Cognitive-Behavioral Group Therapy

Cognitive-behavioral group therapy (CBGT) is a counseling intervention that uses the foundations and methods of cognitive-behavioral therapy in the group counseling context. Its purpose is to help individuals change how they perceive and experience their environment and develop new response patterns to social and environmental factors. CBGT utilizes group process as a safe “classroom,” where clients can experience stimuli, behaviors, and consequences with the counselor as a guide. This allows clients to practice new behaviors and receive direct and immediate feedback from other group members, a transaction that can assist them in choosing more effective ways of interacting with their environment and social network outside the group.