring a collaborative journey toward mental wellness.

An intensive outpatient program is available from Calusa Recovery to ease the transition to long-term mental wellness. The curriculum promotes harmony and healing of the mind, body, and spirit in addition to addressing the root causes of distress and teaching coping mechanisms. Empowering people with a sense of purpose and passion is the aim. The committed staff attends to a variety of needs, making sure that clients depart inspired, well-groomed, and ready to start over in a welcoming environment. With the help of Calusa’s extensive services, participants can integrate the lessons they’ve learned into their lives and live alongside others who have attained long-term happiness and health.